Jeff at Unbreaded wrote a great post with his opinion about what a burrito is. He believes that regardless of the definition or the legal case surrounding burritos (finding them not to be a sandwich), burrito are sandwiches.
Another of his commentors actively disagreed, but also claimed other items, like falafel in pita, are not sandwiches. I felt the need to weigh in (I love giving my two cents). My response (extended a bit and linked-up for FoodMayhem readers):
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@BJN & @Jeff – Here’s the thing, food is subjective, frankly it’s art. And terminology varies by region. That said, we can look to history for some suggestions about all this. First of all, I have to say that while all the carts and shops near me in NYC sell falafel in pita as a sandwich, it is only to help as a reference. You see, pita, in one form of another has been baked and eaten with falafel since at least 1000 A.D. (documented). And the term ’sandwich’ has only existed since 1762.
Clearly it’s possible to re-categorize food items. Perhaps the falafel in a pita combo was usurped by the sandwich grouping.
But what about our original issue? Burritos? Well, they’re a 20th century phenomena. Which means they could easily be within the category. However, if you digg deeper, there are sitings of meat wrapping in tortillas back to 1840. And non-Mexican groups were cooking and eating food with tortilla and tortilla variants all the way back to 16th century.
So the family of tortillas, let’s think about it as well. Tortilla means cake, and includes cake-like omelettes, with or without potatoes depending on where you go. It also includes arepas (corn cakes or cassava cakes).
Arepas are eaten alone, topped with various items, or sliced open and eaten as a sandwich. Uh oh… I’m seeing overlap!
So is an arepa a sandwich (open-face, or otherwise)? Sure.
Let’s dial back and look at the definition of a sandwich:
(A) Two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between;
(B) One slice of bread covered with food.
Cripes.. “bread” dang! Corn cakes are not bread. Because the definition of bread:
A usually baked and leavened food made of a mixture whose basic constituent is flour or meal.
Hmm. corn meal, maybe arepas are bread? Although they’re not ‘usually’ leavened. So they’re usually not bread? This is up for interpretation.
What about tortillas? Usually not bread too? Since we make them, we can tell you’re they’re bread-like, but not bread.
Ready to have your mind blown? What about pizza? Oh no! Leavened bread with toppings. Yes, pizza is technically an open-faced sandwich. In fact, Jessica was taught in culinary school exactly that: pizza is an open-faced sandwich. By the way, we love making pizza too: NY-style and Chicago-style. Another open-faced sandwich: gyro! Pita is leavened. And guess what, that makes falafel a sandwich too. (See I’m not just wandering here, we’re getting somewhere)
Hot dogs? Yep, sandwiches! Read the definition again. A sliced roll with filling. Joinkies.
Burritos, well no leavened dough… there’s only one slice of the “bread”-like part… and it’s not sliced open and stuffed. I’m siding with the court. It does not meet (meat?) the definition.
This was a fun trot through food history and definitions.
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Before any more time is wasted trying to find a cure to cancer, we must have our nation’s top thinkers address this issue.
^ LOL @ Bill
what about the dim sum char siew buns?
@Lon Thanks for getting involved with our little debate. Some really good FACTS there, really compliments our BS.
Basically, in English, I believe the word “sandwich” can refer to the specific object: two slices of bread with fillings; and can also speak to a broader category of things that are served in a portable, handheld style in contrast to a platter with utensils. I am willing to admit that a burrito is always referred to as a burrito, and not as a sandwich.
But to get a little too deep in my own minutiae, a sandwich can be a utilitarian word, a broad based category of things that have more common with each other than another group of things, platters.
Sandwiches served on any bread share certain characteristics and personality traits: mobility, a certain hold-and-eat style and a focus on the bread as much as the fillings.
For argument’s sake, suppose I wanted a Mediterranean sandwich. It is traditionally served on a lavash or pita. Would I have to put the same fillings on a Kaiser roll for it to be considered a sandwich? No. The bread must be judged as symbiotic with the fillings. The sandwich only works if the bread and the filling are truly meant to be together.
So I say a burrito, which no doubt was first invented when some guy wanted to take his beans and rice platter to go, is a sandwich, in that it was designed to be held together in a package and eaten.
I would never ever ever order a burrito and expect to get a sandwich. That’s ridiculous. But if you ask the question, is a burrito a type of sandwich? Is an elephant a type of mammal? Is a geranium a plant? The answer is yes.
Wow–never thought of pizza as a sandwich. You’ve opened my mind!
Pearl – No no no… They’re so delicious, but don’t meet the criteria. They’re a pastry.
However, Ni Zhe Ho Tway (the honey ham, eaten with lotus seed inside a baked, fold of dough) would be a sandwich. Btw, while that thing is insanely sweet, it is quite tasty.
NY pizza makes us cry. We miss it so much!
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Joannah
http://myscones.com/
Kelvin/Joannah, thanks! Hope we hear from you often.