Toast in 1922

You can gain such interesting insights from primary documents, actual old books and articles and other writing; this is a tiny series from the 1922 collection Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll (the sister-in-law of the famous Gertrude the gardener).

She has amusing comments on making toast that make me thankful for a reliable modern toaster:

Toast, to be good, demands a glowing grate, a handy toasting fork, and a patient watcher -- ...the ideal [toast] rack is like friendship and the immortality of the soul, almost too good to be true. [Someone asked] for a trustworthy recipe [for toast and the expert replied,] "Cut a slice of bread, hold it before the fire, and say incantations."...An electric griller can be used successfully by those who can successfully use such contraptions.

It reminds me of the toaster contraption my grandmother had that totally delighted my brothers and me -- it would pop the toast out so hard it would go halfway across the kitchen! The one she had before then was not automatic at all and I remember lots of burnt toast as a result....