Sandwich Day: Bread and Fillings Around the World
What’s your go-to packed lunch? Are you partial to a cold pesto pasta with tomatoes? A rice-based dish? Or, maybe you like to stick to basics with a hearty filling sandwich. But, if so, what’s your preference on bread and filling? And, what, to you, classifies this beloved meal? In today’s blog, we deep dive into the history of these wraps. And, we explore how they’re created and nationalised around the world.
What is a Sandwich?
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meet, placed on or between slices of bread. More generally, it is any dish where the bread serves as a container of wrapper for another food type. Its popular because it’s easy portable and can be eaten with your hands without the need for cutlery.
Its Origins
The modern concept of a sandwich traces back to 18th-century Europe. However, the use of bread to lie under food or to scoop/enclose/wrap food finds itself in much older cultures worldwide.
That being said, it gets its namesake from the Earl of Sandwich who requested for beef between two slices of bread. This soon caught on with his friends ordering the same dish.
Nowadays, the bread-filling combos find themselves pre-made and ready to eat in supermarkets, coffee shops, and (sometimes) vending machines. In fact, in 2017 the British industry made and sold £8 billion worth of them.
Bread and Fillings Around the World
Grab your suitcase and your appetite as we check out some of the different types of sandwiches all over the world.
Asia, Africa, & Australia
- Bánh Mì (Vietnam). Birthing from France’s colonisation of Vietnam came the idea of French bread and pâté. This soon evolved with various Vietnamese ingredients to become the bánh mì. It is a French baguette slice lengthwise filled with cold cuts (or tofu), pâté, pickled vegetables, cilantro, jalapeños, and mayo. This meal is affordable, delicious, and accessible to all!
- Boh Loh Yau (Hong Kong). This breakfast-staple is a sugar cookie like substance that is place on bread dough. When it melts, it cracks into a pineapple-like pattern. Then, eaters slice it in half and add cold butter and consume it with strong milk tea.
- Doner Kebab (Turkey). The kebab is integral to Middle Easter cuisine, essentially taking the form of vertically grilled meat. This variation of eating it is served on flatbread with cabbage, lettuce, white onions, and “white sauce”.
- Pork Belly Bao (China). Boa are steamed smooth, soft white buns filled traditionally with pork belly, pickled greens, ground peanuts, and cilantro. They are a prominent Chinese and Taiwanese snack.
Europe
- BLT (UK). Simply, it is a cheaper version of a club sandwich. All you need is bacon, lettuce, tomato on a toasted white bread with mayonnaise.
- Breakfast Roll (Ireland). Do you ever wish you could have a full Irish breakfast on the go? Look no further! This dish crams bacon, sausage, black pudding, friend eggs, tomatoes, hash browns, mushrooms and baked beans into a French roll.
- Croque Monsieur (France). With an origin story of a sandwich left near a radiator, this dish is a toasty hame and cheese sandwich topped with broiled bechamel sauce (and extra cheese).
- Gyro (Greece). Greek for “spin” this wrap is similar to a doner kebab. It is the perfect street food dish of meat, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki dusted in paprika and rolled into a warm pita.
- Panino (Italy). Italian for “bread roll” this dish is grilled and features Italian bread. The classic filling includes mortdella, salami, ham, and cheese.
Mexico, South America, & the Carribbean
- Cemita (Mexico). Imagine a burrito but served in a bun. This brioche-adjacent bread houses Oaxacan cheese, avocado, fresh tomatoes, hot-sauce, and cream. As well as meats and other vegetables.
- Doubles (Trinidad). You will need: two barra (a turmeric-yellowed flatbread), curried chickpeas, tamarind and mango chutney, and Scotch bonnet chile. Combine to make a classic chewy, spicy, and sweet street food.
- Medianoche (Cuba). A sweeter take on the Cuban, this softer doughier bread leaves a lighter crunch to accompany its roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard companions.
USA
The USA hosts a lot of famous sandwiches, but here are some of its most recognisable.
- Cheesesteak. Originating from Philadelphia, PA this dish started life as thin-sliced ribeye, grilled onions, and melted cheese served on a roll.
- Peanut Butter and Jelly. A go-to snack in the States, this is the sweet sandwich on our list. Simply, spread peanut-butter (crunchy or smooth) and grape jelly between two slices of bread.
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