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.
Perhaps the most commonly used filling is cheese, on its own or together with tomato or ham. Pickles, and sweet toppings such as jam, banana, or chocolate spread are other examples. It is also common to use pre-prepared savoury fillings as well, such as baked beans, tinned spaghetti, or tinned casserole varieties.
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.
Read more about this topic: Sandwich Toaster
Famous quotes containing the word preparation:
“It’s sad but true that if you focus your attention on housework and meal preparation and diapers, raising children does start to look like drudgery pretty quickly. On the other hand, if you see yourself as nothing less than your child’s nurturer, role model, teacher, spiritual guide, and mentor, your days take on a very different cast.”
—Joyce Maynard (20th century)
“With memory set smarting like a reopened wound, a man’s past is not simply a dead history, an outworn preparation of the present: it is not a repented error shaken loose from the life: it is a still quivering part of himself, bringing shudders and bitter flavours and the tinglings of a merited shame.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“Living each day as a preparation for the next is an exciting way to live. Looking forward to something is much more fun than looking back at something—and much more constructive. If we can prepare ourselves so that we never have to think, “Oh, if I had only known, if I had only been ready,” our lives can really be the great adventure we so passionately want them to be.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)