Tea sandwich

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Tea Sandwiches Cut with Dog Shaped Cookie Cutters.
Tea Sandwiches Cut with Dog Shaped Cookie Cutters.

A tea sandwich is a small prepared sandwich meant to be eaten at afternoon teatime to stave off hunger until the main meal.

The tea sandwich may take a number of different forms, but should be easy to handle, and should be capable of being eaten in two bites. It may be a long, narrow sandwich, a triangular half-sandwich, or a small biscuit. It may also be cut into other decorative shapes with a cookie cutter.

The bread is traditionally white, thinly sliced, and buttered. The bread crust is cut away cleanly from the sandwich after the sandwich has been prepared but before serving. Modern bread variations might include wheat, pumpernickel, sour dough or rye bread.

Fillings are light, and are "dainty" or "delicate" in proportion to the amount of bread. Spreads might include cream cheese or mayonnaise mixtures, and the sandwiches often feature fresh vegetables such as radishes, cucumber, asparagus, or watercress. The cucumber tea sandwich in particular is considered the quintessential tea sandwich. Other popular tea sandwich fillings include pimento cheese, smoked salmon, fruit jam, curried chicken, and egg salad.


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