The Earl of Sandwich

The word sandwich was born in London one night in 1762 when an English nobleman, John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), was too busy gambling to stop for a meal even though he was hungry for some food.

It seems almost wrong that a man who was described as being “as mischievous as a monkey and as lecherous as a goat”, and “the most universally disliked man in England” should be so well renowned as to be the reason for the name “sandwich”.  The legend goes that, while gambling one evening in the mid-1700’s, he found himself hungry and he ordered his butler to bring him roast-beef between two slices of bread. The Earl was able to continue his gambling while eating his snack; and from that incident, we have inherited that quick-food product that we now know as the “sandwich”.

It is possibly the most enjoyed type of food in many countries, if not all in some form or another.  Different countries enjoy different fillings, some with two slices of bread and some open-faced.

One particularly loved sandwich in the United Kingdom is the cucumber sandwich.  In the United States, certainly cucumber sandwiches are served but usually during an “English tea”.  In England, cucumber sandwiches are enjoyed frequently, both at lunch time and tea time.

The English simply butter two pieces of bread, white or brown, place thinly (very thinly) sliced cucumbers on one side, put some salt and pepper on the cucumber slices, place the other piece of bread on top, cut off the crusts and then cut the sandwich in two or four pieces and, Bob’s your uncle (an English phrase meaning, “you’re all set”), a delicious sandwich.

Cucumber sandwiches, – yum – one of my very favorites.

The other type of sandwich that is enjoyed across the pond is a tomato sandwich.  It is made in the same way as the cucumber sandwich but tomatoes are placed on the bread rather than cucumbers.

I think you might enjoy these – give them a go!