Classic Toast Hawaii

Toast Hawaii is a classic German open-faced sandwich. Delicious, down-to-earth and exotic all at the same time. It consists of a slice of toasted buttered bread, a slice of cooked or cured ham, and a ring of sliced pineapple, all topped with a slice of swiss cheese.

This dish is especially popular with children and some Germans even serve it as a German Christmas Food. Part of its charm is that you do not really need any culinary skills to get it right.

History

This Hawaiian Toast is a product of the German economic recovery (Wirtschaftwunder) in the 1950s. The TV cook Clemens Wilmenrod - who is the inventor or this pineapple ham sandwich - first unveiled his recipe on the 20th of February 1953 in his TV show. It was called "Within 10 minutes to the table". He was not a traditionally trained cook, which might explain the simplicity of this dish.

It was seen as the embodiment of "modern cooking" at the time, and started a quick trend from "Schnitzel Hawaii" to "Steak Hawaii" and "Salad Hawaii".

Hawaii at the time was the largest exporter of canned pineapple. If you would invent it today, you would probably call it "Toast Phillippines". As of now, the Philipines are the largest exporter of canned pineapple.

How to make Toast Hawaii

Ingredients

• Bread - Bread for Hawaiian Toast is called "Toastbrot" in German. It is soft white or wholewheat bread that is meant for toasting, and should not be mistaken for traditional German bread such as Rye Bread of Pumpernickel.
• Butter - German Butter is usually unsalted
• Pineapple Rings - from a tin or can
• Ham - cooked or cured ham is traditional but you can also use raw ham or bacon for this dish.
• Sliced cheese - Swiss Cheese such as Emmental is traditional. However, you can replace it with Gouda, Cheddar or any other sliced cheese.

Hawaiian Toast Recipe Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C or 392°F top to bottom heat.

2. Toast the bread.

3. Spread the slices with butter (optional)

4. Lay a slice of ham on each piece of toast.

5. Leave the Pineapple to drain off any excess liquid and then place it on top of the ham.

6. Lastly, cover the pineapple with a slice of cheese. Place in the oven and bake until the cheese is golden brown.

With what to serve this German Sandwich?

Serve Toast Hawaii as a quick snack or main course. It goes well with a green salad on the side. I would plan on two Hawaiian Toasts per person.

Other extras are up to your personal preference. Here are some examples:

• dust with some Paprika powder before serving.
• decorate with some fresh basil leaves.
• it is traditional to add a Maraschino cherry on top of the toast.
• it also tastes very good with a dollop of cranberry sauce (affiliate link) or blackberry sauce on top.

Alternative Cooking Methods

Instead of using a conventional oven, you can also use

• an air fryer
• or the oven grill
• or a sandwich maker to grill the cheese.

Storage Instructions

I would advise you to consume this open-faced sandwich as soon as you cooked it. If you store it too long, the pineapple could make the bread too soggy.

Did you try this recipe?

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