Even such a simple snack as a sandwich managed to conquer the whole world
Endless variety
I prefer not to offer sandwiches as a light snack to children. Not because I consider them unhealthy food. The thing is, when it comes to filling between two slices of bread, one prefers tuna with corn dressed with mayonnaise, and the other – cheese with tomatoes. And no one wants to give in. And making two types of filling is sometimes too much trouble.
Among other preferences of my family are cold chicken with mustard and pickled cucumber, boiled egg with bacon and dill, fish cake with mayonnaise, and sausage with ketchup. And for me, nothing is tastier than smoked salmon with soft cheese on a brioche bagel. The sharp taste, outright saltiness, and bright color of the fish contrast pleasantly with the softness and even certain blandness of the cheese. For a full experience, the fish should be sprinkled with lemon juice.
Even from this modest list, it is clear that there are as many sandwiches as there are people. And if you consider that the favorite filling can be stuffed between two slices of white or black bread, baguette, pita, bun, sweet roll, palyanitsa, or round loaf, the number of options becomes almost infinite.
Long history and a beautiful legend
If historical rumors are to be believed, writes BBC, we owe the origin of the sandwich, like many other things, to aristocrats who had absolutely nothing to do. Somewhere around 1762, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was playing cards. Whether he was on a winning streak or, on the contrary, losing and eager to recoup, the passionate earl categorically did not want to leave the card table, despite being hungry. Calling his cook, he ordered him to put a piece of meat between two slices of bread so that he could satisfy his hunger without interrupting the game.
Whether this is true or not is a big question, but it is a good story. It says that after this incident, other gamblers, of whom there were plenty among the British aristocracy, began to demand food served "like Sandwich eats." And so it stuck.
The town, the earl, and the sandwich
As often happens in English history, the Earl of Sandwich, after whom the famous sandwich was named, had no connection to the town of Sandwich in Kent. The first Earl of Sandwich in the 17th century, strictly speaking, was not yet an earl but was an officer named Edward Montagu, who loyally served Oliver Cromwell. However, by a twist of fate, he played an important role in the restoration of Charles II to the British throne, for which he was rewarded with a title.
On July 12, 1660, the grateful king, whose return Montagu had facilitated, granted him three titles at once: Baron St Neots, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and Earl of Sandwich. Interestingly, the king offered Montagu a choice of two options: Earl of Sandwich and Earl of Portsmouth. Montagu chose Sandwich. Had he made a different decision, we might well now be snacking on "portsmouths."
The sandwich in historical perspective
Actually, initially the sandwich was not a sandwich. The English earl merely gave a name to one of humanity's oldest inventions: placing a filling between two layers of bread. No historian can say for sure when this culinary tradition arose, but it is first mentioned in literature in the biography of the famous rabbi Hillel the Elder, who in the 1st century BCE introduced the tradition of eating bitter herbs placed between two slices of matzah on Passover. The bitterness of the filling was meant to remind of the suffering of the Jewish people in Egyptian slavery.
Hillel was certainly not the first person in history to decide to eat a filling between two pieces of a baked good, but he is the first about whom we have precise information. This tradition, by the way, is still alive today and is called "Hillel's sandwich."
In medieval Europe, there was a habit of serving meat with gravy on large stale pieces of bread, which essentially functioned as plates. At the end of the meal, the bread plates were eaten – or given to dogs or the poor. They were not sandwiches in the literal sense, but they were clearly precursors to open-faced sandwiches.
In fact, sandwiches – in their more or less modern form – clearly existed in Europe for quite a long time, but were not named after the card-loving earl, but simply: bread with meat, or bread with cheese.
Afternoon tea, or the exquisite sandwich
At the beginning of the 19th century, Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, confessed to one of her friends that she often experienced a "sinking feeling" after dinner. The duchess's unpleasant sensations were explained by simple hunger. At that time, the aristocracy ate twice a day: in the morning at breakfast and in the evening at dinner, around eight o'clock. The enterprising aristocrat solved the problem by ordering a teapot of tea and small snacks to be served in her boudoir in the afternoon. The simplest snack turned out to be the sandwich.
The English, who adored and continue to adore traditions accompanied by strictly regulated rituals, enthusiastically embraced the new culinary phenomenon: the sandwich for afternoon tea.
Culinary minuet
Sandwiches served with tea in respectable places are distinguished not only by their delicate taste but also by their exquisite form. In such a sandwich, everything should be wonderful – the bread, the filling, and the presentation.
So, what must be remembered? First, the sandwich at afternoon tea must know its place: it is served first, before scones and sweet pies (which are also not served simultaneously). Second, it must be elegant, fragile like a Sèvres porcelain figurine, and as light as a feather.
If you ever get the idea to compete with the chefs of London's best hotels in making this exquisite snack, prepare to strain all your creative and artistic abilities – in addition, you will also need considerable sleight of hand.
Useful Tips
Let's start with the simplest: the bread should be crustless and sliced very thinly – so thin that it is almost translucent. For the canonical cucumber sandwich, the green vegetable should also be peeled, thinly sliced, and served on buttered white bread. If you have time, the sliced and peeled cucumber should be sprinkled with salt and left to drain off the resulting juice. This gives the cucumber a pleasant crunchiness without releasing excess moisture. The bread should be spread with a very thin layer of butter.
The second canonical participant in the traditional tea party is the sandwich with a filling of boiled egg and watercress. Smoked salmon can also be a perfectly acceptable addition to the meal.
The height of culinary "perversion" is the sandwich roll. For this, a loaf of white bread (a baton will not work) should be sliced thinly lengthwise, the resulting strip rolled out with a heavy (preferably marble) rolling pin, spread with butter, filled, rolled up, and sliced crosswise. It looks great, but the bread compressed by the rolling pin deprives the final product of airiness and breaks tradition.
Favorite Lunch Break Food
The rapid pace of modern life has stripped the sandwich of its aristocratic aura and added democracy. Countless small cafes are scattered across the towns and cities of the United Kingdom, where the working public can order a sandwich to their taste. The seller only needs to be told what filling you want and in what bread, as well as the degree of heat treatment (all raw, everything together under the grill, or just the bread toasted).
The sandwich has long crossed the Atlantic Ocean and firmly established itself as the favorite food of Americans.
Sandwiches can be sweet or not, healthy or not, kosher, halal, vegetarian, or meaty, plebeian or aristocratic, but the essence remains unchanged: two layers of bread with filling in between – and a hungry eater.
By and large, the sandwich may well be the oldest dish invented by humanity. You must agree that such a culinary achievement deserves its own celebrations.