According to a recent report by Statistics Canada, Canadians consume way too much salt. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has read the nutritional information on anything. If it's in a can it has lots of sodium. If it tastes good, same.
The real shocker in the report was what Statistics Canada considers a sandwich. Saying they oversimplified is -- for me -- the understatement of the young millennium. Discussing the amount of sodium in various foods, Stats Can reported the following:
"The "sandwich" category (pizza, sandwiches, submarines, hamburgers, hot dogs) led the way, representing 19% of sodium intake. This was followed by soups (7%) and pasta dishes (6%)."
Even though I disagree wholeheartedly, (see my explanation here), I acknowledge that the uninformed might lump hamburgers in with the sandwiches. But hot dogs? Pizza? The only kind of sandwich a pizza even remotely resembles is the Open-faced. But I don't know a single person or corporation who would put a deep-dish and a hoagie even on the same menu board. They are not siblings, but distant relatives, far removed. Cousins of cousins of cousins.
For those who need an explanation, here is why pizza is not a sandwich: it's all in the baking. An item that, as a whole, requires baking before it can be eaten is not a sandwich. Thus, a pizza, with its toppings added to raw dough, does not qualify. But a sandwich made on dough that is baked to become bread before anything else is added, does. The classification changes when pizza-like toppings are added to a pre-cooked base, which could technically be eaten on the spot. This, according to the CUSD, is a sandwich, as long as it is "capable of being held without great hardship or mess".
It's a technicality for sure, but god loves details. And corned beef subs.
A big thanks to reader Michel for bringing the report to my attention.
3 comments:
It was one of those moments when you read something and feel that you should report a glaring error to authorities. Then I realized that Discovery Sandwich International constituted "the authorities."
Thank you for bringing Loosey-Goosey-Sandwich-Categorizationgate public.
And thank you for alerting the right party. Someone has to stand up for the integrity of the sandwich, or everything it stands for will be co-opted by the burgerizers and tacoists.
Okay, another question (I'm reading these entries backwards): what about a pizza pie-type; the bread surrounds the filling on top and bottom. Does that constitute a sandwich even though it may be a triangular slice? Or like (apologies for the commercial plug) Pizza Hut's p'zone. Sandwich? Definitely.
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