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パンに挟まれた「自由空間」
18世紀のイギリスで誕生されたとされるサンドイッチ。
パンの間に具を挟むというスタイルは、調理法に大きな自由を与えることになり、世界各地でさまざまな進化を遂げる上で大きな要因となった。
Origin of the sandwich
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.
- notoriously
- よく知られているように
- track down
- 突き止める
- spade
- (農具の)すき
- plow
- すきに似た道具
- showed up
- 登場した
- Meiji restoration
- 明治維新
- oft
- よく
- apocryphal
- 疑わしい
- cocktail
- カクテル
- beverage
- 飲料
- get lucky
- ついている
- came into being
- この世に生まれてきた
- Great Britain
- 英国
- Earl of Sandwich
- サンドイッチ伯爵
- postmaster general
- 郵便局長
- House of Lords
- 貴族院
- First Lord of the Admiralty
- 海軍大臣
- equivalent to 〜
- 〜に相当する
- Secretary of the Navy
- (米国の)海軍長官
- be a bit of a rake
- 道楽者の気がある
- were not averse to 〜
- ためらわず〜した
- slandering
- 〜を中傷する
- libeling
- 〜を侮辱する
- reprobate
- 無頼漢
- gambling table
- 賭博台
- grab a proper bite to eat
- ちゃんと軽食をとる
- less sensational
- 少し面白みを欠く
- placed his momentous order
- 重大な命令を下した
- Whichever story is true
- どちらの話が本当であれ
- godsend
- 天の恵み
- on the go
- とても忙しい
- croque madame
- クロックマダム
- Reuben
- ルーベン
- banh mi
- バインミー
- baguette
- バゲット
- savory
- 食欲をそそる
- cold cuts
- ハム、サラミなどのスライス
- pickled
- 酢漬けの
- take on a life
- 一人歩きする
- croquette
- コロッケ
- firefly squid
- ホタルイカ
- turnabout is fair play
- お互いさま
- doppelganger
- 分身