America, we have got to up our toast game.
We know our way around a burger and have cred in the food cart game, but toast? No. We simply can't compete with other countries that have taken toast to a whole new gastronomic level.
Don't believe us? Take a look and don't resist the urge to run to your kitchen and foodie-fy your toast.
1. Taiwanese/Japanese honey toast
A photo posted by Tiffany Nguyen (@misztiffyy) on Jul 29, 2015 at 10:05pm PDT
"Honey toast" is such a simple name for this decadent, Willy Wonka-esque treat. Essentially, a brick of buttery bread is hollowed and its innards are toasted with honey butter until lightly golden. From there, it's a free for all: Add ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, entire bananas, sweetened adzuki beans, matcha powder and anything else you can fit into the bread pocket. This gargantuan carb and sugar box is a sugar crash waiting to happen, but it's so worth it.
2. Singapore/Malaysian kaya toast
Savory meets tropical meets sweet. Singapore's favorite breakfast consists of a thick coconut and sweetened milk jam (that's the kaya part) and a generous layer of butter sandwiched between two slices of toast. The toast is then customarily dipped into or eaten with barely boiled eggs seasoned with soy sauce and white pepper. Barely is a key word here — these eggs are traditionally more liquid than solid. You can always cook yours a little longer if you're squeamish.
3. Dutch hagelslag
A photo posted by Dane Gonzalez (@renegadeloverrr) on Jul 26, 2015 at 4:41am PDT
Dutch people aren't happy because weed is legal — they're happy because they eat sprinkles on toast for breakfast. Hagelslag are breakfast sprinkles. That's right, sprinkles you pour on buttered toast. Chocolate, vanilla, multicolored, special shapes...the list goes on and on. And yes, buttered and sprinkled toast is just as sensational as it sounds.
4. Argentinian dulce de leche toast
If you like caramel, you are going to love dulce de leche. This milk and sugar ambrosia is cooked very slowly until the sugar gently caramelizes and the mixture becomes thick, buttery and wonderfully sweet. Since it's cooked so gently it doesn't have that bitter, burnt edge caramel has. It is thick, sticky and so delicious it might not even make it onto the toast. (If you eat it straight from the spoon, you're in good company.)
5. Italian 'nduja toast
A photo posted by Camiceria Santillo (@santillo1970) on Jul 29, 2015 at 5:25am PDT
Spicy sausage that spreads like a jam and melts into warm toast— no, it's not your fondest dream, it's 'nduja. This Calabrian pork sausage is spicy, savory and spreadable. No more weirdly lopsided sausage and egg sandwiches. Just spread a layer of this onto your warm toast, top it with a layer of scrambled eggs and try not to drool as the scent of warm sausage wafts towards your nose.
6. The UK's Welsh rarebit
A photo posted by Tina Jui (@theworktop) on Apr 30, 2015 at 10:09am PDT
This recipe has as many variations as grilled cheese, but at the base level it's toast topped with a cheese sauce that's usually enriched with eggs, dairy, mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce, then broiled until the sauce is browned and charred on top, melty and gooey within. From there, the sky's the limit. Chili jam, heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced ham and anything else that goes well with cheese is kosher. Well, if you use the ham, it's not technically kosher, but you get the point.