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A BLT is a type of
sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
, named for the initials of its primary ingredients,
bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...
,
lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...
, and
tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...
. It can be made with varying recipes according to personal preference. Simple variants include using different types of lettuce or tomatoes, toasting or not, or adding
mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...
. More pronounced variants can include using turkey bacon or
tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...
in place of bacon, removing the lettuce entirely, or adding other ingredients such as a fried egg,
avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...
, or sprouts.


History

Although its ingredients have existed for many years, there is little evidence of BLT sandwich recipes before 1900. In the ''1903 Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book'', a recipe for a club sandwich included bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and a slice of turkey sandwiched between two slices of bread. While the 1928 book ''Seven Hundred Sandwiches'' by Florence A. Cowles includes a section on bacon sandwiches, the recipes often include pickles and none contain tomato. The BLT became popular after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
because of the rapid expansion of
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
s, which made its ingredients available year-round. The initials, representing "bacon, lettuce, tomato", likely began in the U.S. restaurant industry as shorthand for the sandwich, but it is unclear when this transferred to the public consciousness. For example, a 1951 edition of the ''
Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...
'' makes reference to the sandwich, although it does not use its initials, describing a scene in which: "On the tray, invariably, are a bowl of soup, a toasted sandwich of bacon, lettuce and tomato, and a chocolate milk shake." A 1954 issue of '' Modern Hospital'' contains a meal suggestion that includes: "Bean Soup, Toasted Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich, Pickles, Jellied Banana Salad, Cream Dressing, and Pound Cake." By 1958, Hellmann's Mayonnaise advertised their product as "traditional on bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches", suggesting that the combination had been around for some time. However, there are several references to a "B.L.T." in the early 1970s, including in one review of Bruce Jay Friedman's play entitled ''Steambath'' titled: "A B.L.T. for God – hold the mayo." The abbreviation used in title references a line of dialogue in the play in which God yells, "Send up a bacon and lettuce and tomato sandwich, hold the mayo. You burn the toast, I'll smite you down with my terrible swift sword."


Popularity

As the sixth-most popular sandwich in the United States, it falls behind the
ham sandwich A ham sandwich is a common type of sandwich. Ham sandwich may also refer to: * Ham Sandwich (band), an Irish indie rock band * Ham Sandwich (song), "Ham Sandwich" (song), by Getter, 2019 * "Ham Sandwich", a 1963 short story by James H. Schmitz * ...
, roast beef sandwich, turkey sandwich, grilled chicken sandwich, and grilled cheese sandwich. A 2008 poll by OnePoll showed that the BLT was the "nation's favourite" sandwich in the UK. BLT sandwiches are popular especially in the summer, following the tomato harvest. In the United States, the BLT season is associated with an increase in the price of pork-bellies, which are processed into bacon.


Ingredients and preparation

While there are variations on the BLT, the essential ingredients are bacon, lettuce, and tomato, between two slices of bread (usually white), often toasted. The quantity and quality of the ingredients are matters of personal preference. The bacon can be well cooked or tender, but as it "carries" the other flavours, chefs recommend using higher quality meat; in particular, chef Edward Lee states "Your general supermarket bacon is not going to cut the mustard." Iceberg lettuce is a common choice because it does not add too much flavour while adding crunch. Food writer Ed Levine has suggested that BLT does not require lettuce at all, as it is "superfluous", a suggestion that Jon Bonné, lifestyle editor at MSNBC, described as "shocking". Michele Anna Jordan, author of '' The BLT Cookbook'', believes the tomato is the key ingredient and recommends the use of the beefsteak tomato as it has more flesh and fewer seeds. Similarly, chef and food writer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt believes that a BLT is not a bacon sandwich with additional ingredients, but rather, a tomato sandwich seasoned with bacon. For that reason, Lopez-Alt argues that the BLT is a seasonal sandwich best made with high-quality summer tomatoes. The sandwich is sometimes served with dressings, like mayonnaise. The bread can be of any variety, white or wholemeal, toasted or not, depending on personal preference.


Variations

The sandwich has a high sodium and fat content, and has been specifically targeted by UK café chains in an effort to reduce salt and fat. Due to this, low-fat mayonnaise is a common substitute along with low salt bread and less fatty bacon. A more visible solution is to use
turkey bacon Turkey bacon is a meat prepared from chopped, formed, cured, and smoked turkey, commonly marketed as a low-fat alternative to pork bacon; it may also be used as a substitute for bacon where religious dietary laws (for example halal in Islam an ...
in lieu of normal bacon. One of the variations on the BLT is the club sandwich, a two-layered sandwich in which one layer is a BLT. The other layer can be almost any sort of sliced meat, normally chicken or turkey.


In culture


United States

In 1963, pop art sculptor Claes Oldenburg created ''Giant BLT'', a soft sculpture representing the sandwich, now in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. It measures and uses vinyl, kapok and wood, painted in acrylic. Every time it is moved, it must be restacked, which means it varies between exhibits. The artist has said that he has not set it up personally since its creation in 1963. In 2003, Michele Anna Jordan set a record for the world's largest BLT, which measured in length. It was prepared at a 2003 tomato festival in
Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
and had an area of . In 2008, Marie Ganister and Glenda Castelli created a BLT – a sandwich originally planned with Jordan. The record was broken again by the Iron Barley restaurant in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, with a BLT measuring , and is currently held by Bentley Dining Services for their 2009 attempt, measuring .


United Kingdom

In 2004, the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' reported that the sandwich chosen by a politician as his "favourite" is loaded with political symbolism. For example, it suggested that a chicken tikka sandwich would be a "gentle nod to an imperial past and a firm statement of a multicultural present and future". The article went on to explain that the then
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
had accused the then
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
of being a hypocrite with regards to food, telling one portion of society that his favourite meal was
fish and chips Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of batter (cooking), battered and fried fish, served with French fries, chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, ...
and another that it was a fresh fettuccine dish. The conclusion of the article was that Blair chose the BLT as his favourite sandwich, which appeals to all classes.


See also

* List of American sandwiches * List of sandwiches *
Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blt (Sandwich) American sandwiches bacon sandwiches