A lot of the generation that grew up in the constant threat of poverty saw the heel as a treat. The rest of the loaf was consumed in normal uses, but because the heel wasn't, it could be covered with the rare (for them) luxuries like butter or cinnamon and eaten as a treat.

For others (like me, I admit), the heel was simply something to be thrown away. The part of the loaf that no one wanted.

We live in both a blessed time, and one that doesn't appreciate what it has.