A sandwich is a food prepared by placing different kinds of foods between two pieces of bread. The pieces of bread in a sandwich are referred to as slices or sheets of bread. Between the slices of bread, people often add in vegetables, meat, or cheese. The sandwich is thought to have been made first for the Earl of Sandwich, hence the name. 

Many people enjoy the sandwich as it is easy and quick to make in a hurry. Also, the sandwich can be easily eaten with one hand without utensils which allows consumers to have a hand free to do other things. Some people prefer to eat a sandwich with both hands.

In many countries, children eat sandwiches for lunch at school. The sandwiches are put in a lunchbox and often wrapped in cling film to keep them fresh.

Variations

A sandwich is not limited to a single layer of filling between two pieces of bread. It can have more than one layer of filling and bread. Each layer of filling is commonly referred to as a "deck". For instance, a single decker sandwich would be the standard two slices of bread and one layer of filling. A double decker sandwich will have three slices of bread with two layers of fillings. Generally one piece, is one piece of bread cut in two with a filling between each piece. 

The double decker sandwich is so called because each layer of filling forms a deck, much like a double decker bus. A club sandwich is a double decker sandwich with chicken, bacon and salad. A triple decker sandwich would consist of four slices of bread with three layers of fillings. The BLT is a common type of sandwich filled with bacon, lettuce and tomato.

If there is only one piece of bread it is sometimes called an open sandwich. Open sandwiches are very common in Scandinavian countries, e.g. in Denmark "smørrebrød" is an open sandwich.

Another form of sandwich is the toasted sandwich. The toasted sandwich can be made from slices of toast instead of bread or the sandwich is toasted whole in an oven or a sandwich presser.

Sandwiches made with different types of bread might be given unique names. A panini, for example, is usually a sandwich on a small roll or loaf which is pressed between two heavy, heated grill plates. Sandwiches are commonly made of white bread, brown bread or French bread, but can also be made of other types (e.g. a panini uses ciabatta).

Sandwiches can also be called by many other names in different parts of the world such as 'grinder', 'sub', 'hoagie' and 'wedge'.

Types

There are many different types of sandwiches. Examples are:

Cold sheets of bread:  Sandwich
Heated sheets of bread: Toastie
A breaded bun : Burger 
Ciabatta: Panini
A long bread: Baguette
Wrap: Soft Flatbread
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: White Bread
Peanut butter sandwich: White Bread

Fillings

There are many types of filling that can be placed within a sandwich.  These include:

Eggs
Ham
Ground beef
Cheese
Chicken
Cucumber 
Ice cream  (Ice cream sandwich)
Toast
Peanut butter
Jelly
Tuna
chocolate spread
butter

In popular culture

In one episode of The Apprentice, the apprentices were required to make sandwiches for Donald Trump.

In the French film Taxi the protagonist is made a special sandwich with half Bayonne ham, half Paris. This later sparks the jealousy of another character.

In the Warner Brothers cartoon Scooby Doo, Scooby was well known to love making sandwiches with Shaggy having many layers, often with a great variety of fillings.

In the television series Buffy, during episode 61, Buffy eyes a classmate eating a sandwich, snatches it and hungrily scarfs it down.

In the television series Star Trek, Scotty used the word sandwich to refer to the makeup of a piece of technology which was made of three layers of two materials, which caused the food synthesizer in the galley of the USS Enterprise to believe that he was requesting a meal. Scotty canceled the process by kicking the offending unit. 

The largest sandwich ever made was made by Wild Woody's Chill and Grill, Roseville, Michigan. It weighed 5,440 lbs.

References

Sandwiches