Reuben sandwich

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© Photo:  Ben Frantz Dale, via Wikimedia Commons
Reuben sandwich

A Reuben sandwich is normally made using rye bread, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing, griddled or fried and served hot. The corned beef is sometimes replaced by pastrami, and the Russian dressing by Thousand Island dressing. The sandwich can be grilled or served cold.

The Reuben sandwich is part of American food folklore and is often associated with Jewish food traditions even though all its variants combine meat with cheese and therefore are not kosher.

Origin

Conflicting stories exist about the origin of the sandwich. The two main competing ones are:

• The Reuben sandwich was named for Arnold (or Arthur) Reuben who owned the now closed Reuben's delicatessen in New York. Reuben reportedly created the sandwich to honor Annette Seelos, an actress in 1914.

• Another story is that the sandwich was created by Reuben Kay, a Omaha grocer, who made the sandwich in the course of a poker game. His sandwich won a national contest the following year.