Course | Main course |
---|---|
Place of origin |
|
Region or state | |
Main ingredients | Bread: wheat flour, water, eggs, olive oil, yeast, salt, sugar Sandwich: marinated muffuletta-style olive salad, layers of mortadella, salami, Swiss cheese, ham, provolone |
The muffuletta or muffaletta is a type of round Sicilian sesame bread[1] and a popular sandwich that originated among Italian immigrants in New Orleans, Louisiana, using the same bread.
The muffuletta bread has origins in Sicily.[2]
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.[3][4] Sicilian immigrant Biaggio Montalbano (Wikidata), 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.[5] 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.[6]
The traditional-style muffuletta sandwich consists of a muffuletta loaf[7] split horizontally and covered with layers of marinated muffuletta-style olive salad,[8] salami, ham, Swiss cheese, provolone, and mortadella.[9] Quarter, half, and full-sized muffulettas are sold.[10][11]
The signature olive salad consists of olives diced with the celery, cauliflower and carrot found in a jar of giardiniera, seasoned with oregano and garlic, covered in olive oil, and allowed to combine for at least 24 hours.[12]
A muffuletta is usually served cold, but many vendors will toast it.[10]
The name is believed to be a diminutive form of muffe ("mold", "mushroom"), perhaps due to the round sandwich bread being reminiscent of a mushroom cap; or from muffola, "muff, mitten,".[13][14] 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:
There are similarities between the muffuletta and the pan bagnat sandwich which comes from Nice, France.[23]