: bruschette) comes from the Romanesco dialect verb bruscare, the equivalent of the Italian word abbrustolire, which means 'to toast', or 'to roast over coals'.

[3]: 91 In the United States, the word is sometimes used to refer to a prepared topping, sold in jars and usually tomato-based, instead of the bread, a sense which is unknown in Italian.

[5] David observed in Italian Food that "bruschetta are eaten with the newly made oil" in the olive oil-producing districts of Tuscany and Umbria.

An inscription found in the Sabine city of Cures documents that clustrum was distributed to people together with mulsum on important holidays such as Saturnalia.

Raw pork products and spices encased in pig bladder are aged and the paste spread on open slices of bread which are sometimes grilled.