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French bread sandwich with chips
A sandwich is a food item made of two or more slices of leavened bread with one or more layers of filling: typically meat, or cheese with the addition of vegetables or salad. The bread can be used as is, or it can be coated with butter, oil, mustard or other condiments to enhance flavor and texture. In North American usage, sandwich may also refer to what is more commonly referred to in the rest of the world as a hamburger.
[edit] History
The first form of sandwich is attributed to the ancient Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, who is said to have put meat from the Paschal lamb and bitter herbs inside matzo (or flat,unleavened bread) during Passover. The filling between the matzos served as a reminder to Israelites of their forced labor constructing Egyptian buildings.
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, less fortunate beggars, or eaten by the diner. Trenchers were as much the harbingers of open-face sandwiches[1] 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[2] 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'.[3] 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.
Through the 18th century, the sandwich was popularized by Montagu and remained a Spanish dish. 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 industrial society and the working classes made fast, portable, and inexpensive meals essential.[4]
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 supper meal. 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.[5]
Sandwiches are commonly carried to work or school to be eaten as the midday meal as part of a packed lunch or lunchbox, and carried on trips, picnics etc. They are widely sold in sandwich shops and in cafes. They are popular all over the globe.
[edit] Other terms for Sandwich
 Sanga Sanguche, Carlitos, Tostado, Pebete       Sendvic Butty, Sarnie Võileib Kerrosvoileipä Szendvics Samloka Roti Tangkep Tramezzino Sviestmaize Sumuštinis Smørbrød Butterbrot, Klappstulle Kanapka  Sanduíche Bocadillo Smörgås Amphipsomo
[edit] List of regional sandwich styles
- Bacon butty - butty is UK slang for sandwich, also known as 'sarny'
- Banh Mi - Vietnam
- Barros Jarpa - Chile, melted cheese and fried ham
- Barros Luco - Chile, melted cheese and thin fried beef
- BLT -USA, bacon, lettuce, and tomato
- Boccadillo - Spain
- Bun Kabab - Pakistan
- Butterbrot - Germany, Graubrot (grey bread)
- Caprese - mozzarella, tomato, fresh basil
- Cheesesteak - Philadelphia
- Chip butty - Chips (french fries)
- Choripán - Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, grilled chorizo
- Club sandwich - USA primarily, variety of fillings
- Croque-monsieur - France, ham and cheese
- Cuban sandwich - Cuba, ham and cheese
- Cucumber sandwich - England afternoon tea classic
- Dagwood sandwich - USA, distinguished by size more than contents
- Eggwich - USA, Usually scrambled eggs on a bagel or bread,with optional cheese and/or meat
- Fluffernutter, New England variation on peanut butter and jelly
- Grilled cheese
- Gyros-pita or Souvlaki-Pita - Greek, meat in pita bread
- Hamburger
- Hero sandwich - USA, similar to sub
- Hoagie - USA, similar to sub
- Hotdog
- Melt sandwich, Tuna melt, Patty melt, etc. - filling includes melted cheese
- Monte Cristo sandwich - USA, based on fried bread
- 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
- Open sandwich or open-faced sandwich
- 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 - looks like a cake
- Sandwiches de miga - Argentina
- Shami burger - Pakistan
- Sloppy Joe - USA, based on ground beef and flavourings
- Smörgåstårta - Sweden, variety of "sandwich cake"
- Steamed Sandwich - USA/Kentucky
- Submarine sandwich or sub
- Tea sandwich - small sandwiches for afternoon tea
- Toasted sandwich
- Torta - Mexico
- Wrap - USA Modern adaptation of tortilla sandwiches.
Some of these are distinguished primarily by the bread or method of preparation, rather than the filling. The list does not include single-ingredient sandwiches although there are references to many on Wikipedia.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- , 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.
- , 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
[edit] External links
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