Sandwich
Did You Know?
Sandwich is a town in East Kent in South East England. The
popular snack got its name due to the John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of
Sandwich.
John Montagu was a notoriously avid gambler. In 1972, he
realized that he needed a snack that could satisfy his appetite and still allow
him to stay at the cards table. He then trialed a snack of two pieces of bread
holding a filling, which was inspired from his visits to the Middle East.
He cannot however be credited with the invention of the
sandwich itself, just the name in the West which eventually caught on with the
rest of the world.
The first sandwiches were prepared in the 1st
century B.C. by the Jewish sage Hillel the Elder during Passover, with lamb and
bitter herbs in pieces of matzo bread. These snacks were called Hillel’s snack
by the Romans. There is also evidence that the Middle Eastern countries
prepared “sandwiches” long before the West. In Europe though the Dutch prepared
something similar called the “filled roll” about a century before John Montagu.
At some point of time, sandwiches transitioned from a
late-night men’s snack to a any-time-of-the-day snack. The possibilities of
exploring the filling between the bread and the variety of bread choices
further increased its popularity. The choices were endless.
It is now the most popular meal in the UK.
In fact, each year, the British population manages to munch
their way through a staggering 11.5 billion sandwiches.
References : http://www.britishsandwichweek.com/index.php/facts-figures/3-how-many-sandwiches-do-we-eat
No comments:
Post a Comment