Asandwich is adish typically consisting variously ofmeat,cheese,sauces, andvegetables used as a filling between slices ofbread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as acontainer orwrapper for another food type.[1][2][3] The sandwich began as a portable, convenient food in theWestern world, and over time it has become prevalent worldwide.
There has beensocial media debate over the precise definition ofsandwich, specifically whether ahot dog oropen sandwich can be categorised as such. Other items, likehamburgers andburritos, were also considered. In the United States, theDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) and theFood and Drug Administration (FDA) are the responsible agencies for protecting the definition ofsandwich. The USDA uses the definition, "at least 35% cooked meat and no more than 50% bread" for closed sandwiches, and "at least 50% cooked meat" for open sandwiches.[4] However, the same USDA manual determines that burritos andfajitas are "sandwich-like" andfrankfurters are "sandwich type", whilestromboli is explicitly excluded. In Britain, theBritish Sandwich Association defines a sandwich as "any form of bread with a filling, generally assembled cold"; a definition which includeswraps andbagels, but potentially excludes dishes assembled and served hot, such as burgers.[5]
Sandwiches are a popular type of lunch food, taken to work, school, orpicnics to be eaten as part of apacked lunch. The bread is frequently coated withcondiments such asmayonnaise ormustard to enhance its flavour and texture, but may be served plain ("dry"). As well as being homemade, sandwiches are also widely sold in various retail outlets and can be served hot or cold.[6][7] Although savoury sandwiches—such asdeli meat sandwiches—are in the majority, sweet sandwiches—such asjam sandwiches andfluffernutters—form their own category.
The use of some kind of bread or bread-like substance to lie under some other food, or to scoop it up and enclose or wrap it, is found in many cultures historically. Before being known as a "sandwich", thisfood combination seems to have been known as "bread and meat" or "bread and cheese".[8] These two phrases are found throughout English drama from the 16th and 17th centuries.[8]
In the first century BC the Jewish sageHillel the Elder is said to have wrapped meat from thePaschal lamb andbitter herbs in a softmatzah—flat, unleavened bread—duringPassover in the manner of a modernwrap made withflatbread.[11] Flat breads of only slightly varying kinds have long been used to scoop or wrap small amounts of food en route from platter to mouth throughout Western Asia and North Africa. From the cuisinesof Morocco toEthiopia toIndia, bread is usually baked in flat rounds, contrasting with the European loaf tradition.
During theMiddle Ages in Europe, thick slabs of coarse and usuallystale bread, called "trenchers," were used as plates.[12] After a meal, the food-soaked trencher was fed to a dog or to beggars at the tables of the wealthy, and eaten by diners in more modest circumstances. The immediate culinary precursor with a direct connection to the English sandwich was to be found in the Netherlands of the seventeenth century, where the naturalistJohn Ray observed[13][14] 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 Dutchbelegde broodje,open-faced sandwich, was as yet unfamiliar in England. The word "sandwich" appears, referring to a certain roast beef sandwich in England.
Initially perceived as food that men shared while gaming and drinking at night, the sandwich slowly began appearing in polite society as a late-night meal among thearistocracy. The sandwich is named afterJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an eighteenth-century Englisharistocrat.[8][9] It is commonly said that Lord Sandwich, during long sessions ofcribbage and other card games at publicgambling houses, would order his valet to bring him roast beef between two pieces of toasted bread.[9] He was fond of this form of food because it allowed him to continue gambling while eating, without the need for a fork, and without getting his cards greasy from eating meat with his bare hands. The dish then grew in popularity in London, and Sandwich's name became associated with it.[8] The rumour in its familiar form appeared inPierre-Jean Grosley'sLondres (Neuchâtel, 1770), translated asA Tour to London in 1772;[15] Grosley's impressions had been formed during a year in London in 1765. An alternative is provided by Sandwich's biographerNicholas A. M. Rodger, who suggests Sandwich's commitments to theRoyal Navy, politics and the arts mean the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his desk.
The sandwich's popularity in England increased dramatically during the nineteenth century, when the rise of industrial society and the working classes made fast, portable, and inexpensive meals essential.[16] In London, for example, at least seventy street vendors were selling ham sandwiches by 1850; during that decade sandwich bars also became an important form of eating establishment in western Holland, typically serving liver and salt beef sandwiches.[17]
In the United States, the sandwich was first promoted as an elaborate meal at supper. By the early 20th century, as bread became astaple food of the American diet, the sandwich became the same kind of popular, quick meal as was already widespread in theMediterranean.[16]
Language
In the US, a court inBoston ruled in 2006 that a sandwich includes at least two slices of bread[1] and "under this definition, this court finds that the term 'sandwich' is not commonly understood to includeburritos,tacos, andquesadillas, which are typically made with a singletortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans."[18] The issue stemmed from the question of whether a restaurant that sold burritos could move into a shopping centre where another restaurant had ano-compete clause in itslease prohibiting other "sandwich" shops. Also in the US, a court inIndiana ruled in 2024 that tacos and burritos are sandwiches, specifically that "The Court agrees with Quintana that tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches". The court further ruled that such a definition of sandwich would also apply to a "restaurant that serves made-to-order Greek gyros, Indian naan wraps, or Vietnamese banh mi".[19] TheUS state ofNew York has a definition of "sandwich" that explicitly includes burritos,gyros, hot dogs, and wraps and pita sandwiches.[20]
In Spain, where the wordsandwich isborrowed from the English language,[21] it refers to a food item made with Englishsandwich bread.[22] It is otherwise known as abocadillo. Similar usage applies in other Spanish-speaking cultures, such as Mexico, where the wordtorta is also used for a popular variety of roll-type sandwiches.
In Britain and Australia, the termsandwich is more narrowly defined than in the US: it usually refers to an item that uses sliced bread from a loaf.[23] An item with similar fillings but using an entire bread roll cut horizontally in half, is generally referred to as aroll, or with certain hot fillings, aburger. However, in Australia hot sliced (not ground) beef between two slices of toasted bread is referred to as asteak sandwich: the sliced loaf bread distinguishes the steak sandwich from a burger.[citation needed]
The verbto sandwich has the meaning "to position anything between two other things of a different character, or to place different elements alternately,"[24] and the nounsandwich has related meanings derived from this more general definition. For example, anice cream sandwich consists of a layer of ice cream between two layers of cake or biscuit.[25] Similarly,Oreos andCustard creams are described as sandwich biscuits (UK/Commonwealth) orsandwich cookies (US) because they consist of a soft filling between the baked layers.[26] In corporate finance,Dutch Sandwich andDouble Irish with a Dutch sandwich refer to schemes for tax evasion.
The wordbutty, originally referring to a buttered slice of bread,[27] is common in some northern and southern parts of England and Wales as a slang synonym for "sandwich," particularly to refer to certain kinds of sandwiches including thechip butty,bacon butty, orsausage butty.[28]Sarnie is a similar colloquialism.[29] Likewise, the wordsanger is used for sandwich inAustralian slang.[30] The colloquial Scottish wordpiece may refer either to a sandwich or to a light meal, especially one that includes a sandwich. For example, the phrasejeely piece refers to ajam sandwich.[31]
The colloquial form "sammich" (alternatively, "sammidge") is used in the Southeastern United States.[32] In Japanese,sando orsandoichi is used.[33]
Pre-made sandwiches
Pre-packaged sandwiches
Sandwiches have been widely sold in cafes, railway stations, pubs and diners since the invention ofsliced bread in the 1920s.[34] Sandwiches kept unwrapped, drying up and edges curling, until they were sold, were widely found in Britain until the 1970s. Cafes and buffets in railway stations and on trains were notorious, and the term "British Rail sandwich" was often used satirically.
In 1979 the British store chainMarks & Spencer introduced a small range of chilled, pre-made sandwiches sold in wedge-shaped boxes, sealed to keep them fresh.[34] As they proved popular, a small experiment involving five stores rapidly grew to cover more than one hundred stores. Within a year, the store was looking for ways to manufacture sandwiches at an industrial scale. By the end of the decade, the British sandwich industry had become worth £1 billion.[35] In 2017, the British sandwich industry made and sold £8 billion worth of sandwiches.[35]
^"What is a Sandwich? | British Sandwich Week". British Sandwich & Food to Go Association.Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved18 May 2022.The British Sandwich Association defines a sandwich as: Any form of bread with a filling, generally assembled cold – to include traditional wedge sandwiches, as well as filled rolls, baguettes, pitta, bloomers, wraps and bagels. [...] There is much debate as to what constitutes a sandwich but burgers and other associate products are not considered to be a sandwich.
^Foundations of Restaurant Management & Cullinary Arts Level Two. Pearson. 2011. p. 53.ISBN978-0-13-138022-6.
^Ray,Observations topographical, moral, & physiological; made in a journey through part of the Low Countries, Germany, Italy, and France … (vol. I, 1673) quoted inSimon Schama,The Embarrassment of Riches (1987:152).
^Grosley,Londres (Neuchatel, 1770) andA Tour to London, or, New observations on England and its inhabitants, translated from the French by Thomas Nugent (London: Printed for Lockyer Davis) 1772;Hexmasters Faktoider: SandwichArchived 19 February 2023 at theWayback Machine: English quotes from Grosley 1772
^abEncyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor (Charles Scribner's Sons: New York) 2003
^Murphy, Lynne (29 March 2018).The Prodigal Tongue: The Love–Hate Relationship Between British and American English. Oneworld Publications. p. 211.ISBN978-1-78607-270-2.Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved6 February 2022....the British are so particular about sandwiches that they use the wordless than Americans do. In Britain, asandwich is some filing between twoslices of bread. Not a roll. Not a bagel. Not a baguette. Without sliced bread, it's not a sandwich. The Americansandwich prototype is much like the British: savoury filings within two slices of bread. But American sandwiches are allowed to wander further from the prototype because they interpret the 'bread' requirement more loosely. An American sandwich can be on a roll, on a bagel, on a bun, on a croissant, and at breakfast time, on an English muffin...
^"butty".Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription orparticipating institution membership required.) English regional (chiefly northern). Originally: a slice of bread spread with butter. Now: a filled sandwich; (also) an open sandwich. Frequently with modifying word denoting the filling or topping.
^"Butty".dictionary.com.Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved13 August 2019.
^"Sarnie".dictionary.com.Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved13 August 2019.
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