How Did the Sandwich Get Its Name?
How Did the Sandwich Get Its Name? Whatever your favorite sandwich – from ham and Swiss to peanut butter and jelly – you owe some of your eating pleasure to the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, an English nobleman John Montague of the 1700’s.
According to tradition, the Earl invented the sandwich while playing cards. He was such a compulsive gambler that rather than take time away from the card table to eat a cooked meal, he ordered pieces of cold beef served between slices of bread during his games.
The snack became popular because it was easily prepared and could be eaten without the use of knives and forks. Soon people started ordering “the same as Sandwich”, and the name has stuck ever since! Even though he is not the inventor of sandwiches, Sandwich is the name that has gone down in history.
By the 19th Century the sandwich had become popular all over Europe, especially in England because of the industrial revolution. People needed easy-to-make, easy-to-carry lunches that would fill them up for a long day of work at the office or doing hard labor.
Every class of person enjoyed sandwiches, and there are now sandwiches of all different kinds and flavors and for every situation—from the bite sized cucumber sandwiches to a tuna sandwich you might find in your lunch bag.