Toast sandwich
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Sandwich with toast filling}}
{{distinguish|Toasted sandwich}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Toast sandwich
| image = An image of a toast sandwich, shot from the side.jpg
| alt = An image of a toast sandwich, shot from the side, consisting of two thin-cut slices of bread and one thick-cut slice.
| caption = A piece of toast sandwiched between two pieces of bread
| 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.
Victorian recipe
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."{{Cite web|last=Lane|first=Megan|title=The toast sandwich and other hyper-cheap meals|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15760897|work=BBC News Magazine |date=17 November 2011}}
Modern versions
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.{{cite news|title=Toast sandwich is UK's 'cheapest meal'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15752918 |work=BBC News |date=16 November 2011}} The society sought to revive the forgotten dish in wake of the Great Recession after calculating the cost as low as {{GBP|.075}} per sandwich.{{Cite web|title = RSC press release: Mrs Beeton's toast sandwich|url = http://www.rsc.org/AboutUs/News/PressReleases/2011/MrsBeeton.asp|website = www.rsc.org| date=15 November 2011 |access-date = 2015-11-02}} They named it "the country's most economical lunch", offering {{GBP|200|2011|long=no|link=yes}} to whoever could create a cheaper edible meal.{{Cite web|title = The toast sandwich: can you jazz it up?|url = https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/nov/16/toast-sandwich-economical-recipe|website = the Guardian|access-date = 2015-11-28|first = Matthew|last = Fort|date = 16 November 2011}} Due to an overabundance of submissions, the offer was closed seven days later and the £200 given to a randomly selected entrant.{{Cite web|title = RSC Press Release: RSC inboxes overflowing with economical meal suggestions|url = http://www.rsc.org/AboutUs/News/PressReleases/2011/ToastEntriesInundated.asp|website = www.rsc.org| date=17 November 2011 |access-date = 2015-11-28}}
File:Two toast sandwiches, the Fat Duck, November 2012.jpg's restaurant The Fat Duck]]
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.{{cite web|author=Dan Stock|url=http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/the-fat-duck-in-melbourne-heston-blumenthal-has-ballot-system-for-bookings/story-fn93ypt9-1227061606696|title=The Fat Duck in Melbourne: Heston Blumenthal has ballot system for bookings|newspaper=News.com.au|date=17 September 2014|access-date=2014-10-08|archive-date=2014-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008152902/http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/the-fat-duck-in-melbourne-heston-blumenthal-has-ballot-system-for-bookings/story-fn93ypt9-1227061606696|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|author=Aaron Langmaid|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/fat-chance-youll-get-a-table-at-heston-blumenthals-fat-duck-restaurant-at-crown-in-melbourne/story-fni0fiyv-1226870004830?nk=e4c54a27fd7413d6387dd2e2cb5aaeec|title=Fat chance you'll get a table at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant at Crown in Melbourne|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=31 March 2014|access-date=2014-10-08}}{{cite web|author=Sarah Rogozen|url=http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2013/12/heston-blumenthal-on-mock-turtle-soup/|title=Heston Blumenthal on Recreating Lewis Carroll's Mock Turtle Soup|publisher=KCRW|date=31 December 2013|access-date=2014-10-08}} Blumenthal's recipe for the toast sandwich involves bone marrow salad, egg yolk, mustard, gastrique, mayonnaise, and tomato ketchup.
United States media coverage
The A.V. Club{{'s}} Mike Vago described it as an "extravagance of blandness".{{cite web|author=Mike Vago|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-powerful-bread-lobby-wants-you-to-read-this-article-1798248467|title=The powerful bread lobby wants you to read this article about sandwiches|work=The A.V. Club|date=19 June 2016|access-date=2016-06-23|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20160620152233/http://www.avclub.com/article/powerful-bread-lobby-wants-you-read-article-about--238247|archive-date=20 June 2016}} 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."{{cite web|author=Dan Myers|url=http://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/12-life-changing-sandwiches-youve-never-heard|title=12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of|work=The Daily Meal|date=27 February 2015|access-date=2015-02-28}}
The toast sandwich was discussed on The Leonard Lopate Show in an interview with The Sporkful{{'}}s Dan Pashman. Host Leonard Lopate commented, "it sounds weird to me".{{Cite web|last=Pashman|first=Dan|title=What Is A Sandwich? (Or, John Hodgman Calls In To Leonard Lopate To Argue With Me)|url=http://www.sporkful.com/what-is-a-sandwich-john-hodgman-calls-leonard-lopate-wnyc/|work=Sporkful|date=24 July 2014}}{{Cite web|last=Lopate|first=Leonard|title=Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich?|url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/hot-dog-sandwich/|work=WNYC|date=24 July 2014}} The game show panelists on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! each tried the toast sandwich.{{cite web|author=Ian Chillag|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/waitwait/2011/11/28/142854381/sandwich-monday-the-toast-sandwich|title=Sandwich Monday: The Toast Sandwich|publisher=NPR|date=28 November 2011|access-date=2014-05-30}} 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!"
See also
{{portal|Food}}
References
{{reflist |refs=
{{cite book |last=Beeton |first=Isabella |title=The Book of Household Management |date=1861 |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10136/pg10136-images.html#id10241 |publisher=S. O. Beeton |via=Project Gutenberg |at=§§ 1877, 1878 |chapter=39: Invalid Cookery; Recipes: Toast Sandwiches}}
}}
External links
- {{Commons cat inline|Toast sandwiches}}
{{Sandwiches}}