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Sandwich
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A sandwich is a food item made of one or more slices of bread with one or more layers of a filling. The bread can be used as is, or it can be coated with butter, oil, mustard or other condiments to enhance flavour and texture.
d has been eaten with other food since its invention in Neolithic times, for example, the ancient Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, is said to have wrapped meat from the Paschal lamb and bitter herbs in a matzo (or flat, unleavened bread) during Passover., but the concept of a sandwich (as opposed to a wrap) is more recent.
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Encyclopedia
A sandwich is a food item made of one or more slices of bread with one or more layers of a filling. The bread can be used as is, or it can be coated with butter, oil, mustard or other condiments to enhance flavour and texture.
History
Bread has been eaten with other food since its invention in Neolithic times, for example, the ancient Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, is said to have wrapped meat from the Paschal lamb and bitter herbs in a matzo (or flat, unleavened bread) during Passover., but the concept of a sandwich (as opposed to a wrap) is more recent. 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 as they were of disposable dishware. The immediate cultural precursor with a direct connection to the English sandwich was to be found in 17th century Holland, where the naturalist John Ray observed 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'. 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.
The rumour in its familiar form appeared in Pierre-Jean Grosley's Londres (Neichatel, 1770), translated as A Tour to London 1772; 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.
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.
Usage
Sandwiches are a widely popular type of food. They are taken to work, school or picnics to be eaten as part of a packed lunch. They generally contain a combination of salad vegetables, meat, cheese, and 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, salad vegetables, and various condiments, and differs from a normal sandwich in having a single slice of bread instead of two, with toppings instead of a filling. 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). 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. , but usage varies.
The verb to sandwich has the meaning to position anything between two other things of a different character, or to place different elements alternately, and the noun has other meanings derived from this more general definition.
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 and Uruguay, grilled chorizo
- Club sandwich - USA primarily, variety of fillings
- Crisp sandwich - global, uses crisps/potato chips in situ
- 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 sandwich 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, 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.
See also
The basic sandwich has led to widespread variations, some based on different types of bread.
Gallery
External links
- regarding a 2006 United States court ruling.
- Huge collection of recipes.
- Blog documenting different types of sandwiches available in New York City by scanning their cross-sections
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