It started with a sandwich cookbook from 1909. Now, Barry Enderwick is TikTok's favourite sandwich historian
Enderwick aims to recreate the recipes as written, before adding a modern twist
Barry Enderwick has always been curious about "cooking, eating and exploring," as he puts it. But it wasn't until he got his hands on a copy of The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book: 400 Ways to Make a Sandwich, published in 1909, that he became something of a sandwich history buff.
"It was just interesting to see the variety of sandwiches, some of them pretty straightforward, some of them quite odd," Enderwick told The Current host Matt Galloway.
After a friend shared a pdf copy of the book with him, he recreated one of the recipes — an oyster sandwich, made with chopped raw oysters, olive oil and Worcestershire sauce between buttered bread — and posted it on Instagram.
The sandwich itself was a slimy mess, according to Enderwick, but the experiment proved worthwhile.
"I thought this would be fun to … take a look back and [see] in 1909, what did someone expect when they ordered a sandwich? What were they looking for? What were the flavors involved, the textures involved? And how is that different from now," said Enderwick.
Enderwick has amassed nearly half a million followers across his Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts under the username Sandwiches Of History. He's tested about 700 versions of the dish since he began posting daily sandwich recipes from years past — and says he doubts he'll run out of new ones to try any time soon.
What's so special about meat between bread?
While most whittle the humble sandwich down to a basic lunch food, Enderwick does not.
"Nearly every cuisine has some sort of sandwich in it and you can put anything between the bread. You can make it as inexpensive as you like or as expensive as you like," said Enderwick.
Jon Ostrander, who goes by Sandwich Dad on social media, also recreates various sandwich recipes. He says "SandwichTok" — the TikTok sub-community of sandwich lovers — has amassed a large following because there's a big appetite for it.
"Everybody loves a sandwich. Doesn't matter where you are, where you're from. Put some kind of ingredient on bread, a little bit of spread, a little bit of sauce. It's a delicious meal," says Ostrander.
The recipes Enderwick recreates also offer a window into the past.
Recipes from the early 1900s tend to use a few simple ingredients — they might have been born out of the Great Depression, Enderwick guesses. Around the mid-century, American sandwiches adopted more interesting ingredients, especially processed ones like canned corn beef.
You can't judge a sandwich by its ingredients list
Enderwick's goal is to represent each recipe as authentically as possible.
"Then we can add stuff and see if we can make it a little bit better and more enjoyable," said Enderwick.
He calls this bit "plussing it up," which involves adding an extra ingredient or two and improving the sandwich for a 21st century palette.
The oldest recipe that's ended up on Enderwick's plate dates back to 200 BC China — the rou jia mo.
WATCH | The Rou Jia Mo Sandwich
"I went into with an open mind, but I was also expecting it [might] be not great," Enderwick said.
The hearty spice mix on the beef proved to be fantastically tasty however, according to Enderwick.
"I've learned that you can't really judge a book by its cover — or a sandwich by its ingredients list — because some of them have been absolutely, surprisingly good that didn't read like they would be good," said Enderwick.
Eating for an audience
As two pillars of SandwichTok, Enderwick and Ostrander have collaborated online. Ostrander asked for a dish that was "weird bordering on terrible" — and Enderwick delivered with a giblet sandwich. Ostrander says that even the addition of melted cheese couldn't save the "textural nightmare," which was essentially chopped giblets between bread.
WATCH | Barbecued Giblet Sandwich with Guest Host Jon Ostrander
Both Ostrander and Enderwick aim to share sandwiches from around the world. Enderwick posts an international recipe every Sunday.
"There's sandwiches from just about every cuisine around the world that are worth exploring," he said.
As a Canadian, Ostrander hopes to introduce his audience to sandwiches from his homeland that aren't as well known as Montreal smoked meat, or donair out of Halifax.
"There's a lot of great sandwiches in Canada, just not a whole lot of exposure," said Ostrander.
But when it comes to his success online, Enderwick says he still isn't sure why so many thousands of people enjoy his content.
"I am not dancing, I'm not doing stunts, I'm not doing tricks and I'm not telling jokes. I'm just like, 'Hey, let's make a sandwich from this old recipe book and see how it is,'" said Enderwick.
"And my guess is that it's a moment of calm amidst the chaos."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Interview with Barry Enderwick produced by Alison Masemann