Muffuletta or ''muffaletta'' is a type of round Sicilian sesame bread, as well as a popular sandwich, created by a Sicilian immigrant to the United States, that was popularized in the city of
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
.
Etymology, pronunciation, and orthography
The name is believed to be a
diminutive
A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
form of ''muffe'' ('
mold
A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...
', '
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom.
The standard for the n ...
'), perhaps due to the round sandwich bread being reminiscent of a mushroom cap; or from ''muffola'', 'muff', 'mitten'. Another theory suggests a possible French origin, considering that the word "mou" in French means "soft," referring to the tender and spongy texture of the bread. An alternative hypothesis points to a Saxon origin, due to the similarity with the English word "muffin," which refers to a small cake or bun, also known for its soft consistency. The forms ''muffoletta'' and its
iteration
Iteration is the repetition of a process in order to generate a (possibly unbounded) sequence of outcomes. Each repetition of the process is a single iteration, and the outcome of each iteration is then the starting point of the next iteration.
...
s 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
Sicilian (, ; ) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands.
It belongs to the broader Extreme Southern Italian language group (in Italian ).
''Ethnologue'' (see below for more detail) describes Sic ...
, the item may be spelled:
*''muffiletta''
*''mufiletta''
*''muffuletta''
*''muffulettu''
*''muffuletu''
*''muffulitteḍḍu''
*''muffulittuni''
*''mufuletta''
The muffuletta is somewhat similar to the ''
pan bagnat
The pan bagnat (pronounced ɑ̃ baˈɲa (pan bagna, and alternatively in French as pain bagnat) is a sandwich that is a specialty of Nice, France. The sandwich is composed of pain de campagne, a whole wheat bread, enclosing a salade niçoise, ...
'' sandwich of
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, U.S., by its
delicatessen
A delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany (contemporary spelling: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th centur ...
owner Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant. Sicilian immigrant Biaggio Montalbano, 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. 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.
The traditional-style muffuletta sandwich consists of a muffuletta loaf split horizontally and covered with layers of marinated muffuletta-style olive salad,
salami
Salami ( ; : ''salame'') is a ''salume'' consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature fo ...
,
ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...
provolone
Provolone (, ) is an Italian semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. It is an aged ''pasta filata'' ('stretched-curd') cheese originating in the Campania region, near Vesuvius, where it is still produced in pear, sausage, or cone shapes long. P ...
, and
mortadella
Mortadella () is a large made of finely hashed or ground cured pork, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat (principally the hard fat from the neck of the pig). It is traditionally flavoured with Black pepper, peppercorns, bu ...
. Quarter, half, and full-sized muffulettas are sold.
The signature olive salad is a chopped
salad
A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...
made from green olives, black olives, olive oil, celery, cauliflower, carrots, sweet peppers, onions,
caper
''Capparis spinosa'', the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.
The taxonomic status of the species is controversial and unsettled. Species with ...
s, parsley, ''
peperoncini
''Peperoncino'' (; : ''peperoncini'') is the generic Italian name for hot chili peppers, specifically some regional cultivars of the species ''Capsicum annuum'' and '' C. frutescens'' (chili pepper and Tabasco pepper, respectively). The sweet ...
'',
oregano
Oregano (, ; ''Origanum vulgare'') is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate climate, temperate Northern Hemisphere.
Oregano is a ...
, garlic, vinegar, herbs, and spices. It is a "piquant salad" used as a
spread
Spread may refer to:
Places
* Spread, West Virginia
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film.
* ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers
* "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...
. Celery, cauliflower, and carrots are commonly found in the pickled form known as ''
giardiniera
''Giardiniera'' (, ) is an Italian cuisine, Italian relish of pickling, pickled vegetables in vinegar or cooking oil, oil.
Varieties and uses
Italian ''giardiniera'' is also called ''sottaceti'' (), a common term for pickled foods. It is typi ...
''. Capers and
lemon juice
The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...
may also be included. It is commercially produced for restaurants and for retail sale.
Muffuletta is usually served cold, but many vendors will toast it.
See also
*
List of American sandwiches
This is a list of American sandwiches. This list contains entries of sandwiches that were created in, or commonly eaten in, the United States. A sandwich is a food item consisting of one or more types of food placed on or between slices of bread, ...