This article is about the Sicilian bread and the sandwich made from it. For the Mimouna crepe, see mofletta.
Muffuletta
Alternate nameMuffaletta
Country
  • Italy (bread)
  • United States (sandwich)
Region
CourseMain course
Main ingredientBread: wheat flour, water, eggs, olive oil, yeast, salt, sugar
Sandwich: marinated muffuletta-style olive salad, layers of mortadella, salami, Swiss cheese, ham, provolone

Muffuletta or muffaletta is a type of round Sicilian sesame bread,[1] as well as a popular sandwich, created by a Sicilian immigrant to the United States, that was popularized in the city of New Orleans.

Etymology, pronunciation, and orthography

The name is believed to be a diminutive form of muffi ('mold', 'mushroom'), perhaps due to the round sandwich bread being reminiscent of a mushroom cap; more likely from mùffula, 'muff', 'mitten'.[2] Another theory suggests a possible French origin, considering that the word "mou" in French means "soft", referring to the tender and spongy texture of the bread. An alternative hypothesis points to a Saxon origin, due to the similarity with the English word "muffin", which refers to a small cake or bun, also known for its soft consistency. The forms muffoletta and its iterations are modern Italianisms of the original Sicilian. Like many of the foreign-influenced terms found in New Orleans, pronunciation has evolved from a phonetic forebear.

Depending on the specific Sicilian dialect, the item may be spelled:

The muffuletta is somewhat similar to the pan bagnat sandwich of Nice, France.[11]

In a 1987 article in American Speech, linguists Edwin Eames and Howard Robboy identified the sandwich as a musalatta.[12]

History

The muffuletta sandwich is said to have been created in 1906 at Central Grocery Co. on Decatur Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., by its delicatessen owner Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant.[13][14] Sicilian immigrant Biaggio Montalbano, who was a delicatessen owner in New Orleans, is credited with invention of the Roma Sandwich, which may have been a forerunner of the muffuletta.[15] Another Italian-style New Orleans delicatessen, Progress Grocery Co., originally opened in 1924 by the Perrone family, claims the origin of the muffuletta is uncertain.[16]

The traditional-style muffuletta sandwich consists of a muffuletta loaf[17] split horizontally and covered with layers of marinated muffuletta-style olive salad,[18] salami, ham, Swiss cheese, provolone, and mortadella.[19] Quarter, half, and full-sized muffulettas are sold.[20][21]

The signature olive salad is a chopped salad made from green olives, black olives, olive oil, celery, cauliflower, carrots, sweet peppers, onions, capers, parsley, peperoncini, oregano, garlic, vinegar, herbs, and spices. It is a "piquant salad" used as a spread.[22] Celery, cauliflower, and carrots are commonly found in the pickled form known as giardiniera.[23] Capers and lemon juice may also be included.[24] It is commercially produced for restaurants and for retail sale.[25]

Muffuletta is usually served cold, but many vendors will toast it.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lempert, Phil (September 17, 2007). "Is the best sandwich in America the muffaletta?". Today. MSNBC. Archived November 9, 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-05-10. The secret ingredient, besides the special recipe for the sesame bread, is Central Grocery’s homemade olive spread.
  2. ^ Ayto, John (October 18, 2012). The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199640249. – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Avolio, Corrado (1882). [Google Books Introduzione allo studio del dialetto siciliano: tentativo d'applicazione del metodo storico-comparativo] (in Italian). Uff. Tip. di Fr. Zammit. p. [Google Books 59]. – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Pfister, Max (1997). Lessico etimologico italiano (in Italian). Vol. 6, no. 1. Reichert. p. [Google Books 441]. ISBN 978-3-89500-019-5.
  5. ^ [Google Books Biblioteca del Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani: Issues 1–4] (in Italian). 1977. p. 28. – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Pitrè, Giuseppe (1889). [Google Books Usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo siciliano] (in Italian). Vol. 17. L. P. Lauriel di C. Clausen. p. [Google Books 360]. – via Google Books.
  7. ^ [Google Books La Sicilia e l'Immacolata: non solo 150 anni] (in Italian). Vol. 15. Collana Franciscana. Officina di Studi Medievali. 2006. p. [Google Books 39]. ISBN 978-88-88615-96-7. – via Google Books.
  8. ^ [Google Books Dizionario tascabile familiare siciliano-italiano] (in Italian). Vol. 1. Palermo: Stamperia Spampinato. 1840. p. [Google Books 66]. – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Pasqualino, Michele (1790). [Google Books Vocabolario siciliano etimologico, italiano e latino] (in Italian). Vol. 4-5. Reale Stamperia. p. [Google Books 26]. – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Mortillaro, Vincenzo (ed.) (1844). [Google Books Nuovo dizionario siciliano-italiano] (in Italian). Vol. 2. Tip. del Giornale letterario. p. [Google Books 75]. – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Hertzberg, J.; Franรงois, Z.; Gross, S.S. (2013). The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. St. Martin's Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-250-01828-1. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  12. ^ Eames, Edwin & Robboy, Howard (December 1967). "The Submarine Sandwich, Lexical Variations in a Cultural Context". American Speech. 42 (4): 279–288. doi:10.2307/452990. JSTOR 452990 Accessed January 15, 2020 (subscription required).
  13. ^ Orchant, Rebecca (12 February 2013). "The Muffuletta: New Orleans' Original Italian Sandwich". Huffington Post
  14. ^ "1906: The muffuletta is created in New Orleans". Times-Picayune. NOLA Media Group. 10 October 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011.
  15. ^ "Biaggio Montalbano". myneworleans.com. New Orleans Magazine. March 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Our History". perroneandsons.com.
  17. ^ "Leidenheimer Baking Company". www.leidenheimer.com
  18. ^ "Looking for a summer snack? Try these two spreads: pimento cheese and muffuletta-style olive salad". tampabay.com. July 8, 2019.
  19. ^ "Best Muffulettas in the French Quarter and Nearby". FrenchQuarter.com
  20. ^ Squires, Kathleen (21 April 2016). "The 5 Best Muffuletta Sandwiches in New Orleans". – via www.wsj.com.
  21. ^ "Muffuletta". Williams Sonoma
  22. ^ "Olive Salad". Williams-Sonoma. 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023. This piquant salad is an essential ingredient for the classic New Orleans sandwich known as muffuletta.
  23. ^ Zeitz, Alexandra; Deutsch, Jonathan; Fulton, Benjamin (2018). We Eat What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Unusual Foods in the United States. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9781440841125.
  24. ^ Weeks, Kevin D. (December 6, 2022). "Muffaletta Sandwich". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  25. ^ Lawrence, Amy & Fox Burks, Justin (May 30, 2020). "Muffuletta Salad". Washington Post. Retrieved October 24, 2023.