Toast sandwich should not be confused with Toasted sandwich.
| Toast sandwich | |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Region: | England |
| Type: | Sandwich |
| Main Ingredient: | Bread, toast, butter, salt, pepper |
| Calories: | 330 |
A toast sandwich (also known as a bread sandwich) is a sandwich in which the filling between two slices of bread is itself a thin slice of toasted bread, which may be buttered. An 1861 recipe says to add salt and pepper to taste.
A recipe for toast sandwiches is included in the invalid cookery section of the 1861 Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton, who adds, "This sandwich may be varied by adding a little pulled meat, or very fine slices of cold meat, to the toast, and in any of these forms will be found very tempting to the appetite of an invalid."[1]
In November 2011, the toast sandwich was recreated by the Royal Society of Chemistry in a tasting 150 years after the release of Beeton's Book of Household Management.[2] The society sought to revive the forgotten dish in wake of the Great Recession after calculating the cost as low as per sandwich.[3] They named it "the country's most economical lunch", offering to whoever could create a cheaper edible meal.[4] Due to an overabundance of submissions, the offer was closed seven days later and the £200 given to a randomly selected entrant.[5]
In Heston Blumenthal's restaurant the Fat Duck, 12 toast sandwiches are served as a side dish to the "Mad Hatter's Tea Party (circa 1892)", a main course inspired by Alice in Wonderland.[6] [7] [8] Blumenthal's recipe for the toast sandwich involves bone marrow salad, egg yolk, mustard, gastrique, mayonnaise, and tomato ketchup.[8]
The A.V. Club Mike Vago described it as an "extravagance of blandness".[9] The Daily Meal article "12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of" said the toast sandwich was "just not that good ... Thankfully, the Dadaists didn't invent any more sandwiches after that."[10]
The toast sandwich was discussed on The Leonard Lopate Show in an interview with The Sporkfuls Dan Pashman. Host Leonard Lopate commented, "it sounds weird to me".[11] [12] The game show panelists on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! each tried the toast sandwich.[13] Host Peter Sagal remarked, "This is the culinary equivalent of a Rothko painting. Or it's like a sandwich by Marcel Duchamp! It questions the essence of sandwich and language both!"[13]