{{Short description|Residue of dried bread}} {{For-text|the inner area of bread|Bread crumb|other uses|Breadcrumb (disambiguation)}} {{Refimprove|date=September 2009}} {{Infobox prepared food | name = Breadcrumbs | image = Breadcrumb.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Commercially produced breadcrumbs | alternate_name = | country = | region = | creator = | course = | type = | served = | main_ingredient = Dried bread | variations = Panko }}
'''Breadcrumbs''' are a culinary ingredient consisting of flour or crumbled bread of varying dryness, sometimes with seasonings added. They are used for a variety of purposes, including breading or crumbing foods before frying (such as breaded cutlets like tonkatsu and schnitzel), topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening stews, and adding inexpensive bulk to soups, meatloaves, and similar foods.
==Types==
===Dry=== Dry breadcrumbs are made from dry breads that have been baked or toasted to remove most remaining moisture, and may have a sandy or even powdery texture. Breadcrumbs 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 grater or similar tool will also do.
===Fresh=== The breads used to make soft or fresh breadcrumbs are not quite as dry, so the crumbs are larger and produce a softer coating, crust, or stuffing.
===Panko=== {{redirect|Panko|the card game|Panko or Votes for Women}} [[File:Baked panko crusted pork with pineapple sauce over udon.jpg|left|thumb|Baked panko-crusted pork with pineapple sauce over udon]] {{Nihongo|Panko|パン粉}} is a type of flaky breadcrumbs used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy coating for fried foods, such as ''tonkatsu''. Panko is made from bread baked by passing an electrical current through the dough, which yields a bread without a crust, and then grinding the bread to create fine slivers of crumb.<ref name = "Ohmic Baking">{{cite book | title = Gluten-free Bread Technology | author= Shabir Ahmad Mir, Manzoor Ahmad Shah & Afshan Mumtaz Hamdani | publisher = Springer Nature | location= |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EydHEAAAQBAJ&dq=panko+manufacture&pg=PA81 | date = 2021 | page = 81 | isbn = 9783030738983 | accessdate = 19 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="UpperCrust">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFbQuHE4z7g | title=Panko Bread Crumbs: The Secrets Revealed |publisher=YouTube |date=2018-10-07 |access-date=2025-02-24}}</ref> It has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine and maintains its texture baked or deep-fried, resulting in a lighter coating.<ref>{{cite web |title=You'll Never Believe How Panko Bread Crumbs Are Made |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/panko-recipes_n_1467661 |website=HuffPost |date=2 May 2012 |access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref> Outside Japan, its use has become more common in both Asian and non-Asian dishes. It is often used on seafood and is typically available in Asian markets, specialty stores, and many large supermarkets.
Panko is produced worldwide, particularly in Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, China, and Vietnam.
====Etymology==== The Japanese first learned to make baked bread from the Portuguese. The word ''パン粉 (panko)'' is derived from ''pan'', giving the word for bread in Japanese (derived from the Portuguese word "pão" for bread), and ''-粉 (-ko)'', a Japanese kanji indicating "flour", "coating", "crumb", or "powder" on occasion, when used as a suffix (as in ''komeko'', "rice powder", ''sobako'', "buckwheat flour", and ''komugiko'', "wheat flour").<ref>{{cite web |last=Marshall |first=Jo |url=http://www.heraldnews.com/lifestyle/food/x2084588983/COOKCABULARY-Panko-is-a-crumby-ingredient |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122002748/http://www.heraldnews.com/lifestyle/food/x2084588983/COOKCABULARY-Panko-is-a-crumby-ingredient |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-11-22 |title=COOKCABULARY: Panko is a crumby ingredient - Fall River, MA |publisher=The Herald News |date=2010-10-05 |access-date=2012-11-17 }}</ref>
=== Pangrattato === Pangrattato is an Italian garnish of toasted, seasoned breadcrumbs, often added to pasta or cooked vegetables. It may be flavored with ingredients such as garlic, anchovies, chili peppers or herbs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Melissa |date=2022-09-23 |title=Crumbs for dinner, in the best possible way |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/dining/pasta-breadcrumbs.html |access-date=2026-05-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
==Breading== thumb|Seasoned breading mixture '''Breading''', also known as '''crumbing''', is a dry grain-derived food coating for a piece of food made from breadcrumbs or a breading mixture with seasonings. Breading is well-suited for frying as it lends itself to creating a crisp coating around the food. Breading mixtures can be made of breadcrumbs, flour, cornmeal, and seasoning that the item to be breaded is dredged in before cooking. If the item to be breaded is too dry for the coating to stick, the item may first be moistened with buttermilk, raw egg, egg wash, or other liquid.
Breading contrasts with batter, which is a grain-based liquid coating for food that produces a smoother and finer texture, but which can be softer overall.
==Hansel and Gretel== In the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", breadcrumbs are used by Hansel and Gretel to track their footpath. However, the breadcrumbs were eventually eaten by birds, subsequently leading them to become lost in the woods. The popularity of breadcrumbs in the fairy tale led to the use of the word ''breadcrumb'' as a navigation element that allows users to keep track of their locations within programs or documents.<ref name="Mark Levene">{{cite book|title=An Introduction to Search Engines and Web Navigation|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0470526842|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mDI72_9-bw0C&pg=PA221|author-first1=Mark |author-last1=Levene|edition=2nd|page=221|date=18 October 2010|access-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed"> File:990402-ians-recipe-01-IMG 4724.jpg|Corn and chicken coated in breadcrumbs and fried. File: Panko - Paprika - 3.jpg|Panko breadcrumbs with paprika flavour File: Panko - White - 2.jpg|Panko white breadcrumbs File:971027-I'ANS-ATN-IMG 8772.jpg|IANS simple breadcrumbs File:Tonkatsu at Butagumi in Nishi-Azabu.jpg|alt=Close up of Japanese breaded tonkatsu|Panko on Tonkatsu File:971110-ILIA-Vanak-IMG 8870-2.jpg|alt=Fried shrimp|Fried shrimp with panko breadcrumbs File:980722-Recipe-05-Shrimps-IMG 8660.jpg|alt=Shrimps with Panko|Shrimp coated by panko breadcrumbs File:011221-White-IMG 3991.jpg|Panko breadcrumbs – white File:011221-Paprika-IMG 3985.jpg|Panko breadcrumbs – paprika File:011221-Spicy-IMG 3989.jpg|Panko breadcrumbs – spicy </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Bread}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Food ingredients Crumbs Category:Food industry