[英語學習Plus] 和桑威奇伯爵一樣的三明治

What could be better than a food you can hold cleanly with your fingers? It contains vegetables, grains, cheese, eggs, and meat. It is entirely edible, leaving no mess and no waste. As far as I'm concerned, a sandwich is a perfect meal.

Many people believe that we owe the wonderful sandwich to John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich (a town in southern England). However, the history of this fabulous food is longer and more complicated than just that story.

The origin of the sandwich might date to the first century BC, somewhere around Jerusalem. Hillel the Elder, a respected rabbi, put a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, spices, and wine between two pieces of matzo during the Passover celebration. Because he was so important in the community, this practice was repeated.

In the Middle Ages, food was often served on big, thick, stale pieces of bread called trenchers. When the real meal was finished, the soaked bread could be eaten or given to poor people or animals. Putting meat or cheese between two pieces of bread wasn't uncommon, but it didn't have a name.

Enter John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Montagu liked to stay up late playing cards and gambling. Legend has it that in 1765, Montagu asked his cook to bring him meat tucked into bread so he could continue playing cards without getting everything greasy. Others playing the game ordered “the same as Sandwich,” and the name was born! Montagu probably saw pitas and other sandwich-like creations on trips to the Mediterranean and Turkey, and this could have influenced his directions to his cook. These eastern sandwiches may have been influenced by Hillel the Elder. So the story of the sandwich comes full circle—or square, or triangle. However you like to cut it.

用手指就能握住的食物，裡頭包含蔬菜、穀類、起司、蛋及肉，而且整個都可以吃，不留下髒亂和浪費。還有比這個更好的食物嗎？對我來說，三明治就是完美的一餐。

許多人相信三明治的出現要歸功於英格蘭南部城鎮桑威奇的第四任伯爵約翰‧蒙塔古（譯註：桑威奇的英文與「三明治」相同），但這美食的歷史比起故事要來得更漫長更複雜。

三明治的起源可能要回溯到西元前一世紀，地點大約在耶路撒冷附近。希列爾長老是一個受人尊敬的猶太祭司，他在踰越節慶典中將剁碎的堅果、蘋果、香料、及酒放在兩片未發酵的麵包之間。因為他在鄉鎮中舉足輕重，便有人起而仿效。

在中世紀，人們經常將食物放在又大又厚但不新鮮的麵包上吃，這麵包就叫「麵包盤(trencher)」。當真正的餐點吃完時，人們會將吸滿食物汁液的麵包吃掉，或拿給窮人或動物吃。將肉或起司放在兩片麵包之間食用並非罕見，只是當時還沒有名稱。

接著到了桑威奇四世伯爵約翰‧蒙塔古。蒙塔古喜歡熬夜玩牌賭博，據說在1765年時，他要廚子把肉夾在麵包中呈上，這樣他就可以繼續玩牌，而不會把東西沾得很油膩。其他玩牌的人都要吃「跟桑威奇一樣的」，於是「三明治」之名就誕生了！蒙塔古大概是在去地中海及土耳其旅途中看過圓麵餅及其他類似三明治的東西，這些印象才使他請廚子做了這樣的餐點。這些東方的三明治大概是受到希列爾長老的影響。因此三明治的故事就此圓滿結束……或者說三明治就成了完美的方形或三角形。三明治有各種形狀，隨你想怎麼切都可以。