North Carolina and South Carolina’s Best Sandwich Revealed
Every state has their own special sandwiches that either originated in that state or somehow rose to popularity in that state, and North Carolina and South Carolina are no exceptions. There’s a sense of pride behind these sandwiches that, yes, you can perhaps find them in other states, but having one if this particular state makes them that much more special. So, what’s the best sandwich to try in North Carolina and South Carolina?
Best North Carolina and South Carolina Sandwiches
The food experts at Taste of Home have put together a tally of the best sandwiches in every state. “One of the best things about the sandwich—aside from your first bite—is its versatility,” they note in the piece. “It can be as simple as a PB&J, or you can put everything in your refrigerator on a ciabatta bun and create an epic mountain of sandwich goodness.”
So, what’s the best sandwich in North Carolina and South Carolina? According to Taste of Home, for North Carolina, it’s Barbecue Pulled Pork. “Practically every state south of the Mason-Dixon could lay claim to some form of barbecue pork sandwich, but North Carolina takes the crown with their chopped pork,” Taste of Home notes. For South Carolina, it’s the classic BLT, named the best because it “finds a worthy home in South Carolina with the state’s love for pork and its home-grown Southern tomatoes.”
Now that we know the region’s best sandwiches, let’s look at the history of the legendary food item. Per In Mama’s Kitchen, “The first recorded sandwich was made by the famous Rabbi, Hillel the Elder, who lived during the 1st century B.C” They add that Hillel the Elder was “a poor man, but a great scholar, he began the Passover custom of sandwiching a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, spices, and wine between two matzohs to eat with bitter herbs.”
One of the most famous sandwiches of all time, if not the most famous, is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As for the history of that delicious combination, per History, “The first known recipe for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich appeared in 1901 in The Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science & Domestic Economics.” They add that, “during the 1920s, companies began to mass-manufacture peanut butter in the United States and targeted children as potential new consumers.” So, peanut better and jelly sandwiches became a regular for school lunches. As a vegetarian, I certainly enjoy a good P&B. There’s something about eating it that makes you feel like a kid again in the best possible way.
