Sandwich

Asandwichis adishtypically consisting variously ofmeat,cheese,sauces, andvegetablesused as a filling between slices ofbread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as acontainerorwrapperfor another food type, and allows it to be afinger food.The sandwich began as a portable, convenient food in the Western world, though over time it has become prevalent worldwide.
There has beensocial mediadebate over the precise definition ofsandwich, specifically whether ahot dogoropen sandwichcan be categorized as such. Other items, likehamburgersandburritos, 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.However, the same USDA manual determines that burritos andfajitasare "sandwich-like" andfrankfurtersare "sandwich type", whilestromboliis explicitly excluded. In Britain, theBritish Sandwich Associationdefines a sandwich as "any form of bread with a filling, generally assembled cold"; a definition which includeswrapsandbagels, but potentially excludes dishes assembled and served hot, such as burgers.
Sandwiches are a popular type of lunch food, taken to work, school, orpicnicsto be eaten as part of apacked lunch. The bread is frequently coated withcondimentssuch asmayonnaiseormustardto 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.Although savoury sandwiches—such asdeli meatsandwiches—are in the majority, sweet sandwiches—such asjam sandwichesandfluffernutters—form their own category.
The sandwich is named after the inventor of a certain roast beef sandwich in 18th century England,John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.The Wall Street Journalhas described it as Britain's "biggest contribution togastronomy".
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 combinationseems to have been known as "bread and meat" or "bread and cheese".These two phrases are found throughout English drama from the 16th and 17th centuries.
In the first century BCE, the ancient Jewish sageHillel the Elderis said to have wrapped meat from thePaschal lambandbitter herbsin a softmatzah—flat, unleavened bread—duringPassoverin the manner of a modernwrapmade withflatbread.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 northern Africa.  FromMoroccotoEthiopiatoIndia, bread is usually baked in flat rounds, contrasting with the European loaf tradition.
During theMiddle Agesin Europe, thick slabs of coarse and usuallystale bread, called "trenchers," were used as plates.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 Rayobservedthat 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.
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.It is commonly said that Lord Sandwich, during long sessions ofcribbageand other card games at publicgambling houses, would order his valet to bring him roast beef between two pieces of toasted bread.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.The rumour in its familiar form appeared inPierre-Jean Grosley'sLondres(Neuchâtel, 1770), translated asA Tour to Londonin 1772;Grosley's impressions had been formed during a year in London in 1765. An alternative is provided by Sandwich's biographer,N. A. M. Rodger, who suggests Sandwich's commitments to the Navy, and to politics and the arts, mean the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his desk.
The sandwich's popularity in Spain and England increased dramatically during the nineteenth century, when the rise of industrial society and the working classes made fast, portable, and inexpensive meals essential.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.
In the United States, the sandwich was first promoted as an elaborate meal at supper. By the early 20th century, as bread became astapleof the American diet, the sandwich became the same kind of popular, quick meal as was already widespread in theMediterranean.
In the US, a court inBoston,Massachusetts, ruled in 2006 that a sandwich includes at least two slices of breadand "under this definition, this court finds that the term 'sandwich' is not commonly understood to includeburritos,tacos, andquesadillas, which are typically made with a singletortillaand stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans."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 clausein itsleaseprohibiting other "sandwich" shops. Also in the US, a court inIndianaruled 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".The state ofNew Yorkhas a definition of "sandwich" that explicitly includes burritos,gyros, hot dogs, and wraps and pita sandwiches.
In Spain, where the wordsandwichisborrowedfrom the English language,it refers to a food item made with Englishsandwich bread.It is otherwise known as abocadillo. Similar usage applies in other Spanish-speaking cultures, such as Mexico, where the wordtortais also used for a popular variety of roll-type sandwiches.
In the UK and Australia, the termsandwichis more narrowly defined than in the US: it usually refers to an item that uses sliced bread from a loaf.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.
The verbto sandwichhas the meaning "to position anything between two other things of a different character, or to place different elements alternately,"and the nounsandwichhas related meanings derived from this more general definition. For example, anice cream sandwichconsists of a layer of ice cream between two layers of cake or biscuit.Similarly,OreosandCustard creamsare described as sandwich biscuits (UK/Commonwealth) orsandwich cookies(US) because they consist of a soft filling between the baked layers.In corporate finance,Dutch SandwichandDouble Irish with a Dutch sandwichrefer to schemes for tax evasion.
The wordbutty, originally referring to a buttered slice of bread,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.Sarnieis a similar colloquialism.Likewise, the wordsangeris used for sandwich inAustralian slang.The colloquial Scottish wordpiecemay refer either to a sandwich or to a light meal, especially one that includes a sandwich. For example, the phrasejeely piecerefers to ajam sandwich.
The colloquial form "sammich" (alternatively, "sammidge") is used in the Southeastern United States.In Japanese,sandoorsandoichiis used.
Sandwiches have been widely sold in cafes, railway stations, pubs and diners since the invention ofsliced breadin the 1920s.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 & Spencerintroduced a small range of chilled, pre-made sandwiches sold in wedge-shaped boxes, sealed to keep them fresh.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 £1bn.In 2017, the British sandwich industry made and sold £8 billion worth of sandwiches.