*Our paying subscribers can listen to full audio versions of some of Juke’s most-loved essays. Last time, we heard Blue, originally published in September of 2023. This time, we’re listening to Toast, a collaboration between Paul Vlachos and myself, which was published in March. Free subscribers and everyone else can hit play for a short preview. Then check out the original piece, linked below, if you haven’t read it before… TM*
Paul: Even though bread was maligned and mistreated by the end of the 20th Century in some circles, it’s worth remembering that civilization would not have come this far without bread. The Romans made it popular and, in fact, the word “toast” comes from the Latin word “tostum,” which means “to scorch or burn.” Toasters came along later, after electricity entered our lives. Not that long ago, really, and only after some advances in metal alloys, it became possible to make toast without burning down the house. Another thing that advanced the cause of modern toast was the advent of pre-sliced bread. I could go on, but that’s for another day. There’s a lot of interesting stuff out there on the web. I personally prefer to do my own searching and not let so-called “artificial intelligence” do it for me, but I’m a stick-in-the-mud. I’d encourage you to go to Wikipedia - or elsewhere - and search for “buttered toast phenomenon” if you want to learn something interesting…
Tonya: Toast is, yes, basically just adding fire to bread. But it's also much more than that. It's about the kind of bread, for one thing. The typical thin-sliced American bread is always either woefully undertoasted or else it bakes into a cracker. Undertoasted thick bread, though, unless it's truly excellent bread (in which case it doesn't really need toasting) becomes an unappealing wad of gum in your mouth. The perfect toast is somewhere in the middle. It should be crisp on top. All the delicate sugars in the slice should rise to the surface and caramelize without truly burning. The interior should be soft (not too soft) and warm. You see what I mean? It's a delicate business.
The saddest toast is cold toast, of course—the toast you set down two minutes ago. And there is no sadder toast than the cold plate of toast they bring you with your eggs in a typical American diner. The thin mass-produced bread, five minutes out of the toaster, stacked butterless on a ceramic plate. I've eaten enough of it over the years, dicing frozen butter from the packet onto the bread and then the smear of Smuckers jelly, but always with disappointment and ennui…
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Paul Vlachos is a writer, photographer and filmmaker. He was born in New York City, where he currently lives. He is the author of “The Space Age Now,” released in 2020, “Breaking Gravity,” in 2021, and “Exit Culture” in 2023.
Tonya Morton is, among other things, the publisher of Juke.
