Sandwich Recipes Channel

Why was a peanut butter sandwich originally a high-class meal? Do Americans prefer crunchy or smooth? Find out these and other tasty peanut butter facts.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

Whether piled high on a banquet table or highlighted in an entire episode of Alton Brown’s Food Network show Good Eats, the tenderloin is a versatile cut of meat that creates a variety of moist, delicious sandwiches.

Whether you call it a hoagie, a grinder, or a sub, one thing remains: the hero is about as American as a sandwich can get. And while the nomenclature might vary by region, the history of the hero is pretty straight and narrow, much like, well, the sandwich itself.

Can you imagine have your sandwich be made by a famous chef or restaurateur? Check out what famous chef or restaurateur made which sandwich in this article.

Where did that melty combination of toasted cheese and bread come from?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Where does the peanut butter and jelly sandwich actually come from? And what makes the trio of ingredients we’ve accepted as totally mundane so utterly divine when layered together?

Hard as it might to look past one's own personal history with the sandwich—say, the paper-bag-lunch sandwich Mom always made or day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches we always scarfed down with Dad—the evolution of that humble food begins long before the modern era.

Sure, you eat within the dark confines of a movie theater (and arguably more than you would in any other venue), but how often do you pay special attention to what’s being eaten on screen? Over the last two decades, sandwiches in particular have played a starring role in some of the country’s most notable films.

While many American cities offer seemingly limitless options for all sorts of global cuisines, of course nothing beats eating what you’re supposed to be eating in the very place you’re supposed to be eating it. Say "hello" to the sandwich.