We’re losing our taste for cheese on toast
CHEESE on toast – a feature of the national diet for centuries – could be facing meltdown.
The proportion of people who have eaten a slice has fallen by seven percentage points in two years from 67 per cent to 60 per cent. The greatest decline has been among young adults, who say they prefer to snack on a bowl of pasta, a fajita or Pot Noodles.
Today, just half of people aged 20 to 24 who buy cheese have eaten cheese on toast in the past three months, compared to 65 per cent of those aged 55 to 64.
Richard Ford, from retail analysts Mintel – which carried out the research – said the fall might have something to do with the fact that cheese has had its critics in terms of the high levels of fat and salt. He also pointed out that the autumn of 2014 has been unusually warm, which means fewer people are likely to curl up with a plate of cheese on toast.
And he suggested that restaurants might be able to halt the trend by using different, more fashionable descriptions, adding: ‘To appeal to younger consumers, operators could boost interest by repositioning cheese on toast as an “open grilled cheese sandwich”.’
But Nigel White, of the British Cheese Board, said the simplicity and versatility of cheese on toast
‘Cheap, nutritious and easy to make’
means it will remain a national favourite. He said: ‘It is a standby product that’s a lifesaver. It’s cheap, nutritious and easy to make.’
Mintel’s figures confirmed that cheddar remains the UK’s favourite cheese, with 87 per cent of us buying it in the past three months. However cheese sales are expected to drop by 3.9 per cent to 347million kilos (765million lb) in 2014, down from 361million kilos (796m illion lb) in 2013. While we are eating less, the price we pay has gone up, which means the total value of cheese sales is likely to go up by 2.5 per cent this year to £2.7billion.
The origins of cheese on toast are lost in time, however the earliest references in literature date back to the 1600s.
Shakespeare refers to the food in Henry V, when it is suggested that a sword could be used to toast cheese over a fire.
And in Shakespeare’s King Lear, the deranged King calls for ‘toasted cheese’, apparently to tempt an imagined mouse.
The first reference to Welsh rarebit in cookbooks was in 1725 and it appears to be a corruption of rabbit. One legend claims Welsh peasants were not allowed to eat rabbits caught on the estates of the nobility, so they used cheese as a substitute. Today, the many recipes for Welsh rarebit include adding ale, mustard, ground cayenne pepper or ground paprika.