Do Americans not cut their sliced bread sandwiches?

[BurntBroccoli]

I've often noticed that Americans on TV never seem to cut their sandwiches in half ) or quarters like British people.
Is this a thing? Does it depend on the filling?
Do some of you not cut your sandwiches?

Thinking sliced bread type of sarnies here, not baguettes or paninis etc.

I lived in the US a while ago. Electric kettles just weren’t a thing (probably due in part to the 110v supply and nobody drinking tea / I don’t count Liptons in that description). We had an IKEA stove top whistling kettle and I had a secret source for Tetley tea bags that didn’t involve stupid prices at the ‘British shop’.

I've lived in the U.K. for more than 20 years and hadn't realise sandwiches here are buttered as a rule until this thread.

I've eaten many sandwiches - from supermarkets and cafes and the only one that seemed to be buttered (or margarine) is the cheese and tomato sandwich from Greggs.

Mayo is definitely better in a sandwich, and butter is good when it gets to melt I.e. on a toast.

Apparently the butter in America isn’t the nice type you get in Europe. It’s only really suitable for baking hence why they don’t put it on sandwiches. When I lived there and commented that I thought it was weird to use mayo rather than butter they thought that was disgusting. (I only found out about the butter quality recently on MN so it was only then that the ‘disgusting’ response made sense!)

They also laughed their heads off when I marvelled at all the different types of bread they had. They said ‘well what do you have in the UK?’ I responded ‘we only have two - brown bread and white bread!’

That article isn't accurate.

Canadian bacon is sold in the deli section amongst the cooked meats and is eaten as it comes, in sandwiches or however else you might prefer..

Regular (streaky) bacon is raw (though you can buy ready cooked) and is sold in packets or from the fresh meat/ butcher section.

Ready-made and pre-packaged sandwiches aren't really a thing where I live in the US. In the supermarket you go to the deli counter and get a sandwich which is made to order.

DH is American. Can’t stand butter in sandwiches. Took me a long time to realise it was a cultural thing not just a him being weird thing!

Ha yea I grew up in the US - yes they cut their sandwiches but no I never put butter in them!

Is brown bread called “wheat bread” in America?

Butter/margarine is to stick the sandwich together you can't have mayo on a cucumber sandwich

In many supermarkets they won’t have handles though - in my childhood they definitely didn’t. On the plus side they use extra thick paper so quite strong.

Hold my beer...

My understanding about Canadian bacon is that it is made from the loin. Streaky bacon is from the belly. Back bacon is from the back but usually has a bit of the belly with it. Canadian bacon also is usually a thinner cut.

Yes

Gosh no sherry

This explains why there was kettle in our NYC hotel. I was beside myself and had to go to Starbucks every night for my tea fix. Starbucks filled the hot water to the brim too. No room for milk and guaranteed to burn your hand.

I guess it depends where you are, but you can certainly get ready made sandwiches in supermarkets on the east coast and the west coast. I didn’t see supermarket deli counters offering made to order sandwiches on a recent east coast trip (but we were looking for grab and go).

Oh no... 😱

i have questions.

what is “grilled cheese”

do you put a cheese sandwich under the grill?
i.e “broil” it?

or are you using the American “grill” as in barbecue?

if you’re putting butter on the outside, are you actually making a cheese toastie? Do you have toastie makers or is that why you need to cook them under a grill?

Those shopping bags without handles on tv are there so the heroine can struggle with her groceries and get rescued by the leading man.

I can eat mayo on just about anything. But my favorite thing on a cucumber sandwich is a bit of cream cheese, or even better a smear of Boursin.

Butter helps prevent the bread from going soggy because the fat produces a waterproof barrier between the filling and the bread. I
Shine cucumber sandwiches without butter! You'd just have wet bread and cucumber.

We live in California and I've only seen uncut sandwiches in ads on tv for peanut butter etc. Most people do cut their sandwiches into a triangle and you can buy them cut like that in the supermarket. That's the only way you can buy them, also in any deli that makes them fresh for you, they will cut them up. There is some civility in this country you know. 😉

How does the filling stay in the butty without the butter?

<shudders>

I brought the kettle I bought in 2010 in Rouen home with me . It survived until last year.

There are rows of kettles in LeClerc, many with matching toasters.

Not if you eat it fast enough.