The muffuletta is a type of round Sicilian

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 sesame bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...

, as well as a submarine sandwich

Submarine sandwich

A submarine sandwich, also known as a sub among other names, is a sandwich that consists of a long roll of Italian or French bread, split lengthwise either into two pieces or opened in a "V" on one side, and filled with various varieties of meat, cheese, vegetables, seasonings, and sauces. The...

 made with that bread that originated from New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.

Bread

The bread is a large, round, and somewhat flattened loaf with a sturdy texture, around 10 inches (25.4 cm) across. It is described as being somewhat similar to focaccia

Focaccia

Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, which may be topped with herbs or other ingredients. It is related to pizza, but not considered to be the same....

.

Sandwich

A traditional muffuletta consists of one muffuletta loaf, split horizontally. The loaf is then covered with a marinated olive

Olive

The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

 salad, then layers of capicola

Capicola

Capocollo , or coppa, is a traditional Calabrian Italian cold cut made from pork shoulder or neck, and dry-cured whole. The name coppa is Italian for nape, while capocollo comes from capo—head—and collo—neck—of a pig. The Italian spelling, "capocollo'", is derived from Latin, "caput collum"...

, salami

Salami

Salami is cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat, originating from one of a variety of animals. Historically, salami has been popular among Southern European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for periods of up to 10 years, supplementing a possibly meager or inconsistent...

, pepperoni, emmentaler

Emmental (cheese)

Emmental or Emmentaler is a cheese from Switzerland. It is sometimes known as Swiss cheese in North America, Australia and New Zealand, although Swiss cheese does not always imply Emmentaler....

, ham

Ham

Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...

 and provolone

Provolone

Provolone is an Italian cheese that originated in Southern Italy, where it is still produced in various shapes as in 10 to 15 cm long pear, sausage, or cone shapes. A variant of Provolone is also produced in North America and Japan...

. Although some restaurants will do their own take on these ingredients, a proper muffuletta must always have an olive spread and never contains cream cheese. The sandwich is sometimes heated through to soften the provolone. The size of the muffuletta is enough to feed more than one person, and many stores sell quarter or half-muffulettas.

The olive salad consists primarily of olives, along with celery

Celery

Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...

, cauliflower

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed...

 and carrot

Carrot

The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...

, found in a jar of Giardiniera

Giardiniera

Giardiniera is an Italian or Italian-American relish of pickled vegetables in vinegar or oil.-Varieties and uses:Italian giardiniera is also called "sotto aceti", which means "under vinegar", a common term for pickled foods...

. The ingredients are combined, seasonings such as oregano and garlic, are added, covered in olive oil and allowed to combine for at least 24 hours.

Today, the Muffuletta has become the signature sandwich of New Orleans. Many people have developed their own Italian Olive Salad recipe for use on the Muffuletta sandwich. Restaurants, delis, and pizzarias now purchase food service quantities of Italian Olive Salad for use on their menu items. New Orleans' most popular pre-made Italian Olive Salad brands are Boscoli Family, Rouse's, Dorignac's, Frank's, and Aunt Sally's. You can find jars of Italian Olive Salad in various sizes at grocery stores, gourmet retailers, pizzerias, restaurants, delis and online.

Origins

The muffuletta sandwich had its origins at Central Grocery

Central Grocery

Central Grocery is a small, old-fashioned Italian-American grocery store with a sandwich counter located at 923 Decatur Street, in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was founded in 1906 by Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant. He operated it until 1946 when he retired and his...

, in the French Quarter

French Quarter

The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...

 of New Orleans. Marie's Melting Pot, the 1980 cookbook by Marie Lupo Tusa, daughter of Central Grocery's founder, traced the origin of the sandwich:

One of the most interesting aspects of my father's grocery is his unique creation, the muffuletta sandwich. The muffuletta was created in the early 1900's when the Farmers' Market was in the same area as the grocery. Most of the farmers who sold their produce there were Sicilian. Every day they used to come of my father's grocery for lunch. They would order some salami, some ham, a piece of cheese, a little olive salad, and either long braided Italian bread or round muffuletta bread. In typical Sicilian fashion they ate everything separately. The farmers used to sit on crates or barrels and try to eat while precariously balancing their small trays covered with food on their knees. My father suggested that it would be easier for the farmers if he cut the bread and put everything on it like a sandwich; even if it was not typical Sicilian fashion. He experimented and found that the thicker, braided Italian bread was too hard to bite but the softer round muffuletta was ideal for his sandwich. In very little time, the farmers came to merely ask for a "muffuletta" for their lunch.

Pronunciation and orthography

Like many of the foreign-influenced names found in New Orleans, the pronunciation of "muffuletta" has evolved from its phonetic forebear. Some locals pronounce the word "muff-uh-LOT-uh." The proprietors of Central Grocery pronounce it "moo-foo-LET-ta."

Depending on the specific Sicilian dialect, the item may be spelled:

• muffuletta

• mufuletta

• muffiletta

• mufiletta

• muffulettu

• muffuletu

• muffulittuni

• muffulitteḍḍu

The forms muffoletta and muffoletto are modern Italianisms

Italianization

Italianization or Italianisation is a term used to describe a process of cultural assimilation in which ethnically non or partially Italian people or territory become Italian. The process can be voluntary or forced...

 of the original Sicilian

Sicilian language

Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects make up the Extreme-Southern Italian language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is...

. In addition, Americanized

Americanization

Americanization is the influence of the United States on the popular culture, technology, business practices, or political techniques of other countries. The term has been used since at least 1907. Inside the U.S...

spellings of the word can also be found.