Sandwich Facts for Kids

This page is about food. For other uses, see Sandwich (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Sandwich
A bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich
Main ingredients	Bread, meat, cheese, salad vegetables, sauce or savoury spread

A double decker toasted sandwich containing bacon, tomato, lettuce and egg served with crisps on a white porcelain plate. This sandwich very likely has mayonnaise spread on it instead of or in addition to butter. A similar sandwich is shown in the background but this has salad instead of crisps. Both plates are on a tray, which is on a grey marble or marble-effect counter top.

Salmon-and-cream-cheese sandwiches on pieces of baguette

English sandwiches, crustless on a plate

Sandwich with fried egg, tomato and cucumber

Sandwich filled with olives and sliced red tomatoes

Hamburger

A sandwich is a food prepared by placing different kinds of foods between two pieces of bread. The pieces of bread in a sandwich are referred to as slices or sheets of bread. The snack is thought to have been made first for the Earl of Sandwich, hence the name. Many people enjoy the sandwich as it is easy and quick to make in a hurry. Also, the sandwich can be easily eaten with one hand without utensils which allows consumers to have a hand free to do other things. Some people prefer to eat a sandwich with both hands.

In many countries, children eat sandwiches for lunch at school. The sandwiches are put in a lunchbox and often wrapped in cling film to keep them fresh.

Variations
Types
Example fillings
Formula
In popular culture
Images for kids
See also

Variations

A sandwich is not limited to a single layer of filling between two pieces of bread. It can have more than one layer of filling and bread. Each layer of filling is commonly referred to as a "deck". For instance, a single decker sandwich would be the standard two slices of bread and one layer of filling. A double decker sandwich will have three slices of bread with two layers of fillings. Generally one piece, is one piece of bread cut in two with a filling between each piece.

The double decker sandwich is so called because each layer of filling forms a deck, much like a double decker London bus. A club sandwich is a double decker sandwich with chicken, bacon and salad. A triple decker sandwich would consist of four slices of bread with three layers of fillings.

A sandwich with only one slice of bread is called an open sandwich or an open-face sandwich. The filling is placed on top of the bread. An open sandwich is often eaten with a knife and fork, although it can be picked up and eaten by hand.

Another form of sandwich is the toasted sandwich. The toasted sandwich can be made from slices of toast instead of bread or the sandwich is toasted whole in an oven or a sandwich presser.

Sandwiches made with different types of bread might be given unique names. A panini, for example, is usually a sandwich on a small roll or loaf which is pressed between two heavy, heated grill plates.

Sandwiches can also be called by many other names in different parts of the world such as 'grinder', 'sub', 'hoagie' and 'wedge'.

Types

There are many different types of sandwiches. Examples are:

Cold sheets of bread: Sandwich
Heated sheets of bread: Toastie
A breaded bun : Burger
Ciabatta: Panini
A long bread: Baguette
Wrap: Soft Flatbread

Example fillings

There are many types of filling that can be placed within a sandwich. These include:

Formula

Open-face Bread > Filling

Standard Sandwich Bread > Filling > Bread

Double Decker Bread > Filling A > Bread > Filling B > Bread

Triple Decker Bread > Filling A > Bread > Filling B > Bread > Filling C > Bread

In popular culture

In one episode of The Apprentice, the apprentices were required to make sandwiches for Donald Trump.

In the French film Taxi the protagonist is made a special sandwich with half Bayonne ham, half Paris. This later sparks the jealousy of another character.

In the Warner Brothers cartoon Scooby Doo, Scooby was well known to love making sandwiches with Shaggy having many layers, often with a great variety of fillings.

In the television series Buffy, during episode 61, Buffy eyes a classmate eating a sandwich, snatches it and hungrily scarfs it down.

In the television series Star Trek, Scotty used the word sandwich to refer to the makeup of a piece of technology which was made of three layers of two materials, which caused the food synthesizer in the galley of the USS Enterprise to believe that he was requesting a meal. Scotty canceled the process by kicking the offending unit.

The largest sandwich ever made was made by Wild Woody's Chill and Grill, Roseville, Michigan. It weighed 5,440 lbs.