Episode Details

Barry Enderwick has been making, eating, and sharing historical sandwiches for years on social media @sandwichesofhistory and recently in live shows. 

In Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook: All the Best (and Most Surprising) Things People Have Put Between Slices of Bread (Harvard Common Press, 2024) he painstakingly recreates dozens of recipes, staying faithful to the original sandwiches while also providing guidance on how to make each more amenable to a contemporary palate. 

The recipes provide a window into the kinds of sandwiches that were common in prior eras and also highlight some of the ways that ingredients and techniques have changed. Ingredients like nasturtium leaves, watercress, and sardines may be surprising now but were common in the past. Other combinations speak to the new found prosperity and international interests of the post World War II years.  

Above all, Barry's good humor and respect for both the sandwiches and the sandwich eaters make this book a compelling exploration of changing tastes and circumstances. Although some of the combinations are surprising or even downright baffling, the book provides the context to make sense of the past. 

As just one example, the Toast Sandwich - yes, that's a piece of toast between two buttered pieces of untoasted bread -- was for people on restricted diets to provide some texture and taste to an otherwise bland eating experience.

This peek into the humble sandwich becomes a highly personal culinary experience deeply rooted in curiosity about the past and the enjoyment of a good meal today. 

Author recommended reading:

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen  by Jacques Pépin

Hosted by Meghan Cochran

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