Bruschetta is a food originating in central Italy. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables and/or cheese. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. In Tuscany, bruschetta is called fettunta, meaning "oiled slice".

The noun "bruschetta" is from the verb in the Roman dialect "bruscare," meaning "to roast over coals." Following a process in historical linguistics known as semantic

shift, the meaning of the word has changed, so that now some Americans typically use the word "bruschetta" to refer to the topping itself, not the dish. Some grocery store chains (such as Price Chopper) in the US sell bottled "bruschetta," which is simply tomatoes, onion, garlic, and other herbs. Souplantation's 'Bruschetta' is a pasta dish with tomatoes, onion, garlic and cheese.

In popular culture

• In Season 2, Episode 4 of the Showtime television series Weeds, Conrad's family discusses the common mispronunciation of the word bruschetta.
• The snack is extremely popular in middle class London circles. Before the British general election in May 2005, newspaper columnist David Aaronovitch made a reference to liberal anti-war people who hold to 'Bruschetta orthodoxies' about Prime Minister Tony Blair. The phrase was picked up by bloggers, with the result that the cliché about Guardian readers is no longer that they eat muesli but that they nibble bruschetta.

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