Crusts: Way or No Way?
I thought that this would have been covered earlier, but I couldn't find it, so I thought that I would start the thread. If I am wrong on that, and just totally inept at using the search function here, please just let me know.
For me? Totally WAY!!!
When I was little, probably just because I wanted to copy my aunt, I used to leave all of the crusts from bread, pizza and everything else, on the plate. My parents hated it and never understood it.
Long story short, when I got older, I started to try them, and now they are my favorite part of anything! Especially with dark, rustic breads or ones with seeds and other things baked in them. And pizza? Forget it! The crust is the best part! And what else are you going to dunk into the (extra) side of marinara?
What about you? Do you enjoy them, or throw them away? Do you only eat pizza crusts and not bread/sandwich crusts? Do you use them for other things, like croutons? Dunking?
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36 Comments:
WAY - the crunchier the better. I sometimes share pizza crust with my dog but will never surrender a really good bread heel. BF likes the squishy part so we do well sharing. :D
therealchiffonade at 11:24AM on 01/27/09
Crusts? Way! I agree, it is an integral part of the bread and I wouldn't dream of not eating them, toasted or plain, they add a nice crunchy, chewy texture. I especially love Artisan bread crusts. My little 14 month old grandson also loves crusts and I am now losing mine to him when he is around! His Mom throws toast crusts in the freezer and gives him those to chew on while he is teething. I had never seen this done before, but little Alex just loves them!
bareneed at 11:25AM on 01/27/09
Way,Way,Way...crust is the trademark of good pizza or bread. I remember my father always anxious to get that crusty end slice of a fresh loaf of Italian bread.
dmcavanagh at 11:38AM on 01/27/09
Oh, hell yeah. I love the ends of the bread, too. And, the corner pieces of brownies, bars, etc. I used to eat all the filling out of a pie and save the crust for last.
...I still do it sometimes!
meg3j at 11:39AM on 01/27/09
WAY! I've always been puzzled by the notion of "crustless sandwiches for kids". When I was little, crust was my favourite part of the bread! I must add that we always bought bakery bread - perhaps, that has something to do with the crust being so good (and insanely popular - my family would fight for the crust, really:-)). But really, it never ever occurred to me to not eat the crust. Now we eat home baked bread - again, the crust is definitely the best part!
And pizza - how can you not love pizza crusts? Pizza is crust, crust is pizza!:-)
WAY all the way!
brooke29 at 11:47AM on 01/27/09
Way. The only time I leave crusts are when I'm in a restaurant and the pizza crust is too dried out or the sandwich bread crust is really thick and dry.
CooksForOne at 11:50AM on 01/27/09
WAY - unless it's not good dough to begin with.
joyyy at 11:57AM on 01/27/09
Way. I love a good, chewy pizza crust, but even if the crust is not that great, pizza or otherwise, I still eat it just for completion.
runnereater at 12:10PM on 01/27/09
WAY! The only crust I can do without is a bottom crust on a pot pie, they're usually mushy and unnecessary.
VerasTastyFreeze at 12:12PM on 01/27/09
Way when i have toast or a sandwich i eat the crust first and then the middle, that way if I cant finish, the dog gets the second rate middle and I got the yummy crusts!
huneybumper at 12:18PM on 01/27/09
No WAY - my dogs and parrot would never forgive me :-)
Although I suspect that I started it by feeding crusts to them so I wouldn't have to eat them... I have a friend that taught her collie to like lima beans the same way!
To me they don't taste as good as the rest of the whatever, so why waste the calories?
cowprintrabbit at 12:19PM on 01/27/09
Finally, after a long time I can answer a resounding WAY with Traveller, chiff, brooke, and all of the other people in this thread! It is undoubtedly my favorite part of the bread--nothing is better than that 'end part' with a really nice spread of butter, or even just tearing it with your teeth, plain.
The only time I contemplated not eating the crust was when I read in an old children's book that eating the crusts made your hair curly. I hated my curly hair, and was afraid that my crust consumption was 'why' my hair was curly.
And yes, what is pizza if not crust--I always associated the 'no crust' contingent with really finicky little girls when I was a kid....
HeartofGlass at 12:19PM on 01/27/09
@HeartofGlass ~ if eating crusts made hair curly, I'd throw away the middle!
I think it's silly to cut crust off of bread, but I don't eat the heel of hard, crusty bread - hurts my teeth. And, that was always saved for my Daddy. I cut that kind of bread on the diagonal which makes it easier to eat.
Pizza crust - a resounding WAY as long as it still has some chew and tastes good.
PerkyMac at 12:26PM on 01/27/09
way way way
dearrie at 12:33PM on 01/27/09
I grew up with perfectly square bread from the Japanese bakery that didn't have those dreadful holes where you'd lose stuff. It was easy for my mother to cut the crusts off for my bento for aesthetics. Of course, she would also cut the cucumbers in my sandwich so they alternated in color and include flower carrots, etc. She was a weird woman who LOVED bread and didn't care for rice or noodles. Yes, she always ate the crusts that she cut off.
I have never really cared for bread. I can count with 1 hand breads that have impressed me enough to say, "Hey, I like this bread." The crust is either drier than the inside or hard. Oh, and I don't like pizza.
...which puts me in the No Way camp.
Cassaendra at 12:47PM on 01/27/09
The crust is the best part! Why throw away all that great flavor and texture?
beth1 at 1:18PM on 01/27/09
The crust is arguably the best and hardest part to get right.
FrostyGhost at 1:23PM on 01/27/09
It depends on what sort of bread I am having. If it is a Wonder Bread type no way. Any sort of wheat, whole grain, multi grain, ect sandwich bread, Nope. Now if you are talking a baquette, French, German, Italian ect. I will eat the crust. Pizza crust I will save and dip into something, Pie crust I will take a taste, if I like it you bet I will eat it, if there is a slight char, over browned taste nope, it goes outside to the birds.
pjracz10 at 2:20PM on 01/27/09
Way!!
I like it when the cheese gets extra-brown when it cooks along the crust....
...golden brown perfection.
hungrychristel at 3:27PM on 01/27/09
oh I meant pizza crust LOL
I like all crusts tho; pie, bread, pizza YOU NAME IT
hungrychristel at 3:42PM on 01/27/09
it depends. for a pb&j, no way (for that matter, any store bought standard "sandwich type bread" no way.) on a good crusty rustic bread, all the way. Pizza crusts, way, and often dipped into the fabulous house dressing the (Italian-speaking) guys at my local pizza joint make.
AliceBlue at 3:50PM on 01/27/09
For sure WAY! My favorite part of pizza is that little edge next to the crust that still has some tomato sauce and the texture of the crust. Perfect combination! :)
Hillary
Chew on That at 3:51PM on 01/27/09
WAY. I love the crusts, or the heel as it used to be called. We NEVER throw them away and regardless of the type of bread, be it a sliced white grocery store bread , multigrain or a wonderful artisanal crunchy bread I would always save and freeze( really, boys and girls, it takes seconds to do this) all the bits for bread crumbs or if I am in the mood, I will dice and saute them into a few croutons. Your freezer is really your best friend if you can learn to use it as an adjunct to food preparation rather than a food storage facility.
Nana H
Nana Helen at 4:12PM on 01/27/09
I will take or leave pizza crusts, depending on how tasty the particular crust is. However I love bread crusts and when we have a loaf of crusty bread my fiance knows to leave me the "butt ends". Love those.
blush at 4:13PM on 01/27/09
Bread & Pizza Crust: Way!
Pie Crust: No Way--it was the only thing I could get away with leaving on my plate as a child as my mom also refuses to eat them. Give me tasty pie filling, but keep that nasty edge crust!
thehostess at 4:14PM on 01/27/09
I live outside NYC now, and I've never appreciated great bread, with crust, more than I do now. Here on the mainland, they don't seem to feel that a hard crust is a positive attribute. Almost all breads and rolls are as soft as sponges, and it drives me absolutely crazy. Try eating a hero sandwich or, excuse me, a sub, that's served on a soft roll! In any case, quality bread is something to be treasured and, yes, it has a real crust on it, which is certainly meant to be eaten.
ronfrankl at 5:35PM on 01/27/09
No Way!! Do not like pizza crust, only eat the inner pieces of a square pizza. Do not like pie crust, only cooked with butter and cinnamon. Only like the top crust on bread not the bottoms nor the heal. Ugh
Maryland Crab
Maryland Crab at 5:38PM on 01/27/09
WAY!
CookiePie at 5:46PM on 01/27/09
There's a photo of me as an infant teething on a whole crusty baguette; my answer is obvious... (way!)
annatr at 6:15PM on 01/27/09
Oh Yea - gotta have the crust.
Ribster at 8:43PM on 01/27/09
pie crust = NO WAY
sandwich crust = Depends
I like the crusts only if the bread is toasted. If it is un-toasted NO WAY, not really sure why. And the crusts on bread @ restaurants...NO WAY. It's too hard.
Pizza crust = WAY!
I love to dip it in honey.
sweethoney at 8:50PM on 01/27/09
Pie crust - the BEST part! If it's home-made, not the pre-packaged or frozen stuff.
Bread - I guess I fancied the rustic breads long before this renaissance of artisan baking. I come from a family of middle European descent, so hearty home cooking always had to be accompanied by a crusty loaf to slather with creamery butter or to swab those bowls. I can remember as a child, being left in the car with the loaves from the Hungarian bakery. My mother would go across the street to the butcher shop to get her order and before she got back, the "Crust Vampire" had gnawed off the heel of the Vienna loaf! I know nothing!!!
Pizza - We usually make our own pizza and always make thick crust so it stays softer. Also, when it comes off the stone, we brush the crust with a combo of melted butter, evoo, garlic powder and grate fresh parm on it. The crust is TRULY the best part. it tastes just like breadsticks. If we order in, my OH always gives me the corners. My daughter and her BF order crispy crust and I can't figure out why. They leave the crusts and call them "pizza bones" and give them to their dog!
frederika at 9:43PM on 01/27/09
Way, especially on fresh homemade bread like I made today; crunch crunch. It's enough to make me seriously consider buying two sturdy covered casseroles so I can try making that Sullivan Bakery "no work" bread. (There's a recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which just arrived at my house today!)
gentlyferal at 12:15AM on 01/28/09
total way except soggy pastry crust -- and on my cucumber sandwiches at tea time.
cybercita at 12:26AM on 01/28/09
Absolute WAY! Especially savoury pies' crusts which have been a favourite since childhood. I used to ask my parents to give me their crusts so I could gorge on them as a child...With adulthood comes self-censorship so I obviosuly don't do that anymore but I always keep the crusts in my pie/pizza to savour last.
HappyMuncher at 8:02AM on 01/28/09
Way! I always peel the crust off my sandwich and eat it first.
ilovepancakes at 1:08PM on 01/29/09