HISTORY OF SANDWICHES

Sandwich --

Two (or more) slices of bread with a filling

between them

1st Century B.C.

• The first recorded sandwich was by a famous rabbi who lived during

the 1st century B.C. • He started the Passover custom of

sandwiching a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, spices, and wine

between two matzos to eat with bitter herbs.

Middle Ages

• Thick blocks of stale bread called trenchers were used in place of plates.

• Meats and other foods were piled on top of the bread to be eaten with the fingers.

• The trenchers, thick and stale, absorbed the juice, grease, and sauces.

• After eating - People either ate the trencher or gave the gravy-soaked bread to their dogs or to the poor.

16th and 17 Century

Before the word sandwich --

The sandwich was simply known meat" or "bread and cheese." as

"bread and

John Montague (1718-1792), the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, was a gambler and was known to gamble for hours at a time

at a restaurant, refusing to get up even for meals.

The story says he ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread. Because Montague was the

Earl of Sandwich, others began to order theirs— "the same as Sandwich!"

FYI – Montague was also a patron to Capt. James Cook (who explored New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, and Polynesia.)

Capt. Cook named the Hawaiian Islands after Montague, calling them the Sandwich Island.

1762 – History of “The Sandwich”

• Cooks at London’s Beef Steak

Club, a gentlemen's gaming club,

may have invented the first named sandwich.

• The Sublime Society of Beef-steaks was a very exclusive club of only 24 members.

The Prince of Wales became the 25th member.

• They ate Beef-steak sandwiches

accompanied by generous amounts of port.

1840

The sandwich was supposedly introduced to America by Englishwoman Elizabeth Leslie.

In her cookbook, Directions for Cookery, she has a recipe for ham sandwiches that she suggested as a main dish.

1900’s

• The sandwich became very popular in the American diet when bakeries

started selling pre-sliced bread, thus making sandwiches easier to create.

• Sandwiches became an easy, portable meal for workers and school children.

The Club Sandwich is a sandwich with cooked chicken or turkey breast and bacon, along with ripe tomatoes and crisp lettuce layered between two or

three slices of toasted bread with mayonnaise.

Dagwood Sandwich

A Dagwood sandwich is a tall, multi-layered

sandwich made up of a wide variety of meats,

cheeses, and condiments. It was named after

Dagwood Bumstead, a character in the comic strip

Blondie, who frequently makes enormous

sandwiches.

The Reuben

A grilled sandwich made

with corned beef, Swiss cheese,

sauerkraut, and Russian dressing

on rye bread.

What is a Fluffernutter?

It is a high calorie sandwich made with two slices of bread layered with peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff, and sometimes

the occasional banana.

1918 - The French Dip Sandwich is not French, but its inventor was.

He owned a delicatessen andsandwich shop called “Philippethe Original” in Los Angeles.

According to the story Philippe was preparing a sandwich at his restaurant for a policeman and accidentally dropped the sliced French roll into the drippings of a roasting pan. The policeman liked the sandwich and came back the next day with some friends to order the sandwich “dipped” in the meat pan.

• (1200’s) Genghis Khan’s army needed food that could be carried on their mounts and eaten easily with one hand while they rode, ground meat was the perfect choice. They would use scrapings of lamb or mutton which were formed into flat patties. They softened the meat by placing them under the saddles of their horses while riding into battle. When it was time to eat, the meat would be eaten raw, having been tenderized by the saddle and the back of the horse.

• When Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, invaded Moscow, they brought their unique dietary ground meat with them. The Russians adopted it into their own cuisine with the name "Steak Tartare."

THE HAMBURGER

1844 –”Hamburg” Recipes

• Broiled Meat Cakes - Chop lean, raw beef quite fine. Season with salt, pepper, and a little chopped onion, or onion juice. Make it into small flat cakes, and broil on a well-greased gridiron or hot frying pan. Serve very hot with butter.

• Hamburgh Steak - Pound a slice of round steak enough to break the fiber. Fry two or three onions, minced fine, in butter until slightly browned. Spread the onions over the meat, fold the ends of the meat together, and pound again, to keep the onions in the middle. Broil two or three minutes. Spread with butter, salt, and pepper.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

(1880) A St. Louis physician, Dr. Ambrose Straub, crushed peanuts into a paste for his geriatric patients with bad teeth.

At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, it gained exposure and popularity.