Ham sandwich

The ham sandwich is a common type of sandwich. It is made by putting sliced ham between two slices of bread. The bread is sometimes buttered and toasted. Vegetables like lettuce, tomato, onion or pickle slices can also be included. Various kinds of mustard or/and mayonnaise are also common. In Southern parts of the US, the name is often shortened to "hamwich". The British Sandwich Association says that the ham sandwich is the most sold sandwich in the UK, and a survey they conducted in 2001 saw ham as the second favourite filling behind cheese. 70% of the 1.8 billion sandwiches eaten in France in 2008 were ham sandwiches, prompting a French economic analysis firm to begin a 'jambon-beurre index', like the Big Mac Index, to compare prices across the country. Most ham sandwiches sold in the UK are processed, using formed ham and bread made using the Chorleywood Bread Process.

The world's longest ham sandwich was created by butcher Nico Jimenez in 2009 in Pamplona, Spain.

The World Cancer Research Fund warned in 2009 against parents feeding their children too many ham sandwiches, due to the risk of bowel cancer from the processed meat. A ham sandwich was suspected of causing an outbreak of swine fever in the UK in 2000.

An aphorism in criminal law states that "A good prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich." A fictional talking ham sandwich appeared in an online noir serial in the late '90s, and the publishers sued in 1999 when a similar character appeared in a television advert for Florida orange juice, though the suit was withdrawn.