Definitions of sandwich terms used across the site, each summarized from the post it links to. The post carries the full sources and the details where the history is disputed.
Aioli. A sauce of garlic and olive oil, with egg yolk optional, according to Britannica. Where it stops and mayonnaise begins depends on whom is asked. Read the full post.
Bánh mì. Vietnamese for bread, and the name of the sandwich built on a light baguette, usually filled with cold meats and pickled vegetables, pâté, mayonnaise, coriander and chilli sauce. Read the full post.
Bocadillo. A Spanish sandwich on a crusty, baguette-style loaf that is cut in half and filled, as a rule, with only one or two ingredients. Read the full post.
Bunny chow. A hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry, a take-out meal that belongs to Durban, South Africa. The name has nothing to do with rabbits. Read the full post.
Chivito. A Uruguayan steak sandwich of thin beef, ham, melted cheese and cold toppings. The name means "little goat," though no goat goes into it. Read the full post.
Choripán. A grilled chorizo served in a crusty roll. The name is chorizo plus pan, the Spanish word for bread. Read the full post.
Comeback sauce. A creamy, tangy Mississippi condiment that began in the Greek-owned restaurants of Jackson. Read the full post.
Croque monsieur. A hot ham-and-cheese sandwich from France, built on pain de mie with Gruyère, topped with grated cheese and baked or fried. Read the full post.
Cuban sandwich. Pressed Cuban bread filled with roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. Tampa adds Genoa salami and Miami leaves it out. Read the full post.
Dagwood. A tall, many-layered sandwich of meats, cheeses and condiments, named for Dagwood Bumstead in the comic strip Blondie. Read the full post.
Francesinha. A knife-and-fork sandwich from Porto, Portugal: bread, ham, sausage and steak under melted cheese, in a spiced tomato-and-beer sauce. Read the full post.
French dip. Sliced roast beef on a French roll, eaten with the beef's own juice, which is where the phrase "au jus" comes from. Read the full post.
Gatsby. A long bread roll from Cape Town, South Africa, packed with hot chips, a protein or two and a sharp or spicy sauce, then cut into sections for sharing. Read the full post.
Gyro. A Greek sandwich with Ottoman roots and an American industrial history. The name comes from a Greek word for turning, after the vertical spit. Read the full post.
Hoagie, sub, hero and grinder. Regional names for a split Italian roll filled with cold cuts, cheese and vegetables. The name changes across the Northeast, sometimes within a single state. Read the full post.
Horseshoe. An open-faced sandwich from Springfield, Illinois: toasted bread, a layer of meat, a pile of French fries and cheese sauce poured over the plate. Read the full post.
Hot Brown. An open-faced turkey sandwich from Louisville, Kentucky, built on toast, covered in Mornay sauce, browned under a broiler and finished with bacon. Read the full post.
Italian beef. A Chicago sandwich of thinly sliced, spiced roast beef soaked in its own cooking juices and piled into a long roll with sweet peppers or hot giardiniera. Read the full post.
Jibarito. A Chicago sandwich that replaces bread with fried, flattened green plantains around steak, garlic mayonnaise, cheese, lettuce and tomato. Read the full post.
Katsu sando. A deep-fried cutlet, usually pork, pressed between slices of soft white bread. "Sando" is the Japanese clipping of "sandwich." Read the full post.
Lobster roll. Lobster meat in a split-top bun. In Connecticut the meat is warm and buttered; in Maine it is cold and bound with a little mayonnaise. Read the full post.
Maillard reaction. The reaction between sugars and amino acids on a hot, dry surface that browns bread into toast and gives crust its color and flavor. Read the full post.
Monte Cristo. A ham-and-cheese sandwich, dipped in egg or batter, fried until gold, dusted with powdered sugar and served with jam or jelly. Read the full post.
Muffuletta. A New Orleans sandwich on a round, sesame-topped loaf, layered with Italian cold cuts and cheese and finished with a chopped olive salad. Read the full post.
Panini. In Italian, panino is one small sandwich and panini is the plural. In English, panini usually names a single hot, pressed sandwich. Read the full post.
Patty melt. A griddled sandwich of ground beef, melted cheese and onions cooked down until sweet, pressed between buttered slices of bread instead of a bun. Read the full post.
Po' boy. A New Orleans sandwich on a long loaf of crisp-crusted French bread. "Dressed" means with lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayonnaise. Read the full post.
Remoulade. A cold sauce built on mayonnaise or oil, with herbs, capers, pickles and spices added in combinations that change from country to country. Read the full post.
Reuben. A corned beef and sauerkraut sandwich claimed by both Omaha and New York. Neither claim has been settled. Read the full post.
Sabich. A pita sandwich of fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, salad, tahini and amba, a tangy pickled-mango sauce, descended from an Iraqi Jewish Shabbat breakfast. Read the full post.
Smørrebrød. Denmark's open-faced sandwich: a thin slice of buttered bread, most often dense dark rye, covered with herring, liver pâté, roast beef, egg or shrimp. Read the full post.
Sodium citrate. A mild salt of citric acid that lets cheese melt into a smooth sauce without separating into clumps and grease. Read the full post.
Torta. A Mexican sandwich built on a split wheat roll, most often a bolillo or a telera, with fillings that range from breaded cutlets to refried beans. Read the full post.
Tuna melt. A tuna salad sandwich topped or layered with cheese and heated until the cheese runs, under a broiler or in a buttered skillet. Read the full post.
Vada pav. A deep-fried potato fritter pressed into a soft bread roll with chutneys, associated with Mumbai. Read the full post.
Zapiekanka. A split baguette topped with mushrooms and cheese, baked until the cheese melts and finished with ketchup. It is Polish, and its history is placed in the 1970s. Read the full post.
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