THE sandwich is a simple, humble foodstuff, eaten daily by billions of people across the globe. Familiarity may breed contempt, but there is much to love and learn about the sandwich, acccording to Bee Wilson, author of a new history of the convenient meal. An historian and food journalist (and a contributor to Intelligent Life), Ms Wilson delves into the evolution and re-invention of the sandwich, and considers its cultural significance around the world. Along the way she delivers some charming anecdotes, amusing pictures and mouth-watering recipes.
From dainty, crustless cucumber squares to Yorkshire ‘mucky-fat’ doorstops (wedges of white bread and dripping), the sandwich has been enjoyed by both rich and poor. Its incarnations across the globe vary from the Chilean barros luco (hot steak and melted cheese in a roll) to the Vietnamese bánh mì (pate, pork and pickled vegetables in a baguette). It is indeed a wondrous and endlessly variable one-handed meal, which can “be applied to face and devoured in a trice”, and leave fingers clean to boot.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Economist.