Bruschetta

 ( Italian Cuisine ) 

Bruschetta (

, ) is an Italian cuisine appetizer (antipasto) consisting of grilling bread topped with garlic, olive oil, and salt. Most commonly it is served with toppings of tomatoes, vegetables, beans, cured meat or cheese. In Italy, bruschetta is often prepared using a brustolina grill.

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Etymology

The noun bruschetta (: bruschette) comes from the Romanesco dialect verb bruscare, the equivalent of the Italian language word abbrustolire, which means 'to toast', or 'to roast over coals'.

John Ayto (2025). 9780192803511, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192803511

Waverley Root noted in 1971 that bruschetto was the Roman term for the dish, with other Italians referring to it as schiena d'asino ().

In the United States, the word is sometimes used to refer to a prepared topping, sold in jars and usually tomato-based, instead of the bread, a sense which is unknown in Italian.

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History

Bruschetta was first documented in English by Elizabeth David in 1954.

(2025). 9780199666317, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199666317

David observed in Italian Food that "bruschetta are eaten with the newly made oil" in the olive oil-producing districts of Tuscany and Umbria.

Elizabeth David (1989). 9780140273274, Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140273274

Waverley Root and Marcella Hazan trace the origins of bruschetta to ancient Rome. According to Root, ancient Romans called bruschetta clustrum or crustulum. An inscription found in the Sabines city of Cures documents that clustrum was distributed to people together with mulsum on important holidays such as Saturnalia.

Waverley Root (1977). 9780394724294, Vintage Books. ISBN 9780394724294

Hazan states that bruschetta's origins are "probably nearly as old as that of olive oil itself". In ancient Rome, the first taste of olive oil was "likely an oil-soaked piece of bread that may or may not have been rubbed with garlic". In modern times, bruschetta was a staple of the trattoria that made up "for the frugality of the fare". Over time, the dish gained popularity and made its way into the cuisines of higher social classes.

Marcella Hazan (1976). 9780394405100, Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780394405100

The International Culinary Center dates bruschetta to the Middle Ages, when toppings were served on bread instead of plates.

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Types The version of bruschetta famous in America, a dish of bread topped with a diced tomato salad, is one of several types in Italy.

Arthur Schwartz (1998). 006018261X, HarperCollins. 006018261X

In the Abruzzo region, a variation of bruschetta made with ventricina is served. Raw pork products and spices encased in pig bladder are aged and the paste spread on open slices of bread which are sometimes grilled. The dish was developed as a way of salvaging bread that was going stale.

According to the International Culinary Center, the term bruschetta is sometimes used interchangeably with crostini and the Tuscan dish fettunta. In Tuscany, fettunta is usually served without toppings, especially in November, to taste the first oil of the season.

In the Campania region, bruschetta made as it is known in America is the most popular, but is only eaten when tomatoes are in season. Other toppings used include salted anchovy and butter, and garlic-flavoured beans with olive oil. In restaurants, toppings vary from bottarga (cured fish roe) to truffle.

File:Bruschetta.jpg|Bruschetta with chopped tomatoes and basil File:Bruschetta 02 schinken.jpg|Bruschetta with olive oil and prosciutto

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See also

• List of bread dishes
• List of toast dishes
• Pa amb tomàquet – a similar dish in Catalan cuisine
• Torricado – a similar dish in Portuguese cuisine

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External links

• Food Timeline: Bruschetta & Garlic Bread

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