Hungry History: Sandwiches!!

Honey Whole Wheat Toast with Butter, Sun-dried tomatoes w/ olive oil, pepper jack cheese, salami, sliced turkey breast with balsamic-vinegar tomatoes and spinach

From peanut butter and jelly to turkey-avocado, Reuben sandwiches, and Philly cheese steak, we've all had one or two sandwiches we love. Today we're going to explore a little of the history behind the development of the sandwich.

The namesake is thought to come from John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, because of his credited creation of this highly portable food. One story states that the Earl was in a terrible hurry and, as was common at the time, instead of eating the entire meal on a "trencher" or stale piece of bread, the Earl "wrapped" the meat and vegetables in the folded stale bread and ate on the run. Another states that he wished his valets to serve his food in such a manner because he wanted to continue playing cards and other hobbies without greasing his fingers or the playing cards.

Sandwich-type meals have been around for many generations, and are widely consumed in as diverse parts of the world as the Middle East, where Jewish individuals use unleavened bread with meat and various vegetables, to the common use of Naan-style bread in India, eaten most often with curries and other dishes. Also falling under the definition of sandwich are the various sweet versions like chocolate-cream sandwiches and ice cream sandwiches.

The Wall Street journal, going along with the Earl's claim, states that the sandwich was Britain's "biggest contribution to gastronomy."

Though the concept of the sandwich is rather easily understood among most globalized citizens today, there was a curious court case in Boston surrounding the legal definition of the sandwich. The story goes that a court in Boston fashioned a legal definition for the food due to a non-compete clause of a shopping center which already contained restaurants serving tacos, burritos, and quesadillas which, some argued, could be construed as a sandwich type food. The court found that these styles of food differed particularly because they do not utilize two slices of bread, but generally one tortilla. More information on the court case can be read here.

For more on sandwiches generally, the above link to the Wikipedia article is informative.