Okay, hear me out before answering or calling me an idiot. This just came to me, and I haven't slept in like 3 days and it makes perfect sense to my sleep-deprived brain. I also wrote 1.4k words on why it is and know I need a hobby but that's beside the point.
Sandwich - an item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with meat, cheese, or other filling between them, eaten as a light meal.
Cake and bread have nearly the same ingredients, the main difference is bread has to rise, but they're both carb-based foods with similar textures. There are also certain cakes that are half-bread half-cake mutants, so I define cake as a type of sweet bread.
The filling in between said cake slice is arguably similar to a Nutella or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And there are savory cakes with cold cuts (smörgåstårta, for example.)
Sandwiches aren't usually eaten with utensils whereas cake is, however, I've eaten sandwiches with a fork and knife before and it didn't make them any less sandwichy, so I don't think one could discount cake just because it's commonly eaten with a fork.
TL;DR: Cake and bread have almost the same ingredients and similar textures, so I define cake as being a sweet bread. The filling between cake layers is arguably similar to a peanut butter jelly or nutella sandwich, and I don't believe utensils play a huge role in defining food.
So, ignoring the public's opinion on this, if an individual wanted to define their slice of cake as being a sandwich, could they? Or would that just be absurd?
It even looks like a fluffy sandwich!
Technically, one could define it as a sandwich.
No, that'd be completely absurd.
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Technically, could one define a slice of double-layer cake as being a sandwich?
Sandwiches are a popular commodity for the common person. It is said they started back in the 18th century, when John Montagu of Sandwich ordered meat between two slices of bread and his subjects yelled “It is a sandwich!” From that, we can clearly it is well known convention that every sandwich requires bread, just like the original sandwich... or does it? Yes, a ham sandwich is a sandwich— but what about a hotdog, a hamburger, an ice cream [*dramatic pause*] sandwich? Today, there is an even more pressing question though... is cake... A sandwich?
*jump cut to me loafing around* We can credit cake back to the vikings, where it was called “Kaka.” Early cakes all the way up to England were more like just pieces of bread though, the difference being the shape and cooking method. You could say cakes, or Kaka, have a much longer history than John Montagu’s creation.
*sudden and uncalled for jumpcut* To define a sandwich, we can really look to three categories: Bread, Filling, and Public Convention. As for Clo917’s question, let’s just push Public Convention aside for now.
*jump cut zoom in* Bread. What is Sandwich bread? Do sandwiches even need bread? One such approach to this is a deconstructionist view to sandwiches. That is, it is not the end product that determines the sandwich-ness of the bread, but rather, the ingredients themselves. However, this view has one significant criticism: not all breads are created equal. If someone takes a Tres Leches and throws meat in between, is it really a sandwich? Perhaps a better approach is a functionalist perspective. Let me “fill” you in on some sandwich theory.
*jump cut back to desk*
When I take this piece of ham I’ve been holding while typing this *flop ham* and put it between bread that crumbles at the slightest touch *show dry-ass cornbread* it becomes impossible to hold up. The bread type matters. A sandwich, as per it’s creation, is something meant to be held up. Although people can eat it with a fork, it is not designed to be eaten with a fork.
Let’s look at a double layer cake. Although the cake batter is made of arguably sweet bread, it is not designed to be eaten by hand. *unpaid intern yells on set* “But V Sauce dangerDoge, I eat my cake by hand.” Ahh, but the intent is different, and intent matters. Think of art: what defines art apart from trash. If I take a chair and glue it to a wall, is it art? *pick up chair and glue to wall* The answer is only if I intend for it to be art. Otherwise, it’s a chair glued to a wall and is, as our neighbors across the pond would say, rubbish. In this case, it’s not the intent of sandwichhood or not, but the very element that defines a sandwich.
*slightly alarmingly close jump cut* Let’s look at our cake again. The filling is quite clearly sandwich like. After all, public convention has clearly condoned peanut butter and jelly [*dramatic pause.*] sandwiches.
While hot dogs and hamburgers have the intent of holding them up to eat, cake, for better or worse, does not. Therefore, it rules it out of its sandwich knighthood and casts it back to the kingdom of pastry. History also gives us a clue. After all, cakes were made before sandwiches. If anything sandwiches are a subset of cakes, but that’s a video for another day. Stay toasty, and as always, thanks for watching.
Well, that’s based on historical order. If we use “intent” as a reason, I’d argue that they’re rather separate entities. One has a characteristic of intent to be eaten with utensils, and the other is meant to be eaten picked up and eaten. If there is a sandwich that is not meant to be picked up and eaten, that complicates things more
Hmm interesting, but who exactly decides if a particular kind of sandwich is meant to be picked or not? I'd argue a sandwich like a meatball sub shouldn't be picked either, they're far too messy and it's easier to eat them with a knife and fork, but I'm sure some would disagree with me... Which leads me to think: Is the definition of what a sandwich is far too complicated? Is this a world issue that nobody will ever come to a solid agreement on?
I for one eat my meatball subs with my hands haha. But I think it’s important to have a distinction with the intent or not. Otherwise, you get things like casseroles with a bread crust/bottom as a sandwich.
Perhaps the definition is so broad that it lacks meaning nowadays. Once someone started saying the filling didn’t need to be meat and the bread could vary, we had already as a society bastardized the sandwich. We now live in a dystopian timeline where “sandwich” has no true definition anymore.
Okay maybe I just eat sandwiches weirdly lol I'm the sole reason for the bastardization of sandwiches, and I'm quite proud of it; because now I can declare a donut (a food eaten with hands so it fits into the category) as an open face sandwich.
Not a traditional sandwich, but an open face one. You've got the bread base and a topping. Filled donuts definitely fit too, they're basically a roll. I'm learning that anything can be a sandwich if you try hard enough
Unpopular opinion: An open faced sandwich is not, by itself, a sandwich. The name is disingenuous in respect to the definition. It is a sandwich if you close it, but it isn't a sandwich unless you got bread on both sides.
Where I live, we have stores that are called "Kolaches & Donuts" but really, the kolaches are really an item called "pigs in a blanket," (aka meat in the middle + pastry outside) while a real kolache is a pastry with fruit. Names aren't always perfect. But hey, I still call them kolaches, because no one will know what you're talking about if you ask for the local "Pigs in a blanket" shop lmao
Just as the cake is a lie, the sandwich is a lie. If you don't stand for something, you fall for anything. If we don't draw the line somewhere, the entire food kingdom will be overrun by sandwiches
Oh yeah, there's a place that sells kolaches near me too, those are definitely sandwiches in my eyes too. Call me a chaotic evil, but I don't want the line drawn; a world where everything can be considered a sandwich is the kind of world I want to live in.
Yes! Cake is Sandwich! Especially German cakes, known as Kuchen, are, because often these do not have frosting on the top, ergo they can be defined as sweet icing or berry or jam or pudding sandwiches. By the same token, the Whopper (I loves Burger King!) I had for supper is indeed a meat and lettuce and onion and tomato and sauce cake. It was two pieces of bread with filling between consisting of meat, tomato, onion, sauce, and lettuce, just like a layer cake has frosting or fruit or jam between. It was one sweet taste!! :-)
My friend, you should make this your new hobby! I have heard that people who are sleep deprived can create amazing ideas when they are pressured, so I have two thumbs up for you for delivering this.
Thing is, I always eat sponge cake using my hands, not forks nor knives. So even when putting utensils into mind for determining what kind of food a sponge cake is, you can also put it in sandwich category.
You should also notice that some people prefer eating hamburger using fork and knives and some people also eat steak without using utensils. So your opinion in disregarding utensils in defining food is a solid one.
However, I think you should still separate cakes and breads from each other at some points. For example, black forest and tiramisu cakes are clearly not sandwiches. So does cake rolls and mousse cakes. I think what you should propose is moving sponge cake and brownies from cake category to sandwich category.
I don't think donuts can. Unless you are someone who prefers eating two donuts at a time or your donuts have filling inside instead of a plain donut bread.
Well, there are filled donuts which definitely could fit. But even without it being filled, you have a dough base and frosting, jam, and/or sprinkles on top. So I feel like it would fit into the open face sandwich category
Never heard of open face sandwich before. Perhaps people often call it "jam and bread" rather than sandwich? I think we should also include pizza as sandwich too, or perhaps they had already separated sandwich pizza from common pizzas?
Not always, cause sometimes it'll have cold cuts like smoked salmon and whatnot. Pizza is definitely a sandwich, but again, an open-face one. You've got the crust and the filling on top, there's no way it isn't a sandwich
I ducking love this question/argument and your brain. I’ve never thought about this before but now that I have I would consider cake a sandwich. Im just picturing someone asking me what I have for lunch and me saying “a sandwich” and then pulling a whole cake out.
Have some cake and get some rest. I like the concept and I understand your logic, but I don't think it is going to float. Now forgive me, but I must leave and finish my Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (check the lower left corner of the package).
No, because with a sandwich, the bread is merely a carrier for the ingredients. This is why with modern, upscale sandwiches, the proprietors make such a big deal about using fancy bread -- because the bread was originally put there to keep your hands clean. With cake, the focus is the actual cake part with fillings being a side show. In that regard, a cake is the opposite of a sandwich.
Its not For one cake is like bread, but its not Second its a slice of a cake, not a cake That is my view And in the base of all things everything is everything So is the earth a sawmitch because earth with hot souce in the middle If we cut it..
You can call your food whatever you want to. There is such a thing as ice cream sandwiches right? So why not cake sandwiches. I wouldn't count it as a meal though. Nor would I consider it nutritious. A sandwich contains different food group items as well as protein and vitamins/minerals. A cake sandwich does not.
Girl you need to get some sleep no it's not a sandwich a sandwich is full of protein turkey ham cheese bacon lettuce tomato that wouldn't qualify officially for being a sandwich thats just cake as in desert
Lol I finally did last night. I still stand by what I said though. I mean, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are considered sandwiches and they don't have meat
I mean, if someone wants to define cake a sandwich... it is their prerogative to do so. I personally only call sliced bread sandwich a sandwich. I don't even consider subway sandwich a sandwich, because baguettes are not bread.
cake is a dessert with icing , batter , baked in an oven and so forth ! where as a sandwich has meat , cheese , mustard , tomato , lettuce and bread which makes it a sandwich ! Thanks
That fact that you wrote such a well detailed description on why this might or might not be called a sandwich is pure art to my eyes. I’ll give it to you, I admire your dedication. For art is fleeting!
I agree with you sweet little girl, but i actually don't care since your a sweet little girl who makes super delicious sweets, i think that i must kiss your brain which is deprived from sleep and put you in bed, also cover you well so you be warm and make you sleep 😊
The sweet Clo needs to sleep and be happy so she offers the most delicious cakes yum yum
What about the frosting? Who puts peanut butter or jelly on top of their pb&j sandwhich? thats like puting milk in soda. (Ew). Plus WHO TF EATS PB&J WITH A FORK AND KNIFE AHAHAHA!
I mean, one could argue that a sandwich requires bread, but then you have ice cream sandwiches which don't have bread. This is a question that can bring some interesting angles.
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