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| Type | Sandwich |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Main ingredients | Bread,butter |
InGerman cuisine,Butterbrot (literally: butter bread =bread withbutter) is a slice ofbread topped withbutter. Also known asboterham in Dutch speaking countries, it is still consideredButterbrot orboterham even if additional toppings, such ascheese,spreads, orlunch meats, are added, as long as it begins with a slice of bread with butter.
The words in formal and colloquial German and the different dialects forbutterbrot (different frombelegtes Brot - withcheese,sausages etc.), simplyBrot ("bread"),Butterstulle,Stulle,Schnitte (all threeLow German/Berlinerisch dialect),Botteramm (Colognian dialect, cf. Dutchboterham),Bütterken (Lower Rhine dialect) toBemme (Upper Saxon German) orKnifte (Ruhrdeutsch). Although it is increasingly replaced by other foods, it remains a commonstaple food in Germany. Since 1999, the last Friday in the month of September was made theDay of German Butterbrot by the Marketing Organization of German Agricultural Industries.[1]
TheRussian language adopted the termbuterbrod (бутерброд) fromNew High German (Butterbrot),[2] perhaps as early as the 18th century during the reign ofPeter the Great. In modern Russian the term has a more general meaning, whatever the ingredient on top of the slice of bread is. From Russian, the termbuterbrod was adopted intoAzerbaijani,Belarusian,Georgian,Kazakh,Ukrainian, andLithuanian.
AButterbrot is commonly a single slice of bread and one ingredient on top of the butter ormargarine. Forbreakfast, this ingredient tends to be sweet and can bemarmalade,jam,honey,chocolate spread,hazelnut spread, or the less commonpeanut butter. Fordinner or as boxedlunch, and often also for breakfast, theButterbrot is eaten with something savoury on top, usually a large slice of cold meat or cheese or sliced GermanWurst, or one of the countlesscream cheese varieties, or even an entireSchnitzel or halved mince meat patty, or hard boiled egg slices or egg salad, or other spreadable creamy salads, or smokedsalmon, or various savoury spreads likeliverwurst, including also a wide range ofvegetarian spreads. Boxed lunchButterbrot can be folded for easier handling, and as such resembles thesandwich. InAustriaButterbrot only refers to a slice of bread with butter. If a topping is added it is named after the topping (e.g.Käsebrot "cheese bread",Wurstbrot "sausage bread").
The derivatives of the British sandwich and theButterbrot of the German-speaking countries differ in some ways: TheButterbrot is usually made from the typical bread types of German-speaking countries, which are much firmer and fuller in taste, and with a crispy crust, compared to English sandwich slices. One popular type isVollkornbrot (wholegrain bread), which has a sourish full savoury taste, due to the use ofsourdough as aleavening agent, and which often containsrye, albeit bread made fromwheat flour is usually the most common variety. Vollkornbrot exists in dozens of varieties with respect to taste, shape, color, etc. However, Germans also know a large variety of white or mixed bread kinds,baguette orciabatta are so common they are sold in every supermarket, and many modern German families simply eattoast with topping for breakfast, as it is cheaper and faster. Another very popular bread type isBrötchen (bread rolls), of which countless varieties exist in any possible shape, size and made from any possible flour combination.
Likely even more important are differences with respect to what is eaten on top of aButterbrot or in a sandwich. Although exceptions exist, aButterbrot is commonly not expanded the way sandwiches are. One slice of cheese and one or (in case of thin slices) maybe two slices of coldmeat are commonly considered sufficient; addinglettuce,tomato,pickles,onions,mustard,mayonnaise etc. happens only following individual preferences. Also the ratio of bread and "topping" is relatively constant, thick fancy sandwich fillings have almost no equivalent for theButterbrot.
German speakers differentiate between the German-styleButterbrot and the British-stylesandwich by using the English word "sandwich" for the latter.
In German-speaking countries, theButterbrot has been displaced gradually in the last 40 years bymuesli,breakfast cereals ortoast for breakfast andtake-away bakery products during daytime.
Nonetheless, it remains a common staple food among many Germans. In addition it remains popular in the evening. It is also eaten a lot on hiking trips. In many parts of Germany theButterbrot is still very common for second breakfast at school or work, much more common than, for example,fast food.
Usually in September every year, the Central Marketing Society for German Agriculture (CMA, the agricultural industry's now-defunct lobby group) used to declare a "day of the GermanButterbrot". The 8th Butterbrot Day's motto in 2006 was "Re-Experience Enjoyment".[3] The celebration was one of many "days of" and not very well known in Germany.
InRussia,Ukraine,Belarus, and otherformer Soviet republics, thebuterbrod word has not experienced any decline. It is usually distinguished from "sandwich". In the Russian language, the termсэндвич (sandwich) has not been adopted as widely; it has not been in use as long asbuterbrod.
Butterbrot is said to always fall to the floor (and especially on carpet) with the buttered side downwards; an example ofMurphy's law. A common explanation is that the top side is usually heavier than the bottom side, particularly if the bread has additional toppings such as a spread. Another is tied to the common height of tables. The subject has been researched by various sources, including the German children's seriesDie Sendung mit der Maus, and the scientific German TV seriesQuarks & Co.
It is often joked aboutwhat would happen ifButterbrot is tied to the back of a cat, in the same manner that hypothetical buttered toast attached to the back of a cat is sometimes joked about, with it being debated whether the cat would still honour the popular axiom that a cat "always lands on its feet", or if theButterbrot would be "stronger", making the cat fall on its back — alternatively, it is sometimes humorously suggested that the cat would simply levitate, as it would be unable to satisfy both criteria for landing.
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