HIBISCUS CATERING

I have been studying cooking and foods for over twenty years, I had studied different accepts of cooking, the history of cooking, various cuisines, and food in general, among other culinary related issues. However, of all the types of food I had studied, I find “Sandwich” to be most interesting, and the most controversial of all foods.

History of Sandwich:

The first recorded “Sandwich” was by the famous Rabbi, Hillel the Elder, who lived during the 1st century B.C. He started the Passover custom of sandwiching a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, spices, and wine between two matzohs to eat with bitter herbs. The filling between the matzohs served as a reminder of the suffering of the Jews before their deliverance from Egypt and represented the mortar used by the Jews in their forced labor of constructing Egyptian buildings. Because he was the first known person to do this, and because of his influence, and stature in Palestinian Judaism, this practice was added to the Seder and the “Hillel Sandwich” was named after him. However, the first written record of the word "Sandwich" appeared in Edward Gibbon’s journal on November 24, 1762. Gibbon was an English author, scholar, and historian. He has expressed surprise at seeing the noblest and wealthiest in the land, seated in a noisy coffee-shop, at little tables covered by small napkins, eating Sandwiches. It is also alleged that the cooks at London’s Beef Steak Club, a gentlemen's gaming club held at the Shakespeare Tavern, invented the first Sandwich.

Earl of Sandwich:

Earl of Sandwich is a 17th century title in the Peerage of England. John Montague was the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, became First Lord of the Admiralty and was patron to Capt. James Cook, whom explored New Zealand, Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, and Polynesia.). Capt. Cook named the Hawaiian Islands after him, calling them the Sandwich Island. Montague was a hardened gambler and usually gambled for hours at a time at this restaurant, sometimes refusing to get up even for meals. It is said that he ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread. Because Montague was the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" The original Sandwich was a piece of salt beef between two slices of toasted bread.

When the British first introduced the Sandwich in India, the Indians called them Double Roti . The term “Sandwich “is still been used, even today to describe Leavened Bread in India, even though they are not actually made into a Sandwich.

In Spain, the word Sandwich is borrowed from the English language; it refers to a food item that is made with English Sandwich Bread and is also known as a Bocadillo.

Sandwich in America:

In the 1840’s, the Sandwich was introduced to the United States of America, by an Englishwoman named Elizabeth Leslie. In her cookbook, Directions for Cookery, she has a recipe for Ham Sandwich that she suggested as a main dish. The introduction of Sandwich to America did not slow the controversy that surrounds “Sandwich,” as a matter of fact it got worse. In the nineteen hundred’s (1900’s) “Sandwich” became very popular in the American diet when bakeries started selling pre-sliced bread, making Sandwiches very easy to make. Sandwich has become even more popular in recent years, as a result of the fast food industry. The popularity of Sandwiches led to a serious controversy at White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury, Boston, Massachusetts. The court was asked to make a ruling as to what constitute a Sandwich.

Panera, one of the country's largest bakery cafes, argued that owners of the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury violated a lease agreement that restricted them from renting to another Sandwich shop. When the Mall signed a lease with Qdoba, a Mexican chain's burritos shop, Panera says, that the Mall violated its Sandwich exclusivity clause.

Panera filed a counter-claim trying to stop Qdoba from moving into the Shopping Center. Qdoba hired some top food experts to testify at the trial. The experts testified that a burrito is just a burrito, and it is not a Sandwich. Burritos, Tacos, and Quesadillas which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a filling of meat, rice, cheese, and or beans are not considered to be Sandwiches.

The court ruled that "Sandwich" includes at least two slices of bread, and under this definition, the court finds that the term "Sandwich," is not commonly understood to include Burritos, Tacos, and Quesadillas.

Now that “Sandwich” has been legally defined, is Sandwich any less controversial? Not really, the verb to Sandwich has the meaning to position anything between two other things of a different character, or to place different elements alternately, while the noun Sandwich has related meanings derived from this more general definition. For example, an ice cream Sandwich consists of a layer of ice cream between two layers of cake or cookie. Similarly, Oreos and Custard Creams are described as Sandwich Cookies because they consist of a soft filling between layers of cookie.

Fact is Sandwich will probably always be controversial and we may see more law suit in the future, attempting to further define "Sandwich."