Avgofetes

French toast? Not exactly. In Greece, we call them avgofetes — and their story goes back much further than you might think. The idea is ancient. One of the earliest versions appears in the Roman cookbook Apicius: bread soaked in milk, fried, and finished with honey. Over the centuries, versions appeared across Europe. The French called it pain perdu — "lost bread." In Germany, it became known as Arme Ritter — "poor knights." And in Italy, different traditions of fried bread developed, both sweet and savory. There's no clear evidence that avgofetes came to Greece from one specific country. Instead, they became part of the same old idea: never waste bread. For Greek families making the most of what they had, yesterday's bread could become something worth gathering around. Dipped in eggs and a little milk, then fried until golden, it was served with whatever was available: feta, honey, sugar, or petimezi.