Toasting fork

[3] Toasting forks were traditionally made from metal such as wrought iron, brass, or silver, and later from steel, but handles of wood or ivory might be used to prevent the heat of the fire being conducted to the hand.

[9] Some forks had telescopic handles which made them portable for travellers,[7][9] and allowed the toast to be held closer to the fire without burning one's fingers.

[18] In Oliver Twist, the villain Fagin first appears standing in a dark room in front of a fire, holding a toasting fork, suggestive of his "devilish" nature.

[8] While some British colonists in America used elaborate hearth toasters that could hold several pieces of bread, cooks of "more modest means" relied on toasting forks made of forged iron.

[27] Only as a final step should the fork be brought nearer to the fire and turned light brown or deep golden yellow, before being buttered.

[27] The July 1877 issue of American Agriculturalist included instructions on how to make a home-made toasting fork out of "any refuse piece of tin" such as the bottom of a box of sardines, or the side of a can of fruit which had been flattened.

[33] Through the 1900s, crumpets browned over an open fire using a toasting fork then drenched in butter were considered a midwinter delicacy in England.

[41] In 2022, an article in The Telegraph pointed to the use of extendable marshmallow toasting forks purchased from Amazon, instead of a wooden stick, as an example of how "the middle class have ruined camping" by turning it into "glamping".

[44] In one demonstration, he built an electrical machine using a glass bottle supported by an inverted stool, with a tea canister on a tumbler as the conductor, and the toasting fork as the collector.