Ham sandwich explained

Ham sandwich
Type:Sandwich
Main Ingredient:Two pieces of sliced bread, sliced ham
Ham and cheese sandwich
Type:Sandwich
Main Ingredient:Sliced bread, cheese, ham

The ham sandwich is a common type of sandwich.[1] The bread may be fresh or toasted, and it can be made with a variety of toppings including cheese and vegetables like lettuce, tomato, onion or pickle slices. Various kinds of mustard and mayonnaise are also common.

Sliced bread, sliced cheese, and sliced cooked ham are very readily available in Western supermarkets and as a result ham sandwiches are quick and easy to prepare. They are a common component of a packed lunch.

Ham and cheese sandwich

The origin of the ham and cheese sandwich has been debated for a number of years by culinary intellectuals. The leading theory as to who first started to produce a ham, cheese and bread dish is mentioned in The Larousse Gastronomique 1961. Here it notes that Patrick Connolly, an 18th-century Irish immigrant to England, sold a bread dish which:

combined the remains of pig, cured and sliced with a topping of Leicester cheese and a kiss of egg yolk sauce (a form of mayonnaise) in a round bread roll. The dish was rather unimaginatively known as a Connolly and is still sometimes referred to as this in some parts of the Midlands in the UK.

In the UK, a common addition to a ham and cheese sandwich is pickle (a sweet, vinegary chutney originally by Branston); the snack is then known as a ham, cheese and pickle sandwich.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

As recalled by ballpark concessionaire Harry Stevens in a 1924 interview, in 1894 ham and cheese sandwiches were the only food sold in New York baseball parks; frankfurters were introduced in 1909.[7]

An Englishwoman, writing in 1923 of her passage through Ellis Island on a trip to the U.S., noted:

I was in fear and trembling, having heard so many tales of the abuse aliens receive there.... The attendants were very kind and not at all rough with us. It was the noon hour... in a little while porters came along with baskets of very good ham and cheese sandwiches and coffee for the grown-ups and milk for the babies.[8]

Richard E. Byrd took ham and cheese sandwiches on his 1926 polar flight as did 1927 transatlantic fliers Chamberlin and Levine.[9]

Consumption

The British Sandwich Association says that the ham sandwich is the most popular sandwich in the UK,[10] and a survey they conducted in 2001 saw ham as the second favourite filling behind cheese.[11] 70% of the 1.8 billion sandwiches eaten in France in 2008 were ham sandwiches, prompting a French economic analysis firm to begin a 'jambon-beurre index', like the Big Mac Index, to compare prices across the country.[12]

The world's longest ham sandwich was created by butcher Nico Jimenez in Pamplona, Spain in 2009.[13]

Varieties

In Argentinian cuisine a fosforito is a ham and cheese sandwich using puff pastry as the bread. In Uruguay the same puff pastry sandwich is called a jesuita.[14] [15] [16]

In French cuisine, a croque-monsieur is a type of ham and cheese sandwich. It is baked or fried.

In Brazilian cuisine, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich is known as a .[17] [18]

The Cuban sandwich is made with ham, cheese, and crusty Cuban bread, often toasted in a panini press. Variations of this sandwich are popular in both Cuba and South Florida.

Health

The World Cancer Research Fund warned in 2009 against parents feeding their children too many ham sandwiches, due to the risk of bowel cancer from the processed meat.[19] [20]

A ham sandwich was suspected of causing an outbreak of swine fever in the UK in 2000.[21]

Cultural impact

New York State chief judge Sol Wachtler was famously quoted by Tom Wolfe in The Bonfire of the Vanities that "a grand jury would 'indict a ham sandwich,' if that's what you wanted."[22] [23]

A fictional talking ham sandwich appeared in an online noir serial in the late 1990s, and the publishers sued in 1999 when a similar character appeared in a television advertisement for Florida orange juice, though the suit was withdrawn.[24] [25]

The name "ham sandwich" is sometimes used (particularly by the New Orleans Police Department) to refer to a firearm planted at a crime scene by police as false evidence.[26] [27] [28]

Singer "Mama" Cass Elliot died in 1974, and it was widely reported that she had choked on a ham sandwich. This was untrue; Elliot suffered a heart attack in her sleep.[29] [30]

Basketball star LeBron James criticized NBA officials in the league's replay center who were reviewing a ruling that James' potential game-tying shot in a 2023 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves was a 2-pointer, rather than a 3-pointer, as he and his teammates on the LA Lakers believed. After the review, the original 2-point ruling stood, and James sarcastically attributed the decision to "somebody over there eating a ham sandwich".[31]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Soups & Sandwiches: Soups and Sandwiches . Jean Pare . Company's Coming Publishing Limited . 1987 . 978-0-9690695-6-0 . registration ., p. 138: "Insert slices of ham and cheese between 2 slices of buttered bread or toast. Add lettuce along with mayonnaise or mustard."
  2. Web site: Ham, Cheese & Pickle Sandwich Calories and Nutritional Information. March 8, 2014. Fatsecret.co.uk.
  3. Web site: Tesco Ham, Cheese & Pickle Sandwich online in Sainsbury's at mySupermarket. March 8, 2014. Mysupermarket.co.uk. April 17, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220417235709/http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/sandwiches_snacks_and_sushi/tesco_ham_cheese_and_pickle_sandwich.html. dead.
  4. Web site: Jess Kapadia. February 8, 2012. England's Cheese and Pickle Sandwich. March 8, 2014. Food Republic.
  5. Web site: Ham, Cheese & Pickle. March 8, 2014. Urban Eat. March 8, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140308180958/http://www.urbaneat.co.uk/products/everyday-sandwiches-wraps/gammon-ham-irish-mature-cheddar-pickle. dead.
  6. Web site: The perfect Branston Pickle® sandwich recipe - All recipes UK. March 8, 2014. Allrecipes.co.uk.
  7. [The New York Times]
  8. [The New York Times]
  9. [The New York Times]
  10. News: Ham it up in British Sandwich Week. Porter. John. 23 April 2009. The Publican. 2009-11-06.
  11. News: Shaping the sandwich of the future. 18 May 2001. BBC News. 2009-11-06.
  12. News: New ham sandwich economic 'yardstick' mimicks Big Mac index. Partos. Lindsey. 11 March 2009. Food and Drink Europe. 2009-11-06.
  13. News: Ham fisted. 29 October 2009. Austrian Times. 2009-11-06. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110706090029/http://austriantimes.at/news/Around_the_World/2009-10-29/17631/Ham_fisted. 6 July 2011.
  14. Web site: 10 November 2023 . Jesuita. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200121040832/https://dle.rae.es/jesuita . 21 January 2020 . 10 November 2023 . Real Academia Española.
  15. Web site: Descubrí cómo preparar la receta de fosforitos de jamón y queso: una delicia argentina al alcance de todos . 2023-11-10 . . es.
  16. Web site: Reich . Rodolfo . 2021-06-22 . Los fosforitos de siempre. Con jamón y queso viven un revival: ¿dónde probar los más ricos? . 2023-11-10 . . es.
  17. Web site: RPC Curitiba . 2020-06-13 . Aprenda a preparar misto-quente 'perfeito' . Learn how to make the 'perfect' misto hotente . 2023-11-01 . G1 . pt-br.
  18. Web site: 2022-01-25 . Chef internacional, Felipe mostrou misto-quente na sanduicheira da avó e 'bombou': 'todo mundo tem lembrança' . International chef Felipe showed misto-quente in his grandmother's sandwich pan and it 'exploded': 'everyone remembers it' . 2023-11-01 . G1 . pt-br.
  19. News: Cancer warnings on ham sandwiches. 18 August 2009. The Courier Mail. 2009-11-06.
  20. News: Charity seeks end to lunchbox ham. 17 August 2009. BBC News. 2009-11-06.
  21. News: Rambler 'started piggy fever' with ham sandwich. . Daily Telegraph. 2009-11-06. London. David. Brown. 2000-09-28.
  22. Book: Tom Wolfe . The Bonfire of the Vanities . registration . 1987 . Farrar Straus Giroux . 0-312-42757-3.
  23. Web site: Barry Popik . "Indict a Ham Sandwich" . July 15, 2004 . The Big Apple" .
  24. News: K.O. the mayo! Bread bites back. Pfister. Nancy. 19 February 1999. Orlando Business Journal. 2009-11-06.
  25. News: Richards, Web Site Settle Dispute Over 'Talking Sandwich' . Hil. J. Dee. 24 January 2000. Adweek. 2009-11-06.
  26. News: Whitewash and ham sandwiches . The Economist . 2010-07-24.
  27. Web site: FRONTLINE – Documentary films and thought-provoking journalism. . 18 July 2016.
  28. Web site: Former New Orleans Police Detective Pleads Guilty; Confirms Danziger Cover-up. 11 March 2010 . 18 July 2016.
  29. News: This Day in Jewish History Singer Cass Elliot Dies . en . Haaretz . 2022-09-30.
  30. News: Mama Cass of Hit '60s Band Mamas & the Papas Did Not Die from a Ham Sandwich: What Really Happened . 2022-09-30 . Peoplemag . en.
  31. Web site: LeBron disputes ruling on final shot as Lakers fall to Wolves. 31 December 2023. ESPN.