Sandwich toaster
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A sandwich toaster is an electrical appliance used to toast sandwiches. Ordinary kitchen units generally consist of indented hot plates, clamped together around the sandwich. Usually two sandwiches can be toasted at a time. The plates are heated by electrical coils inside the appliance. Usually the exterior is somewhat separate from these to ensure the outside of the unit does not get too hot. The plates often clamp tightly around the edge of the sandwich, sealing in the filling. The use of a special sandwich toaster seals the edges of the sandwich and places a diagonal line across it, thus solving the problem of content spillage. Typical toasted sandwiches are a grilled cheese sandwich, tuna melt, or patty melt.
The appliance is known by various names around the world, including toasted sandwich maker or jaffle iron in Australia and South Africa, toastie maker in the United Kingdom and New Zealand {sometimes quixie iron or quicksie iron in New Zealand}. Breville, manufacturers of some of the earliest sandwich toasters, is sometimes eponymously.
Toasted sandwiches are also known by various names. They are frequently called toasties in Britain, brevilles or jaffles in Australia (also brevilles in South Africa). Jaffles are so named after the original jaffle iron (U.S. English: "pie iron"), a long-handled hinged iron implement for toasting sandwiches in a campfire. Sandwich toasters are less common in the United States where grilled cheese sandwiches are more popular.
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[edit] Preparation
The toasted sandwich maker presses the edges of the sandwich together to form a seal during toasting. The filling ends up in a cavity within the bread, making the sandwich convenient to eat, but also rendering the filling extremely hot.
Another type of toasted sandwich is the panini. Panini, which translates to "little breads" in Italian, are sandwiches that are pressed during grilling with a Panini-press sandwich toaster. Panini-presses often produce distinctive parallel grill marks on the sandwich and are able to accommodate sections of bread of varying length, unlike other hinged sandwich toasters which require a standard size of sliced bread.
An alternative preparation method uses a toaster oven, where the sandwich is often arranged open face and then toasted. This not only toasts the bread, but also warms the meat or other filling of the sandwich. In particular, toasting causes cheese to melt, making it a popular topping for toasted sandwiches. In many restaurants, sandwiches are toasted in large conveyor belt style toaster ovens. This is most famously done at sandwich chain Quizno's, although it has since also been adopted at Subway and Boston Market.
Just as in an ordinary, untoasted sandwich, the choice of toasted sandwich fillings and combinations of fillings is limited only by the imagination of the chef. Perhaps the most commonly used filling is cheese, on its own or together with tomato or ham. Pickles, jam, and even such strange bedfellows as banana and Nutella are other examples.
Industrial units range from those similar to the kitchen appliance (squashing or clamping the sandwich) to grilling units, which use dry heat to toast the bread. Panini are often made using equipment similar to sandwich toasters. In South Africa, these appliances are sometimes called Snackwiches, after a once popular brand of sandwich toaster.
A sandwich may also be toasted in a waffle iron, provided that the hinge opens widely enough. This gives the bread an unusual appearance and texture.
[edit] The Tostwich
In the United States, the Tostwich is possibly the earliest toasted sandwich maker, dating back to before 1920. However, it wasn't patented until March 3, 1925 (applied for on May 26, 1924). It was invented by Charles Champion, whose other inventions include a corn-popping machine for mass-producing popcorn.[1], 2000, accessed December 26, 2007
[edit] Origins
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In 1974, the Australian company Breville released the "Snack 'n' Sandwich toaster", which sold 400,000 units within a year of release. This toaster utilised Breville's new "Cut-n-Seal" mechanism, which essentially defined the toastie. A further product, the "Breville scissor action snack 'n' sandwich toaster", was released to the British public, also in the early 70's.
Now Breville's innovative design is used by dozens of manufacturers, but Breville are still the market leaders, with a range of 14 sandwich toasters, sold to all the major European countries and accounting for 50% of the British market.
The original Australian and South African jaffle iron was smaller, the same size as a slice of bread from a square loaf, designed to use in a fire, on a stove or gas ring. This was especially useful for outdoor cooking popular in both countries. The iron was made in two parts, identical except the edge where they hooked together. Long handles enabled the two parts to be firmly clamped together, and to be inserted in a fire or stove easily. The jaffle has always been a popular snack in Australia and South Africa, originally developed as an easy means to reheat leftover food, or to add to a worker's lunch bag.
In Japan toasted sandwich makers sometimes have removable plates, that allow you to make both onigiri and toasted sandwiches.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Catlin's Own Inventor", Shirley Nesbitt, http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilchs/history/pages/champ1.htm
