# Do American people make sandwiches at home? Or is it more of a specialty thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 10, 2025, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414 "2025-06-10T07:18:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/61 "2025-06-10T14:07:48Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Because if an adult was talking to me about a sandwich to hold them over , I wouldn’t think they were talking about PBJ or some bologna with a smear of mustard. What would you be thinking of? To me a sandwich is grab whatever you got in the fridge and put it between two slices of bread. If I asked my German-by-way-of-Wisconsin mother-in-law for a sandwich to tide me over, it could be anything from bologna and mustard to a slice of cheese, some roast beef, and mayo. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/62 "2025-06-10T14:13:05Z")
More Hawaiian than Japanese. But yummy. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/63 "2025-06-10T14:15:37Z")
You can have roe, cooked fish, egg, etc. (Omelet is often considered the true test of a sushi chef.) As long as it’s on sushi rice, it’s sushi so far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/64 "2025-06-10T14:21:19Z")
I wouldn’t really be thinking of anything in particular. I would be thinking of something a bit more than PB&J or bologna and mustard but I wouldn’t think they were asking for a slice of last night’s leftover meat loaf or asking me to dice the leftover chicken for chicken salad. Maybe ham and Swiss with some sort of spread/dressing or roast beef, cheese and mayo with some combination of lettuce, tomato and onion. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/65 "2025-06-10T14:22:30Z")
Good point. So what _is_ its place in the standard Japanese household home made rotation? My impression remains not at the sandwich level. And that sushi is more than “stuff” on a pile of rice with vinegar sugar and salt. ---
**Author:** ![TheTyrant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thetyrant/32/19111_2.png) [@TheTyrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTyrant)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/66 "2025-06-10T14:23:49Z")
Yeah, I live alone and keep very little produce at hand that I don’t already have a plan for. I travel (unexpectedly and for an unpredictable duration) for work a fair amount, and I’ve forgotten to clear out the fridge and come home to find “soup” in the crisper drawer more than once. Also–like most, I’d imagine–any sandwiches I’m making for friends or guests are going to be _far_ more impressive than any I quickly slap together for myself. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/67 "2025-06-10T14:25:43Z")
> [@TheTyrant](#): > > any sandwiches I’m making for friends or guests How about for your kid? Even adult kids staying the week end? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/68 "2025-06-10T14:26:17Z")
If, for some reason, i decide i need to make sandwiches for guests, it’s going to require a trip to the grocery store, and it will be something of a production. I’m with the Australian who finds it easier to just fry up something i already have in the fridge. I always have makings for corn bread, i always have eggs. I usually have leftovers (which is my typical lunch). ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/69 "2025-06-10T14:32:05Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I hear that in some states, like New Jersey and California, you need a special permit to make sandwiches at home, or else possess an advanced training certificate. > > Otherwise people are bound to mismatch coldcuts with the wrong breads and rolls, with catastrophic results. Look at what brioche buns do to a savory sandwich, kills it dead. Hawaiian bread and texas toast both abominations that run riot over lunchtime. Sad state of affairs when neophytes enter the kitchen ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/70 "2025-06-10T14:33:37Z")
But why? My point was that “stuff” in a bowl is perfectly cromulent sushi. To confuse things, I have even ordered “chirashi zushi” in a Japanese restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/71 "2025-06-10T14:39:10Z")
You’ve got cold meatloaf!?! Please — on toast with some ketchup. Lettuce if you’ve got it. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/72 "2025-06-10T14:45:33Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And I discovered that cold cuts don’t keep all that well. I don’t enjoy the ham that’s been sitting in the fridge for a week. So I stopped buying coldcuts. I guess salami keeps better, but it’s not something I eat very often, and it’s not especially healthy, so I don’t keep it around, either. I have this issue too. Theoretically, I want the option of sandwiches. However, lots of cold cuts start to go bad pretty quickly, so I have to buy 1/2lb of only one variety and have sandwiches with it for 3-4 days in a row. I will sometimes resort to bologna or salami as options that hold for a bit longer in the fridge, but as you say, they don’t feel like wise options to eat consistently from a health standpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/73 "2025-06-10T14:45:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You can have roe, cooked fish, egg, etc. (Omelet is often considered the true test of a sushi chef.) As long as it’s on sushi rice, it’s sushi so far as I know. That’s what I thought. But @DSeid was comparing the storability of “extremely fresh sushi quality raw fish” versus that of cold cuts, and that sounds like a pointless comparison. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/74 "2025-06-10T14:47:14Z")
If you have leftover meatloaf and chicken, why do you need to make a sandwich? Put some of the leftovers on a plate. Add a fork and knife. Toss in some of the leftover rice and/or veg from the same meal. Maybe finish with a piece of hand fruit. Lunch! ---
**Author:** ![TheTyrant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thetyrant/32/19111_2.png) [@TheTyrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTyrant)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/75 "2025-06-10T14:47:25Z")
Ah yeah, I don’t have any kids–but family would certainly count. I’d definitely put a bit more effort into that than I do food for myself. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/76 "2025-06-10T14:52:07Z")
Because meatloaf sandwiches are only possible when there is leftover meatloaf, and they are great! I don’t like reprising meals, and usually try to make something new from leftovers. I know I may be weird like that. But meatloaf sandwiches! They’re better than meatloaf! . It’s like with Thanksgiving sandwiches, which are often better than the meal. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/77 "2025-06-10T14:54:38Z")
Different strokes for different folks. I’ve never understood making sandwiches from leftover Thanksgiving, either. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/78 "2025-06-10T14:56:41Z")
Well, you might want a sandwich made from leftover meatloaf or Thanksgiving turkey to bring to work or school for lunch where plating the meatloaf or turkey isn’t practical. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/79 "2025-06-10T14:56:51Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > A new sandwich shop opens today near my house. This morning they are having a reuben cutting ceremony. 👍 ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/80 "2025-06-10T14:58:55Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > What place sushi in the home cooked Japanese rotation seems like a reasonable question for me as an American with little cultural knowledge of Japan to ask. Agreed, it’s equivalent to asking if sushi is more akin to pancakes for breakfast or eggs benedict. You can get both of them at the average diner, but I used to make pancakes from scratch using 1 bowl and 1 frying pan, and for EB you need 4 different cookers going, it’s a complete pain in the ass even if the hollandaise doesn’t break. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414.md?page=5)