Breadbox

2025-07-13T15:28:23Z

2600:387:15:2716:0:0:0:B:

{{Short description|Bread storage device}}
{{For|the software and computer company known as Breadbox Ensemble|GEOS (16-bit operating system)}}
{{For|the version of the computer known as the Breadbin C64|Commodore 64}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2009}}
[[Image:Breadbox.jpg|thumb|A typical wooden breadbox.]]

A '''breadbox''' (chiefly American) or a '''breadbin''' (chiefly British)<ref name="Webster" /> is a container for storing [[bread]] and other baked goods to keep them fresh. They were a more common household kitchen item until bread started being made commercially with food [[preservative]]s and wrapped in plastic. Breadboxes are still used by many people to store commercially purchased bread, but are used more especially by people who bake bread at home. They are usually made of metal, wood or sometimes pottery (pottery breadboxes are also called '''bread crocks'''). Old breadboxes can be collectible [[antiques]].

Breadboxes are most commonly big enough to fit one or two average size loaves of bread—up to about 16 inches wide by 8 to 9 inches high and deep (40 cm × 20 cm × 20 cm).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greene |first=Nick |date=March 28, 2014 |title=How Big Is a Breadbox? |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/55835/how-big-breadbox |website=[[Mental Floss]] |access-date=May 24, 2018}}</ref>

==Working theory==
[[Staling|Stale bread]] is colloquially called "dry", but drying and staling are distinct processes. Stale bread can weigh the same as "fresh" bread, indicating almost no loss of water; conversely, bread can be dried out without going stale. [[Staling]] is a process of [[Retrogradation (starch)|retrogradation]], in which the starch transposes to a crystalline form in the presence of the water contained within the bread itself. The process speeds up at cooler temperatures,<ref>''Cereals in breadmaking: a molecular colloidal approach'', Ann-Charlotte Eliasson, Kåre Larsson, CRC Press, 1993, pages: 128-129, {{ISBN|0-8247-8816-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8247-8816-2}}</ref> such as under [[refrigeration]], and thus bread stored at [[room temperature]] remains fresher for longer periods than refrigerated bread.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stilltasty.com/questions/index/18/page:1|title=Is it Better to Store Bread on the Counter or in the Fridge? |website=StillTasty.com |language=en|access-date=2017-07-09}}</ref> Frozen bread, however, traps the moisture as ice, and prevents the staling process.<ref name="Cook's Illustrated Magazine">[http://thecommonroomblog.com/2007/08/freeze-dont-refrigerate-your-bread.html Freeze, Don’t Refrigerate Your Bread] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121050946/http://thecommonroomblog.com/2007/08/freeze-dont-refrigerate-your-bread.html |date=2022-01-21 }} Heat Keeper Common. August 2007</ref>

Breadboxes are thus designed to:
*keep their contents at room temperature, prolonging edible storage time;
*have a lid loose enough to allow airflow, reducing [[condensation]], which helps to prevent the formation of [[Mold (fungus)|mold]];
*have a lid tight enough to slow the drying process as well as to protect the contents from mice and all other pests, including ants and flies.

==As a saying==
The breadbox is commonly used to describe the size of other objects,<ref name="Webster">[http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/breadbox learnersdictionary.com]. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2009-05-10.</ref> a sense that has outlasted its routine use in the kitchen. The query "Is it bigger than a breadbox?" was popularized by [[Steve Allen]] on the American game show ''[[What's My Line?]]'', where it became a [[running gag]] after he initially asked the question in 1953. It remains a popular question in the [[parlor game]] ''[[20 Questions]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Keyes|first=Ralph|title=I Love It When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|year=2009|isbn=978-0-312-34005-6|location=New York|pages=139, 140|language=English}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary inline}}

[[Category:Food storage containers]]

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Breadbox