Muffuletta

Muffuletta

From top left, clockwise: muffuletta cross section, muffuletta in wrappers, olive salad, circular muffuletta loaves
Course	Main courses
Place of origin	United States
Region or state	New Orleans, Louisiana
Main ingredients	one muffuletta loaf, marinated olive salad, layers of mortadella, salami, mozzarella, ham, provolone.
Cookbook: Muffuletta  Media: Muffuletta

The muffuletta is both a type of round Sicilian sesame bread^[1] and a popular sandwich originating among Italian immigrants in New Orleans, Louisiana using the same bread.

Bread

A muffuletta is a large, round, and somewhat flattened loaf with a sturdy texture, around 10 inches (25 cm) across. It is described as being somewhat similar to focaccia.^[2] Bread used for the muffuletta is different from focaccia, however, in that it is a very light bread, the outside is crispy, and the inside is soft. It also has no additional seasonings baked into it, aside from the sesame seeds. The bread is more like French bread, but slightly heavier.

Sandwich

A traditional-style muffuletta sandwich consists of a muffuletta loaf split horizontally and covered with layers of marinated olive salad, mortadella, salami, mozzarella, ham, and provolone. The sandwich is sometimes heated to soften the provolone.^[3] Quarter, half, and full-sized muffulettas are sold.

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.

A muffuletta is usually served cold, but many vendors will toast it. This was mentioned in the PBS special Sandwiches That You Will Like.

Seafood muffuletta

In Greater New Orleans there is a seafood sandwich which uses the muffuletta bread to contain fried seafood, often including oysters, shrimp, catfish and occasionally softshell crab. The seafood muffuletta excludes the olive salad in exchange for the traditional dressings of a seafood po'boy, such as melted butter and pickle slices, or mayonnaise and lettuce.

Pronunciation and orthography

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:

• muffuletta^{[4][5][6][7][8]}
• mufuletta^[9]
• muffiletta^[5]
• mufiletta^[9]
• muffulettu^{[6][8][10][11]}
• muffuletu^[5]
• muffulittuni^[9]
• muffulitteḍḍu^[9]

See also

• List of sandwiches

References

1. Lempert, Phil (September 17, 2007). "Is the best sandwich in America the muffaletta?". Today. MSNBC. Retrieved 2010-05-10. The secret ingredient, besides the special recipe for the sesame bread, is Central Grocery’s homemade olive spread.
2. "New York Food Journal Guide to New Orleans Sandwiches and Street Food".
3. Florio, Donna (January 2004). "Muffulettas". Southern Living. FindArticles. Retrieved 2006-04-19.
4. Biblioteca del Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani, Issues 1-4 - Page 28 from Google Books
5. Introduzione allo studio del dialetto siciliano from Google Books
6. Usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo siciliano ..., Volume 17 - Page 360 from Google Books
7. La Sicilia e l'Immacolata: non solo 150 anni from Google Books
8. Dizionario tascabile familiare siciliano-italiano from Google Books
9. Entry for muffuletta at LEI. 6, Part 1. Google Books: Lessico etimologico italiano.
10. Vocabolario siciliano etimologico, italiano e latino, Volumes 4-5 from Google Books
11. Nuovo dizionario siciliano-italiano, Volume 2 from Google Books

External links

• Media related to Muffuletta at Wikimedia Commons