Breadcrumb

Breadcrumbs or bread crumbs (regional variants: breading, crispies) are small particles of dry bread, which are used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening stews, and adding inexpensive bulk to meatloaves and similar foods.

However the "crumb" of bread also refers to the inner soft part, as distinguished from the crust.

Dry breadcrumbs are made from very dry bread, either several days old or often baked or toasted to remove all remaining moisture, and may have a sandy or even powdery texture. They can be used to make a crisp and crunchy coating for fried foods (see breading). The bread used to make soft or fresh bread crumbs is not quite as dry, so the crumbs are larger and produce a softer coating, crust, or stuffing. Bread crumbs are most easily produced by pulverizing slices of bread in a food processor, using a steel blade to make coarse crumbs, or a grating blade to make fine crumbs. A cheese grater or similar tool will also do.

Italian breadcrumbs are often larger than generic processed bread crumbs due to the chemical makeup of Italian breads.Breadcrumb may also refer to Velaanja Fact|date=November 2007.

Other uses

In the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel two young children attempt to mark their trail by leaving breadcrumbs on their path as they walk through a foreboding forest. In web design, especially interface design or GUIs, breadcrumb refers to some sort of visual path that allows the user to see where they are in the interface and to retrace their steps if needed.

In many fiction movies breadcrumbs attract mice or rabbits.Fact|date=July 2008

In comedy, "breadcrumbs" might sometimes be used to refer to brains or grey matter.

See also

* Breading
* Panko
* Crouton
* Stuffing