Because Bread Is 'Bad'.

[Xylem]

Is the crust as a concentrated form of the bread very bad or does it have other stuff in it.

Ps. i know this seems stupid but i cant find this info anywhere and so far ive just been cutting al my crusts off.

[kerowo]

Bread isn't bad. Lots of bread is bad.

[kidcolin]

ha.. I remember being a kid and everyone saying the crust is the healthiest part. Then I went years without even considering it. Then I got a job in a bakery where I saw 10s of thousands of loaves of bread being made each day. One day I was just reminiscing and the memory of "the crust is the healthiest part" hit me and I started laughing. It's the same thing!

ps - I suppose there could be some minor effect just due to being exposed to more temperature, but I'd bank it's pretty minimal.

[cbloom]

[ QUOTE ]
ha.. I remember being a kid and everyone saying the crust is the healthiest part. Then I went years without even considering it. Then I got a job in a bakery where I saw 10s of thousands of loaves of bread being made each day. One day I was just reminiscing and the memory of "the crust is the healthiest part" hit me and I started laughing. It's the same thing!

ps - I suppose there could be some minor effect just due to being exposed to more temperature, but I'd bank it's pretty minimal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, because the crust is often charred it contains carcinogenic free radicals that aren't in the non-crust bread. (not in quantities significant enough to make a difference, but the fact is that the crust is *worse* for you than the inside of the bread).

Asking someone if the crust is healthier is actually a great way to detect silliness. My mom used to always tell us that and make us eat the crust. It's a huge lol.

[Xylem]

I KNEW IT!

Now my mom cant make me eat the crust nomore!

IM FREE!!!!!!

[Jeff W]

IIRC, the crust contains 40% of the calories of the bread.

There is some research out there claiming that the bread crust is the healthiest part of the bread--antioxidants, etc.

More importantly, you should make sure to eat only whole grain breads, preferably with no b.s. like high fructose corn syrup added.

[cbloom]

[ QUOTE ]
IIRC, the crust contains 40% of the calories of the bread.

There is some research out there claiming that the bread crust is the healthiest part of the bread--antioxidants, etc.


[/ QUOTE ]

FYI, The Onion isn't a real newspaper.

[Jeff W]

[ QUOTE ]
FYI, The Onion isn't a real newspaper.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...ust+antioxidant

There you go, smartass.

[ChuckyB]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
FYI, The Onion isn't a real newspaper.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...ust+antioxidant

There you go, smartass.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would wager he was making fun of the "40% of the calories" part.

[cbloom]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
FYI, The Onion isn't a real newspaper.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...ust+antioxidant

There you go, smartass.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, I was just messing around, but that's actually really interesting, you win sir. It seems to all point to just this one pair of scientists and pretty recent research, so we should wait a few years to see if it's actually significant, but yeah, it shows that the Maillard reaction in the crust actually does significantly change some of the proteins.

Once in a while the old "common wisdom" actually comes from centuries of figuring out what's good for you, but I'm guessing in this case the old wives tale that the crust is better just came from nonsense and it's a total coincidence that it might actually be better for you.

Also Re: the calories, it sounds silly, but you are right that as much as 40% of the calories can be in the crust. That's not because the crust is different per se, but mainly because the crust is about 40% of the weight of some breads (breads where the inside is really light and airy but the crust is dense). Obv if you want to reduce calories you can also make a huge dent just by cutting the slice thinner.