Photo: French Tart

It’s National Sandwich Day in the States so, if you’re like me and you need a well-deserved break from Election Day in the U.S. and are wondering the best way to celebrate the 302nd birthday of the 4th Earl of Sandwich (born 13 November, 1718), how about starting with a look back to the 258th anniversary of the invention of the sandwich. It was 1762 when John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, ordered beef served between slices of bread, a request that would become a global convenience meal in thousands of different forms.

According to the British Sandwich Association, Montagu asked for the meal so that he could eat while continuing to play cards while his friends asked “to have the same as Sandwich“. The first written record of the sandwich was in the Kent town of Sandwich, which is the earldom of the Montagu family…hence, the ‘sandwich’ was born.

While much of America will, most likely, head right for the generic hamburger, for me, only one sandwich comes to mind as being worthy of consideration for the title of the best sandwich around to celebrate with this week, the beloved Bacon Butty, the pride of Great Britain. Saveur magazine published this recipe for the Bacon Butty in their Sandwich Issue several years back, but the definitive recipe I found comes from food.com with not only a detailed recipe and instructions, but a scientific formula developed by scientists at Leeds University in West Yorkshire as to why this is the perfect celebration sandwich.

The formula is: N = C + {fb (cm) . fb (tc)} + fb (Ts) + fc . ta, where N=force in Newtons required to break the cooked bacon, fb=function of the bacon type, fc=function of the condiment/filling effect, Ts=serving temperature, tc=cooking time, ta=time or duration of application of condiment/filling, cm=cooking method, C=Newtons required to break uncooked bacon. Any questions?

Photo: French Tart

What’s your favorite sandwich and, after you vote, how will you be celebrating National Sandwich Day? Whatever you choose, don’t forget the HP Sauce and, whatever you do, eat up as, sadly, tomorrow, November 4, is National Eating Healthy Day.