Sandwich

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This article is about the food item. For other uses, see Sandwich (disambiguation).
An Italian sandwich.
An Italian sandwich.

A sandwich is a food item typically consisting of two pieces of leavened bread between which are laid one or more layers of meat, vegetable, cheese, jam, together with optional or traditionally provided condiments, sauces, and other accompaniments. The bread can be used as is, lightly buttered, or covered in a flavored oil to enhance flavor and texture.

Sandwiches are commonly carried to work or school in lunchboxes or brown paper bags (in sandwich bags) to be eaten as the midday meal, taken on picnics, hiking trips, or other outings. In some parts of the world, they are also served in many restaurants as entrées, and are sometimes eaten at home, either as a quick meal or as part of a larger meal. When eaten as part of a full meal sandwiches are traditionally accompanied with such side dishes as a serving of soup (soup-and-sandwich), a salad (salad-and-sandwich), chips/french fries, crisps/potato chips and a pickle or coleslaw. A new trend appearing is making sandwiches into wraps, in which a tortilla is substituted for the bread.

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[edit] Variations

An ice cream sandwich.
An ice cream sandwich.

The term "sandwich" has been expanded—especially in the United States—to include items made with other types of bread, such as rolls and focaccia. Thus hamburgers and "subs", for example, are called "sandwiches," although not made with slices of bread from a loaf. In Australia and New Zealand, these are known as "rolls" rather than sandwiches, and hamburgers are simply called "hamburgers". Use of the term "sandwich" in these countries to refer to these food items can often lead to confusion.

It has even been expanded to include a dessert item, called an ice cream sandwich, typically consisting of two square cookies (generally chocolate-flavored) with vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate ice cream in the middle.

The nearest traditional Scandinavian equivalent is generally known elsewhere as an "open" or "open-face" sandwich, i.e. a single slice of bread with meat, fish, cheese, etc. as a topping, although the sandwich with two slices of bread has become more commonplace in recent times. This open-face variation is also prevalent in Russia, where it is known as a buterbrod (бутерброд, from the German butterbrot).

In the UK, particularly in the north of England they are known, informally , as "sarnies" or "butties". This is particularly the case with sandwiches including freshly-cooked bacon and butter, though other forms of "butty" use other ingredients and mayonnaise. A sandwich filled with chips (US: French fries) is known as a "chip butty". In Britain, roughly 1.8 billion sandwiches are purchased outside the home every year. In French countries one might see this referred to as un Belge: a Belgian (sandwich). In Scotland, sandwiches are called 'pieces'. One Australian slang term for sandwich is 'sanger' (or 'sanga'). In South Africa, sandwiches are sometimes called 'sarmies' or for Afrikaans speakers, 'toebroodjies' ("closed breads", say: "too-brookies"). In Vietnam, the influence of French colonization has led to the popularity of banh mi, sandwiches which use common Vietnamese ingredients in a French-style baguette.

[edit] Origin

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 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 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 the harbingers of open-face sandwiches.[1]

The first written usage of the word 'sandwich' appeared in Edward Gibbon's journal, in longhand, referring to "bits of cold meat" as a 'Sandwich.' It was named after the 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 sticky from eating meat with his bare hands. An alternative theory suggests he may have spent long hours at his desk working and therefore wanted a sandwich, also to eat with his bare hands (see External links).

The Earldom refers to the English town of Sandwich in Kent — from the Old English Sandwic, meaning "sand place".

[edit] Examples

Sandwiches vary greatly both in their style—how they are put together—and in their fillings. Not every style is used with every filling.

[edit] Sandwich styles

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ What's Cooking America, Sandwiches, History of Sandwiches. February 2, 2007.

[edit] External links

Wikibooks
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