History of Sandwiches

When you’re hungry, sometimes a sandwich can be exactly what you need. From the heartiness of the bread, to the protein and delicious toppings in-between, it’s no wonder why sandwiches are one of the most popular lunch choices today.

Although it’s difficult to picture life without sandwiches, they weren’t always so popular. The sandwich as we know it today was invented in England in 1762, according to history. The majority of food historians concur that John Montagu, dubbed “the 4th Earl of sandwich,” invented the sandwich. Montagu spent countless hours at the card table and was notorious for being a troublesome gambler. He got hungry during one of his long days of playing and asked the kitchen for something he could eat with his hands without getting up from his chair. Two pieces of bread with meat in the center were brought to him as a sandwich.

From that day forward, the sandwich began making its way throughout England. By the Revolutionary War, it was a well-established dish.

It took a long time for the sandwich to reach America. One possible explanation for this could be because Americans were sluggish to adopt patterns from other countries.In 1815, an American cookbook finally included the first sandwich. It was actually a tongue sandwich, which is not the kind of sandwich we usually eat these days.

When New Orleans produced sandwiches like the famous Po’Boy during the Great Depression, Americans really began to improve their sandwich game. The concept was conceived during a streetcar strike by two streetcar employees. They pledged to provide free food to fellow striking and impoverished streetcar workers. Around this time, other early sandwiches started to appear all over the nation, such as the Reuben and the Sloppy Joe, which was named after a line cook named Joe.

The hoagie, our own favorite sandwich in Pennsylvania, was created during the Great Depression. They were a lunchtime favorite for Italian-American employees of an old shipyard on Hog Island, according to a report from South Philadelphia. The sandwiches were originally called “hoggies,” but this pronunciation changed over time. About fifty years ago, Antoninette Iannelli opened a fruit stand with a meat case in South Philadelphia, which is credited with popularizing the sandwich. One day, a police officer came in and said that his wife had forgotten to pack his lunch. Iannelli then divided a loaf of Italian bread in two and stuffed it with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, meats, and sauce. Prior to that, he returned and asked for additional sandwiches for his coworkers.