A toast sandwich is a
sandwich
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
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
Salt and pepper is the common name for edible salt and ground black pepper, which are ubiquitously paired on Western dining tables as to allow for the additional seasoning of food after its preparation. During food preparation or cooking, they m ...
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
Isabella Mary Beeton ( Mayson; 14 March 1836 – 6 February 1865), known as Mrs Beeton, was an English journalist, editor and writer. Her name is particularly associated with her first book, the 1861 work ''Mrs Beeton's Book of Household ...
, who adds, "This sandwich may be varied by adding a little
pulled meat
Pulled pork is an American barbecue dish, more specifically a dish of the Southern U.S., based on shredded barbecued pork shoulder. It is typically slow-smoked over wood (usually outdoors); indoor variations use a slow cooker. The meat is th ...
, 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."
Modern versions
In November 2011, the toast sandwich was recreated by the
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...
in a tasting 150 years after the release of Beeton's ''Book of Household Management''. The society sought to revive the forgotten dish in wake of the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
after calculating the cost as low as per sandwich. They named it "the country's most economical lunch", offering to whoever could create a cheaper edible meal. Due to an overabundance of submissions, the offer was closed seven days later and the £200 given to a randomly selected entrant.
In
Heston Blumenthal
Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with un ...
's restaurant
The Fat Duck
The Fat Duck is a fine dining restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England. It is run by celebrity chef proprietor Heston Blumenthal. Housed in a 16th-century building that had previously been the site of the Bell pub, the Fat Duck opened on 16 Aug ...
, 12 toast sandwiches are served as a
side dish
A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.main course
A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée ("entry") course.
Typically, the main course is the meal that is the heaviest, heartiest, and most intricate or substantial o ...
inspired by ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
''.
Blumenthal's recipe for the toast sandwich involves
bone marrow
Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoietic ce ...
salad, egg yolk, mustard,
gastrique
Gastrique is caramelized sugar, deglazed with vinegar or other sour liquids, used as a sweet and sour flavoring for sauces.
The gastrique is generally added to a fond, reduced stock or brown sauce. It is also used to flavor sauces such as toma ...
, mayonnaise, and tomato ketchup.
United States media coverage
''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' Mike Vago described it as an "extravagance of blandness". ''
The Daily Meal
The Daily Meal is a food and drinks website. It is the first site launched by Spanfeller Media Group. Jim Spanfeller is a former CEO of Forbes.com. In 2016, Spanfeller was acquired by Tribune Publishing.
Content
The Daily Meal produces original c ...
'' article "12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of" said the toast sandwich was "just not that good ... Thankfully, the
Dadaist
Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Paris ...
s didn't invent any more sandwiches after that."
The toast sandwich was discussed on ''The Leonard Lopate Show'' in an interview with ''The Sporkful''s Dan Pashman. Host
Leonard Lopate
Leonard Lopate (born September 23, 1940) is an American radio personality. He is the host of the radio talk show ''Leonard Lopate at Large'', broadcast on WBAI, and the former host of the public radio talk show ''The Leonard Lopate Show'', broad ...
commented, "it sounds weird to me".
The
game show panelists on
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's ''
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' each tried the toast sandwich.
Host
Peter Sagal
Peter Daniel Sagal (born January 31, 1965) is an American humorist, writer, and host of the National Public Radio game show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' and the PBS special ''Constitution USA with Peter Sagal''.
__TOC__
Early life, fami ...
remarked, "This is the culinary equivalent of a
Rothko
Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Latv ...
painting. Or it's like a sandwich by
Marcel Duchamp
Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
! It questions the essence of sandwich and language both!"
See also
*
List of bread dishes
This is a list of bread dishes and foods, which use bread as a primary ingredient. Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history it has been popular around the world and is one of ...
*
List of sandwiches
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of toast dishes
Toast is sliced bread that has been browned by exposure to radiant heat. It appears as a main ingredient in many dishes, often as a base on which other food is served.
Toast dishes
* Avocado toast – mashed avocado on toast. A variety of add ...
References
External links
*
{{Sandwiches
Toast dishes
British sandwiches