The Pillsbury Toaster Scramble is a very interesting food product that has been available in stores since 2000. These cheap packets are sometimes confusing when eaten, provoking the question: are they efficient, or just a weird idea?

Anatomy of a Toaster Scramble

The Crispy Crust

No one can really be sure exactly what is in the crispy crust... The long ingredient list has so many odd things that one cannot know how many of them are in the crust alone. The ingredients that are definitely in the crust are bleached enriched flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, and water. The crust creates the shape that the packets are and is hollow enough to hold the other ingredients.

The Cheese and Eggs

Cheese and eggs fill the crust and serve as the main flavour inside the packets. They consist of the most fattening part of the packets, twelve grammes altogether. The eggs and cheese are mixed together, and in order to make it look appealing, they mixed in colours Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. There are a number of odd-sounding things in the mix, including citric acid and guar gum.

Meat

The main difference between each type of Toaster Scramble is the meat. While some contain ham, others contain sausage or bacon. None of these are substitutes and are completely 'real', unlike the processed 'meat' found in plenty of common foods.

Nutrition Facts

• One serving is equal to one pastry (47 grammes).
• Calories Per Serving: 180
• Calories from Fat: 110
• Total Fat: 12 grammes
• Saturated Fat: 2½ grammes
• Cholesterol: 25 milligrammes
• Sodium: 370 milligrammes
• Total Carbohydrates: 14 grammes
• Dietary Fiber: 0 grammes
• Sugar: 1 gramme
• Protein: 4 grammes
• Vitamin A: 0%
• Vitamin C: 0%
• Calcium: 0%
• Iron: 4%

Cooking a Good Toaster Scramble

Ingredients and Tools

You will need two Toaster Scrambles, because one is just not enough. You will also need a microwavable plate, a toaster or toaster oven, a microwave, and (if you like), oven gloves.

Instructions

• Forget about the box - the box's instructions on cooking a Toaster Scramble are not as good as the following.

• Prepare the cooking device - You need to set your toaster or toaster oven to cook just a bit less than medium. If your toaster is numbered from 1 to 10 on cooking level, select 3.

• Toast - Put the two Toaster Scrambles in the toaster or toaster oven and cook for one cycle.

• Cook the food within - When the cycle is done, take out the Scrambles. They may be hot and you might want to use oven gloves. Put the Scrambles on a microwavable plate and stick them in the microwave on high for 20-30 seconds, depending on how afraid of overcooking it you are.

• Analyze the food - Take the Scrambler out of the microwave and analyze it. If it is spewing chunky yellow fluids out, you cooked it for too long and should cook it less next time. It may be hot, so you should wait until you can pick it up. You should also test to see if the inside is cooked by biting a small piece off. If the inside is very cold, you should cook it again. If this happens, try cutting off a corner the next time in order to let the insides cook a little more.

• Consume - In other words, eat it.

• You can either eat a toaster scramble like a sandwich or with a fork and knife. The author prefers to eat it like a sandwich, but keep in mind that your hands get a little greasy and crumb-covered. Chopsticks are not a very good utensil for eating a toaster scramble, because one must cheat by sticking the sticks inside the Scramble like a fork.

• Eating a Toaster Scramble is an odd experience. It feels filling, but when you're waiting for a lunch break you realise that you might want to eat four instead of two! Also, the taste is not too satisfying, and a bit on the salty side.

Worth the Buy?

Although a Toaster Scramble is fast and easy to make, it is not very tasty or filling, and is rather expensive for what it gives. Toaster Scrambles are only okay, but they certainly could be worse.