Essay

Origin of the sandwich

By Steve Ford

The origins of many common foods and drinks are notoriously hard to track down. One often reads, for example, that sukiyaki was invented when someone first grilled slices of beef on a spade, or plow. While we do know that sukiyaki first showed up after the Meiji restoration, the oft repeated story about grilling meat on a shovel is likely apocryphal.

The cocktail is another mystery; nobody is really sure who invented it, when it was invented, or even why a beverage would be named after the tail feathers of a male chicken.

Sometimes, though, we get lucky and can better pinpoint how a particular food came into being. The birth of the sandwich is one such example.

The inventor of the sandwich was a very important person in 18th century Great Britain. John Montagu was born in 1718 and became the 4th Earl of Sandwich at the age of ten. He was later postmaster general, a member of the House of Lords, and three-times First Lord of the Admiralty (equivalent to Secretary of the Navy.)

He was said to be a bit of a rake and made many political enemies who were not averse to slandering and libeling him. There are two stories on how the sandwich was born in 1762. One says the Earl was such a reprobate that he could not leave the gambling table to grab a proper bite to eat, and ordered up a few slices of beef between two pieces of bread.

The other (less sensational) story is that the hard-working First Lord of the Admiralty placed his momentous order because he often worked at his desk past dinner time.

Whichever story is true; the invention was named after the Earl of Sandwich and became a godsend for people on the go. A world of possibilities pressed between a couple of slices of bread is now ours to enjoy.

That first simple sandwich spread throughout the world while constantly evolving. From France we have the delectable croque madame, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich topped with a fried egg. New York is home to the Reuben, toasted rye bread with corned beef, melted Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing.

Moving through Asia, in Vietnam we find banh mi, a baguette filled with savory pork cold cuts, pickled vegetables, herbs and mayonnaise.

In Japan the sandwich seems to take on a life of its own. Visitors may be a bit shocked to find a yakisoba, potato croquette, or strawberry and whipped cream sandwich. I'm not sure if I'll ever recover from an encounter with a firefly squid sandwich I had many years ago.

But as they say: "turnabout is fair play," and my Japanese doppelganger must feel the same way about a chicken teriyaki sushi roll served in London or Chicago.

Shukan ST: June 19, 2009

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