Tea sandwich (English cuisine) : A tea sandwich (literally: “ sandwich for the tea "), also called finger sandwich (literally: “finger sandwich”) is a small sandwich prepared for consumption during tea in the afternoon, to calm small hunger pangs before meal principal.
The tea sandwich can take many shapes, but must easily fit between the fingers, and be edible in two bites. It can be prepared with long slices de pain, cut into a triangle or shaped like a small couch. It can also be cut into decorative shapes with a punch.
We generally use pain de mie white, thinly sliced and coated with butter. The crust du pain is cut after the sandwich has been prepared, but before serving it to preserve only the crumb. Modern variations may employ whole wheat bread, leavened bread or Rye bread, especially from pumpernickel. They may or may not include crust du pain.
The garnishes are light et delicate compared to the quantity of bread. We can spread butter, cheese to the cream and mayonnaise. We garnish the sandwich with vegetables raw, such as radish, theolive, cucumber, theasparagus and cress. The tea sandwich cucumber represents the quintessence of the tea sandwich.
Other popular toppings include: tomatoes, pimento cheese (cheese au pimento) Of the ham with some mustard, smoked salmon, thedill chopped to spices, jam de fruits, chicken au curry, pastry de fish and s byeggs. A typically American variation includes Benedictine, a spread green, made from cucumbers and cheese to the cream.
Cucumber sandwich: The cucumber sandwich is a typical tea sandwich which is one of the recipes. traditional British. It is composed of slices de cucumbers as thin as paper, placed between two thin slices of White bread ( whole wheat bread) lightly buttered, without the crust.
The thinness of slices of bread is an object of pride in the kitchen. THE pain de mie (pullman loaf), to the texture dense, is cut using a couteau wide-blade; the light must be able to shine through the holes in the crumb of bread. The skin of the cucumber is either removed or marked along its length with a fork before the cucumber is sliced. The bread slices are carefully coated with a thin layer of butter to the edges to prevent the bread from getting soggy from the cucumber juice. Cucumber slices, seasoned with salt and lemon juice, are placed last just before serving, to prevent the bread from becoming soggy. The crust of the bread is carefully cut and the sandwich is cut into 4 triangles.
Cucumber sandwiches are often served as a collation light, or over afternoon tea, a formal light meal served at 16 p.m. or early evening, shortly before Soul. Additionally, cucumber sandwiches can be served during the tea break of club cricket matches in England. Because of the English influence on Indian culture, cucumber sandwiches are popular during cricket matches and picnics of the weekend. The Indian variants are seasoned with some chutney green and sometimes contain slices of potatoes porridge.
Because of the side refreshing cucumber, this type of sandwich is enjoyed during the summer months, or in warmer climates, such as in certain regions of India. Indian Airlines has regularly served cucumber sandwiches in its vegetarian menus for short-haul domestic flights.
Historical and cultural aspects: Cucumber sandwiches contain little protein, and are generally not considered sufficient satiating to make a complete meal. This is intentional; Cucumber sandwiches are historically associated with the upper classes of Victorian-era Britain, whose members were generally idle and could afford to consume food of low nutritional value. Cucumber sandwiches are an integral part of the typical afternoon tea. On the other hand, the working classes of the same era undoubtedly preferred sandwiches with more protein, more trivial but more satisfying, during "tea with meat » (meat tea), which could replace supper.
Some writers have attempted to make a connection between the delicacy of the sandwich and the weariness of the British aristocracy. Cucumber sandwiches are often used as a shorthand in novels and films to identify members of the upper class, occasionally in a derogatory manner. In the first act of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), the cucumber sandwiches, which have been expressly ordered and prepared for Lady Bracknell's expected visits, are all voraciously eaten long before by her nephew and host, Algernon Moncrieff; therefore, he is forced to lie, with the complicity of his butler: “There were no cucumbers at the market this morning… not even for those who were prepared to pay cash. » Additionally, these sandwiches were once considered dish appropriate to offer during a visit to the clergy, at a time when such visits were still a common feature of English middle-class life.
The popularity of the cucumber sandwich reached its zenith during the Edwardian Era, when the low cost of labor and the abundance of coal made it possible to produce cucumbers on warm beds of organic matter in greenhouses, for a large part of the year. With the decline in the popularity of tea as a meal, in the United Kingdom there was a parallel decline in the popularity of cucumber sandwiches, but they continued to be frequently served during the tea, breakfast and dinner, as well as large gatherings. Most English cricket clubs provide vinaigre de malt and Pepper ground to season the sandwich, which is common in England.
Some tea sandwich preparations: