Sandwiches Anyone ? Who Made The First Sandwich ?

1930 - A comic strip titled, "Blondie" had a character called Dagwood Bumstead in it. He loved naps on his sofa and loved making his sandwich with a variety of fillings which was mainly leftovers found in his refrigerator while his wife was not home or for a midnight snack. Essentially an over-flowing multi-layered sandwich with a variety of dissimilar fillings. Dagwood sandwiches made it into the Webster's New World Dictionary.

Generous fillings of veggies, meat, fries and dressings in between two slices of bread are about the most famous snack among all people of the world known as sandwiches. Quick lunch or picnic basket, high tea or a fun party, sandwiches always find a place on the menu. Easy to assemble with a variety of ingredients available in one's fridge, grabbing a quick bite is easy as 1-2-3. Even kids find it easy to make and eat when left alone at home. The secret to a good sandwich lies in adding loads of filling of your choice with breads of your choice and having it as an open sandwich, grilled or a club sandwich. You can make it pleasing to the eye in a variety of colors too.

So, how did the first sandwich originate? Who made the first sandwich and what was the need?

In 100 BC, during Passover, Rabbi Hillel introduced eating matzo, an ancient form of bread with apple slices and chopped nuts and spices as fillings, along with bitter herbs. This seems to be the earliest form of a sandwich.

Much later, in the late hours of a night in 1762, in London, an English nobleman, John Montagu (1718 - 1792), the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, was too busy gambling to even sit down to dinner though he was very hungry. He ordered for the world's first sandwich - he asked for two slices of bread with some roast beef in between. He apparently wanted to keep his hands from becoming greasy so he was free to play his card game.This enabled the Earl to continue holding his cards while he snacked on the sandwich with his free hand. Seeing this, others too began asking for "Same as Sandwich's".

Cookbooks began including sandwich recipes by 1827. In 1840, Miss. Leslie's Directions For Cookery introduced America to a recipe for a ham sandwich and classifed it as a main dish. And by 1900, sandwiches were famous in the Untied States. In 1920's, children carried ham and egg sandwiches in their lunch boxes. In 1930's, Wonder Bread introduced soft, white bread perfect for sandwiches. The most famous household snack in the United States is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Soldiers fighting the Second World War created these with their rations and this snack soon spread through the ranks. It was a filling treat that they enjoyed. When they returned home, these soldiers introduced these sandwiches to their families who simply loved it. Another favorite is the Elvis sandwich which is a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Since then a wide variety of sandwiches have come into being all over the world and popular as they can be made ahead and carried anywhere and eaten without much fuss. A quick and easy meal indeed ! You can use leftovers from your fridge or come up with fruit, veggie or meat fillings in various combination to suit your palate and enjoy it.

Fillings can be as diverse as the people making it-ham, cheese, turkey, salami, lettuce, tomato, herbs, mushrooms, chicken, beef, bacon,egg, etc,. Along with mayonnaise, mustard, mint chutney, peanut butter, jam, etc,.

So, what's your favorite sandwich?