# 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:** 6
**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, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/101 "2025-06-10T16:32:41Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I don’t think you’re a weird American - but when you say you don’t understand making sandwiches from meatloaf or Thanksgiving leftovers and start talking about your take-out containers, it’s hard to tell if you’re joking or if you really don’t understand that there are situations where eating leftovers with a knife and fork is not practical or desirable. For example, I might bring leftover turkey and rice and vegetables to an office where I have a microwave to heat it up but not for a lunch stop on a long drive since I’m not a fan of cold rice/potato/cooked vegetables. I really don’t understand. Is cold meatloaf better if you hold it between two slices of bread than of you just eat it, either with a plastic fork or with your fingers? When i first worked outside my home, i bought some cold cuts and made myself sandwiches. And i quickly learned that the cold cuts got old and unappealing before i finished them. And that it was a nuisance to shop often enough to avoid that. So I stopped doing that. I do make pb&j sandwiches when I’m going to have to carry food without refrigeration for an extended time. Or i might pack a chunk of cheese and something carby, like a roll or crackers or chips or pretzels. And when i travel, i sometimes buy a baguette and some cold cuts, and make myself something sandwich-like. But i really don’t understand how putting the leftover turkey or meatloaf on a slice of bread enhances it, or makes it more palatable to eat away from home. Is it just a way to contain the mess? When i get boxed lunches, that contain a sandwich, i often pick the sandwich apart and eat the pieces separately, fwiw, mostly because I’m a picky eater, and may be trying to avoid one of the sandwich ingredients. (It might be relevant that i don’t like mayo. So i don’t care for most of the mayonnaise “salads” people make with leftovers. Just give me the leftovers and the celery on the side, don’t smear mayonnaise all over them, thanks. I realize that’s a “me” thing, and many people enjoy mayonnaise. But the mayo is one of the things i might be avoiding when i deconstruct that corporate sandwich. I’ll pick out the sliced meat to eat, and toss the mayo-soaked slice of bread.) ---
**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, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/102 "2025-06-10T16:37:31Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I realize that’s a “me” thing, and many people enjoy mayonnaise. But the mayo is one of the things i might be avoiding when i deconstruct that corporate sandwich. I don’t think it’s too strange. I don’t particularly care for mayo either, and if there is any I’d prefer it very very _very_ light. I generally prefer Miracle Whip, and it’s in my fridge far more often than mayo is. ---
**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, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/103 "2025-06-10T16:45:31Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > really don’t understand. Is cold meatloaf better if you hold it between two slices of bread than of you just eat it, either with a plastic fork or with your fingers? No , I can eat the cold meatloaf with a knife and fork. It’s sometimes a way to contain the mess, but more often it’s because I don’t want a lunch of _just_ meatloaf. I’m going to want something else with it, and most of the items I might eat with meatloaf I’m not going to want to eat cold. And if I’m going to have a hunk of bread with the meatloaf I might as well just make it a sandwich. ---
**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, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/104 "2025-06-10T16:47:55Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Westerners have this unfortunate tendency to see an idealized version of a thing in one context in Japan, and assume that this is a universal standard. Not just Japan… a lot of our (American) culture, food culture in particular, is built around an endless pursuit of a single best version of a particular thing. We defend our opinions by making up rules (or following rules that trend-setters give to us) about what defines the best version of or best way to consume X Y or Z. It also bleeds into our arbitrary definitions of authenticity when it comes to cultural expression, where we conveniently exclude data and examples that challenge our personally-held narrow definitions of what a thing is. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I really don’t understand. Is cold meatloaf better if you hold it between two slices of bread than of you just eat it, either with a plastic fork or with your fingers? I’m with you on this wrt meatloaf. In particular because meatloaf, at least as I’m used to making/eating it, is moist, well seasoned, and doesn’t really need anything else. Adding bread as a vessel makes some sense if it helps you hold/eat it, but it doesn’t improve the food. I don’t think I’d ever prefer a meatloaf sandwich to just a piece of meatloaf. It makes me think about a meatball sub, though, which is similar, but that sandwich is at least as much about the marinara and cheese as it is the meatballs, so maybe not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/105 "2025-06-10T16:51:43Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > i often pick the sandwich apart and eat the pieces separately, fwiw, mostly because I’m a picky eater, and may be trying to avoid one of the sandwich ingredients. I did similar when I voluntarily went on a low-carb diet. Slim-Fast for breakfast and the insides of a 7-Eleven sandwich for lunch; the sandwich bread would go into the laptop bag I used for a briefcase and be saved for feeding birds. Long after I started working from home, I found a forgotten, dried-out sub roll in that bag. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/106 "2025-06-10T16:55:53Z")
I didn’t read the whole thread, and I can’t figure out why it’s in the Pit. But I never make my own sandwiches at home. I freeze bread because if I don’t freeze it I will eat it immediately, or else not in a timely fashion and it will get moldy. I never keep sandwich stuffing like sliced meat on hand because it will go bad. I just can’t be trusted to take good care of sandwich fixings at home. I will be leaving this thread now, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/107 "2025-06-10T16:56:01Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Long after I started working from home, I found a forgotten, dried-out sub roll in that bag. If it was just dried out and not moldy, it would have been perfect for birds. ---
**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, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/108 "2025-06-10T16:56:51Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > My favorite is to make an omelet, except after you flip it once, you fold it in half twice so that it’s roughly square-ish. You flip your flipping omelette? That dries it out, makes it rubbery. It should be folded in half or thirds while still a bit wet. Before folding it add cheese, sautéed veg first if you like. Let it cook further, then flip it. Gives you a Slightly browned exterior, fluffy interior. All my scrambled egg intentions end up omelettes. I can’t help it, but I will wreck a few eggs in the pan for a fried egg sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/109 "2025-06-10T16:58:34Z")
> [@chela](#): > > You flip your flipping omelette? If I don’t flip it, the other side is not going to be cooked. I don’t like uncooked omelet. > [@chela](#): > > That dries it out, makes it rubbery. Nope. I usually put some spray butter on it before flipping it. It gives it a slight crust and stays moist inside. It’s delicious. My omelets are never rubbery. ---
**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, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/110 "2025-06-10T16:59:48Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I don’t like uncooked omelet. Then you’re cooking it wrong. Spray butter? That’s it thems fighting words. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/111 "2025-06-10T17:00:39Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Is cold meatloaf better if you hold it between two slices of bread than of you just eat it, either with a plastic fork or with your fingers? Yes. Yes it is. At least sometimes. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > But i really don’t understand how putting the leftover turkey or meatloaf on a slice of bread enhances it Some things are better together than separately. For example, I would much, much rather eat spaghetti sauce + spaghetti noodles than either one by itself. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > When i get boxed lunches, that contain a sandwich, i often pick the sandwich apart and eat the pieces separately Well then, you and I just have totally different approaches to food. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/112 "2025-06-10T17:00:45Z")
Undercooked scrambled eggs are disgusting. ---
**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, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/113 "2025-06-10T17:02:25Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Some things are better together than separately. For example, I would much, much rather eat spaghetti sauce + spaghetti noodles than either one by itself. Fair. I guess I’m just not into sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/114 "2025-06-10T17:02:41Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@Skywatcher](#): > > > > Long after I started working from home, I found a forgotten, dried-out sub roll in that bag. > > If it was just dried out and not moldy, it would have been perfect for birds. Our side of the condo complex borders on a wooded area, pretty sure the edge of that is where the bread ended up. ---
**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, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/115 "2025-06-10T17:05:57Z")
Indeed. Sandwiches are perhaps my favorite, most perfect food in all its ethnic incarnations. But, alas, I watch my carbs these days so they’re maybe a once-a-week treat. Italian beef, cheeseburger, Italian cold cut, shawarma, banh mi, jambon beurre, Montreal smoked meat, bagel and lox, Thuringer bratwurst, pork tenderloin, lobster roll, pulled pork … I’ll take all of it! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/116 "2025-06-10T17:41:49Z")
Sandwiches made with good bread are food where the bread can be as important as the stuff inside. Sandwiches made with crap bread you may as well use a fork and pick all the other ingredients off that useless ~~bread~~ tasteless textureless carrier of empty but highly glycemic calories. Since becoming diabetic, bread of any kind is something you (I really) pick ingredients off of, not something you (I really) actual eat. ---
**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, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/117 "2025-06-10T17:42:32Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I didn’t read the whole thread, and I can’t figure out why it’s in the Pit. (…) > [@Do American people make sandwiches at home? Or is it more of a specialty thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/23): > > This is a parody thread, mirroring a recent thread asking if Japanese eat sushi at home. As parody threads belong in the pit, and we no longer move threads to the pit without the blessing of the OP, I’m closing this thread. @TriPolar , if you want this thread moved to the pit, DM me (or another mod). Moved to the pit. It’s a weird place for it, but I guess rules is rules. Sometimes there are bright lines. ---
**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, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/118 "2025-06-10T17:47:12Z")
Eh, i assumed it was a parody, and not a question asked in good faith, because this is primarily an American board, and i assume that k essentially) everyone here knows that Americans routinely make sandwiches at home. 🤷‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/119 "2025-06-10T17:53:17Z")
> [@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. I don’t get it either. The SD is made for these kinds of questions. If you’ve never been to Japan and don’t know any Japanese people, what’s wrong with asking about their cuisine? ---
**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, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-people-make-sandwiches-at-home-or-is-it-more-of-a-specialty-thing/1019414/120 "2025-06-10T18:14:26Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > As might be expected, there’s a long Wikipedia entry. And it may be accurate, possibly even interesting, but clearly not the intended meaning and understanding of the word “sushi” as used by the OP of the thread that this was a failed parody of. My honest question still remains, perhaps now expanded: what is the typical place of sushi (and which variants/sorts of it, to expand) in a typical Japanese family’s home prepared meal rotation? As for sandwiches - I personally don’t often bother. I am a use up leftovers person for lunch at home, if that. But every so often a quick tuna fish or sardines mash up on decent bread with some lettuce or sprouts. And less often a quick grilled cheese. After Thanksgiving my ideal is the reverse sandwich: stuffing and cranberry sauce between two breast slices. Yum. [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=5) [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=7)