Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item made of one or more slices of bread[1] with one or more layers of a filling.[2] The bread can be used as is, or it can be coated with butter, oil, mustard or other condiments to enhance flavor and texture.
History
An early form of sandwich is attributed to the ancient Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, who is said to have wrapped meat from the Paschal lamb and bitter herbs in a matzo (or flat, unleavened bread) during Passover.[3]
During the Middle Ages, thick slabs of coarse and usually stale bread, called "trenchers", were used as plates. After a meal, the food-soaked trencher was fed to a dog or to beggars, or eaten by the diner. Trenchers were as much the harbingers of open-face sandwiches[4] as they were of disposable dishware. The immediate cultural precursor with a direct connection to the English sandwich was to be found in seventeenth-century Holland, where the naturalist John Ray observed[5] that in the taverns beef hung from the rafters "which they cut into thin slices and eat with bread and butter laying the slices upon the butter"— explanatory specifications that reveal the Dutch belegde broodje was as yet unfamiliar in England.
The first written usage of the English word appeared in Edward Gibbon's journal, in longhand, referring to "bits of cold meat" as a 'Sandwich'.[6] It was named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat, although he was neither the inventor nor sustainer of the food. It is said that Lord Sandwich was fond of this form of food because it allowed him to continue playing cards, particularly cribbage, while eating without getting his cards greasy from eating meat with his bare hands.[7]
The rumour in its familiar form appeared in Pierre-Jean Grosley's Londres (Neichatel, 1770), translated as A Tour to London 1772;[8] Grosley's impressions had been formed during a year in London, 1765. The sober alternative is provided by Sandwich's biographer, N. A. M. Rodger, who suggests Sandwich's commitments to the navy, to politics and the arts mean the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his desk.
If it was initially perceived as food men shared while gaming and drinking at night, the sandwich slowly began appearing in polite society as a late-night meal among the aristocracy. The sandwich's popularity in Spain and England increased dramatically during the 19th century, when the rise of an industrial society and the working classes made fast, portable, and inexpensive meals essential.[9]
It was at the same time that the sandwich finally began to appear outside of Europe. In the United States, the sandwich was first promoted as an elaborate meal at supper. By the early 20th century, as bread became a staple of the American diet, the sandwich became the same kind of popular, quick meal as was widespread in the Mediterranean.[10]
Usage
Sandwiches are commonly taken to work, school or picnics to be eaten as part of a packed lunch. They generally contain a combination of vegetables, meat, cheese, and/or a variety of sauces. They are widely sold in restaurants and cafes.
The term sandwich is occasionally used (informally) in reference to open-faced "sandwiches"; these normally consist of a single slice of bread topped with meat, vegetables, and/or various condiments. Strictly speaking, an open-faced "sandwich" is not a sandwich, as it has a single slice of bread instead of two, and thus has toppings instead of a filling.[11] The open-faced "sandwich" also has a history differing from that of the true sandwich, having originated between the 6th and 16th centuries, with stale slices of bread used as plates called "Trenchers" (whereas its relative, the modern sandwich traces its roots to the Earl of Sandwich instead).[4] Legally, In the United States the ruling in the case of Panera Bread Co. v. Qdoba Mexican Grill established that a sandwich must legally include at least two slices of bread. [2] An open-faced sandwich does not satisfy this condition.
Sandwich may also be used as a verb meaning to position something between two things.[11]
List of regional sandwich styles
- Banh Mi - Vietnam
- Barros Jarpa - Chile, melted cheese and fried ham
- Barros Luco - Chile, melted cheese and thin fried beef
- Bauru - Brazil, melted cheese and roast beef
- BLT -USA, bacon, lettuce, and tomato
- Breakfast Roll UK & Ireland
- Bun Kabab - Pakistan
- Butterbrot - Germany, Graubrot (grey bread)
- Caprese - mozzarella, tomato, fresh basil
- Cheesesteak - Philadelphia, sandwich made from strips of steak and cheese, sometimes with peppers and onions
- Chip butty - Britain, chips
- Chivito - Uruguay, steak, ham, and cheese
- Choripán - Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, grilled chorizo
- Club sandwich - USA primarily, variety of fillings
- Croque-monsieur - France, ham and cheese
- Cuban sandwich - Cuba/South Florida, ham and cheese
- Cucumber sandwich - England afternoon tea classic
- Dagwood sandwich - USA, distinguished by size more than contents
- Elvis sandwich - USA, fried sandwich containing peanut butter, bananas, and sometimes bacon
- Fluffernutter, New England variation on peanut butter and jelly
- Francesinha - Portugal, made with wet-cured ham, linguiça, other sausages and meat, covered with molten cheese and beer sauce
- Gyros-pita or Souvlaki-pita - Greece, meat in pita bread
- Hamburger - USA, ground meat patty in a round bun
- Hero sandwich - New York, sub
- Hoagie - Pennsylvania, South Jersey, Delaware, similar to sub, uses olive oil
- Horseshoe sandwich - Springfield, IL, an open sandwich topped with French fries and cheese sauce
- Hotdog - Sausage in an oblong bun (origins disputed)
- Italian beef - thin slices of seasoned roast beef, dripping with meat juices, on a dense, long Italian-style roll, believed to have originated in Chicago, where its history dates back at least to the 1930s
- Kummelweck - Buffalo, NY colloquially "beef on weck", Roast Beef and Horseradish on a Kaiser roll topped with pretzel salt and caraway seeds
- Manwich - USA, a sandwhich characterized by meat that exceeds the size of the bread, usually made with some sort of beef
- Melt sandwich, Tuna melt, Patty melt, etc. - filling includes melted cheese
- Monte Cristo sandwich - USA, based on fried bread
- Montreal Smoked meat - Canada/Quebec
- Mother-in-law sandwich - Chicagoland fast food staple that features a Mississippi tamale nestled in a hot dog bun and smothered with chili
- Muffuletta - New Orleans, based on Sicilian bread
- Panini - Italy/USA, refers to type of bread
- Pastrami on rye - Classic of the Jewish deli
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Po' boy (literally "poor boy") - USA/New Orleans, similar to sub
- Reuben sandwich - USA, sauerkraut with Swiss cheese and corned beef or pastrami
- Roti john - A variation of sandwich that is very popular in Singapore and Malaysia
- Sandwich loaf - USA, a large multi-layer sandwich made to look like a cake
- Sandwiches de miga - Argentina
- Shawarma - a Middle Eastern-style sandwich usually composed of shaved lamb, goat, or chicken.
- Sloppy Joe - USA, based on ground beef and flavorings
- Smörgåstårta - Sweden, variety of "sandwich cake"
- Steamed Sandwich - USA/Kentucky
- Submarine sandwich or sub - USA
- Tea sandwich - small sandwiches for afternoon tea
- Toasted sandwich
- Torta - Mexico
- Vada pav - India
Some of these are distinguished primarily by the bread or method of preparation, rather than the filling. Another common misconception is that sandwiches don't need two pieces of bread, and can often consist of one piece of bread with toppings. Legally in the United States, a sandwich with only one piece of bread(also known as an open-face sandwich) is indeed considered a legal sandwich.
See also
If you read above it says that in the Panera vs. Qdoba to be considered a legal sandwich it must have to slices of bread.
References
- ^ Britannica Online
- ^ a b Boston Globe, Arguments spread thick
- ^ Bavli Pesachim 115a; See also Passover Hagadah
- ^ a b What's Cooking America, Sandwiches, History of Sandwiches. February 2, 2007.
- ^ Ray, Observations topographical, moral, & physiological; made in a journey through part of the Low Countries, Germany, Italy, and France... (vol. I, 1673) quoted in Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches (1987:152).
- ^ OED gives its appearance as 1762.
- ^ Sandwiches: History of Sandwiches
- ^ Grosley, Londres (Neuchatel, 1770) and A Tour to London, or, New observations on England and its inhabitants, translated from the French by Thomas Nugent (London : Printed for Lockyer Davis) 1772; Hexmasters Faktoider: Sandwich: English quotes from Grosley 1772
- ^ Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor (Charles Scribner's Sons: New York) 2003
- ^ Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor (Charles Scribner's Sons: New York) 2003
- ^ a b http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/sandwich?view=uk
External links
- The British Sandwich Association
- "Arguments spread thick: Is a burrito a sandwich?" regarding a 2006 United States court ruling.
- The Sandwich Project (UK) Huge collection of recipes.
