Another topic that has provoked a lively correspondence in the Daily Telegraph recently has been the disappearance from the nation’s breakfast tables of the toast rack. It began with the lament of one reader, who wrote to say the devices were vital for keeping toast crisp.
I was surprised, as the letters continued, that no one made reference to the great Fanny Cradock (left), the woman who, Denis Norden apart, has probably had her name misspelt in newspapers (‘Craddock’) more than anyone else.
Fanny hated toast racks with the vehemence for which she — the most sharp-tongued of telly chefs — was famous. She considered them an abomination. They had been designed, she said, with the express purpose of ensuring cold toast.
Her alternative was to store toast in a felt-lined box — I possess a clear mental picture of her showing us one of these on her television show.
The only trouble with this, though, was that temperature was maintained at the expense of crispness. You can’t win.
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