The Liberty Sandwich
During World War I, when Americans were urged to conserve meat one day per week to support the war effort, Emma Curtis created something revolutionary. She published a recipe for the “Liberty Sandwich,” consisting of peanut butter and Snowflake Marshmallow Creme on oat or barley bread, allowing people to maintain their daily nutrients while supporting the wartime cause. This patriotic creation preceded what we now know as the Fluffernutter by several decades.
Emma Curtis was reportedly a forward-thinking entrepreneur who had a remarkable knack for marketing and created unique recipes featuring nuts and marshmallow creme. The Liberty Sandwich recipe, dating back to 1918, described “slices of ‘war bread’, spread with peanut butter and marshmallow creme; cut into triangles and served as dainty sandwiches.” The sandwich represented both American ingenuity and patriotic sacrifice during wartime rationing.
While the Fluffernutter survived and thrived in New England, the original Liberty Sandwich with its whole grain foundation and wartime heritage deserves recognition as a healthier ancestor to our modern marshmallow obsession.
The Milwaukee Sandwich
Barry Enderwick discovered this hefty creation in historical cookbooks: the Milwaukee sandwich featured fried oysters, crispy bacon, sliced chicken and tartare sauce, all topped with a slice of lemon to cut through the richness. This towering combination embodied the American spirit of culinary excess while delivering complex flavors that balanced indulgence with brightness.
The sandwich emerged during an era when oysters were abundant and affordable across America, not the luxury item they are today. In the U.S. in the 19th and early 20th centuries, oysters were a popular sandwich filling. The Milwaukee version elevated this trend by combining multiple proteins in a single masterpiece.
Food historians suggest that combinations like these reflected the prosperity and abundance that characterized American urban centers during the early 20th century. The Milwaukee sandwich represented the kind of elaborate dining that hotels and upscale establishments offered to showcase American culinary ambition.
Chow Mein Sandwich
The chow mein sandwich is the quintessential “East meets West” food, largely associated with New England’s Chinese restaurants, specifically those of Fall River, Massachusetts. The sandwich became popular in the 1920s because it was filling and cheap: Workers munched on them in factory canteens, while their kids ate them for lunch in parish schools, especially on meatless Fridays.
When large numbers of Chinese immigrants settled in New England in the 1920s, many opened restaurants to serve traditional dishes. To attract diners to what was unusual fare at the time, restaurant operators sought to ease the transition by marrying Chinese food with familiar American elements – thus the birth of the chow mein sandwich. The result was a unique fusion that satisfied both cultural curiosity and practical hunger.
This New England fusion creation stuffed crispy noodles between bread slices and doused them in gravy. Popular in Fall River, Massachusetts, during the 1920s-60s, Nathan’s and Howard Johnson’s once featured this crunchy-turned-soggy delight on menus nationwide. Today, you’ll find it only in a handful of Massachusetts Chinese restaurants.
Denver (Western) Sandwich
The Denver sandwich, also known as a Western sandwich, consists of a Denver omelette (containing at least ham, onion, green pepper, and scrambled eggs), sandwiched between two pieces of bread. The origin is unclear, with various unverified claims attributing its invention to Denver restaurateurs in the early 1900s.
Food writers James Beard and Evan Jones believed that the Denver or Western sandwich was actually created by “the many Chinese chefs who cooked for logging camps and railroad gangs in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries” and was probably derived from egg foo young. This theory connects the sandwich to the transcontinental railroad construction and the cultural exchange that occurred in work camps.
The sandwich reigned supreme as America’s favorite egg sandwich for nearly 60 years before being relegated to omelet status in the 1980s. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find this sammie anywhere in its city of origin, though for reasons unknown, it’s still wildly popular throughout Wisconsin, making it perhaps the most popular sandwich to no longer exist in its true home state.
Gene Kelly’s Greatest Man Sandwich
This creation, also known as the “Greatest Man Sandwich in the World,” is reportedly attributed to entertainer Gene Kelly. The recipe required a thick layer of leftover mashed potatoes spread on buttered French bread and topped with onion slices, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper; the product was then browned in a broiler and enjoyed with “the nearest mug of beer.”
While Elvis was famous for his peanut butter and banana concoction, food historian Barry Enderwick says Gene Kelly should be more famous for his sandwich: “the greatest man sandwich in the world, which was basically mashed potatoes on bread. And it was delicious.” This hearty creation represented the kind of substantial, comfort food that appealed to working-class Americans.
The sandwich embodied post-war American abundance and the creative use of leftovers that characterized home cooking in the mid-20th century. Gene Kelly’s endorsement gave it celebrity status, though it never achieved widespread popularity beyond those who discovered it through word-of-mouth.
Mock Ham Salad Sandwich
“Mock” recipes were big during the Great Depression of the 1930s, born out of necessity. Mock ham salad was similar to authentic ham salad in that mayonnaise held together chopped sweet pickles, diced onions, and hard boiled egg bits, but differed by using chopped grocery store bologna in place of ham. The whole mixture went onto buns or sliced bread.
After the economy recovered by the mid-1940s, and ham was no longer an out-of-reach luxury, there was little need to substitute it with chopped bologna anymore. Mock ham salad was relegated to history as an oddity of the stressful Depression era. The sandwich represented American resourcefulness during economic hardship and the ability to create satisfying meals from affordable ingredients.
Food historians recognize mock recipes as important cultural artifacts that demonstrate how Americans adapted to economic constraints while maintaining food traditions and social rituals around shared meals.
Banana and Mayonnaise Sandwich
While it may sound revolting to those who didn’t grow up eating this simple, cheap sandwich, the banana and mayonnaise combination could only have been born where both ingredients are in plentiful supply: the South. It’s believed to have caught on during the Great Depression, when residents of the particularly hard-hit South had to get creative and economical with food choices. Bread was cheap, and sliced bananas provided a meat-like heft.
Those reared during the Great Depression carried on the banana and mayonnaise sandwich tradition, serving them to their own children, preserving the sandwich for at least another generation. It’s now somewhat of a delicacy rather than a widely served item. In 2018, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. shared his recipe, presenting it as an anomaly more than a traditional sandwich.
Southern grandmothers defended this unusual pairing that combined sliced bananas with mayonnaise on white bread. The sweet-tangy combination found favor particularly in the Carolinas during the Great Depression and remained popular through the 1960s.
New York Oyster Sandwich
From the 1905 British book “Salads, Sandwiches and Savouries,” Barry Enderwick prepared the New York Sandwich, which called for 24 oysters, minced and mixed with mayonnaise, seasoned with lemon juice and pepper, and spread over buttered day-old French bread. Sampling his recreation, Enderwick decried it as “a textural wasteland.”
The sandwich represented the height of Gilded Age excess, when oysters were still relatively affordable and available fresh in major cities. Twenty-four oysters in a single sandwich demonstrates the abundance that characterized upper-class American dining at the turn of the 20th century.
While Enderwick’s modern recreation proved unsuccessful, food historians suggest that the sandwich might have worked better when made with the fresher, more flavorful oysters available in 1905, before industrial pollution and overharvesting degraded oyster beds along the American coast.
Sardine and Onion Sandwich
This Depression-era staple featured canned sardines layered with raw onion slices between bread, providing cheap protein when meat was scarce. Grandparents who lived through hard times often kept this peculiar combo in their lunch rotation long after economic recovery. The combination delivered strong flavors that masked any staleness in the bread or fish.
Sardines were among the most affordable sources of protein available during the 1930s, and raw onions provided both flavor and vitamin C. The sandwich represented practical nutrition during economic hardship, when families had to maximize protein intake while minimizing food costs.
Cultural historians note that sandwiches like these created lasting food memories that connected entire generations to their experiences of economic struggle and survival, often carrying emotional significance far beyond their simple ingredients.
Prune and Cream Cheese Finger Sandwiches
Before we mock our ancestors’ culinary choices, consider that prunes were once trendy sandwich fillings! These delicate creations appeared at ladies’ luncheons and bridge parties throughout the mid-20th century, representing refined taste and social sophistication.
Finger sandwiches with a variety of styles, from cucumber to ham and butter to various savory pastes, were delicate, light bites that could once frequently be found on the menus of upscale meetings of civic and social organizations as well as at baby and bridal showers. The prune variation offered a sweet-tart contrast to the mild cream cheese.
These tiny sandwiches embodied the social rituals of mid-century American women’s culture, where elaborate presentations and unusual flavor combinations demonstrated both creativity and leisure time. The prune filling provided natural sweetness and was considered healthful, aligning with period beliefs about digestive health.
