"The upper crust" is an English-language idiom that refers to a society's social or economic elite

Elite

Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...

s. It is derived from the housekeeping practices of the pre-industrialization British gentry

Gentry

Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....

, whose servants baked bread for the household but were permitted to eat only the pan-scorched bottom portion, with the unblackened "upper crust" being reserved for the landowning family.

Upper crust may also refer to:

• Upper Crust Pizzeria, a pizza chain in Boston
• Upper Crust (restaurant chain), a chain of European baguette (sandwich) restaurants
• The Upper Crust (rock band), a Boston-based hard rock band
• Crust (geology)
  Crust (geology)
  In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle...
  
  , the earth's (or another body's) geological solid outer shell. The upper crust is the planet's surface.