# Muffuletta
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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muffuletta
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{{Short description|Bread and sandwich type}}
{{About|the Sicilian bread and the sandwich made from it|the [Mimouna](/source/Mimouna) crepe|mofletta}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Muffuletta
| image = Centralcollage.jpg
| caption = '''Clockwise from top left''': muffuletta cross section; muffuletta in wrappers; muffuletta-style olive salad; and circular muffuletta loaves
| alternate_name = ''Muffaletta''
| country = {{plainlist|
*Italy (bread)
*United States (sandwich)
}}
| region = {{plainlist|
*[Sicily](/source/Sicily)
*[New Orleans](/source/New_Orleans)
}}
| creator =
| course = Main course
| type =
| served =
| main_ingredient = Bread: wheat flour, water, eggs, olive oil, yeast, salt, sugar
Sandwich: marinated muffuletta-style olive salad, layers of [mortadella](/source/mortadella), [salami](/source/salami), [Swiss cheese](/source/Swiss_cheese_(North_America)), [ham](/source/ham), [provolone](/source/provolone)
| variations =
}}
'''Muffuletta''' or '''''muffaletta''''' is a type of round [Sicilian](/source/Sicilian_cuisine) sesame bread,[{{cite web| title=Is the best sandwich in America the muffaletta? | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20808465 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109095901/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/20808465/ | url-status=live | archive-date=November 9, 2007 | first=Phil | last= Lempert| work=[Today](/source/Today_(NBC_program)) | publisher=[MSNBC](/source/MSNBC) | date=September 17, 2007| access-date=2010-05-10| quote=The secret ingredient, besides the special recipe for the sesame bread, is Central Grocery’s homemade olive spread.}}] as well as a popular sandwich, created by a Sicilian immigrant to the United States, that was popularized in the city of [New Orleans](/source/New_Orleans).
==Etymology, pronunciation, and orthography==
The name is believed to be a [diminutive](/source/diminutive) form of ''muffi'' ('[mold](/source/mold)', '[mushroom](/source/mushroom)'), perhaps due to the round sandwich bread being reminiscent of a mushroom cap; more likely from ''mùffula'', 'muff', 'mitten'.[{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoicAQAAQBAJ&q=muffola+muff&pg=PA240|title=The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink|first=John|last=Ayto|date=October 18, 2012|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=9780199640249|via=Google Books}}] Another theory suggests a possible French origin, considering that the word "mou" in [French](/source/French_language) 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](/source/iteration)s are modern [Italianisms](/source/Italianization) of the original [Sicilian](/source/Sicilian_language). Like many of the foreign-influenced terms found in New Orleans, pronunciation has evolved from a phonetic forebear.
Depending on the specific [Sicilian dialect](/source/Sicilian_language), the item may be spelled:
{{div col}}
*''muffiletta''[{{cite book |last=Pfister |first=Max |date=1997 |title=[Lessico etimologico italiano](/source/Lessico_etimologico_italiano) |publisher=Reichert |volume=6 |issue=1 |language=it |page=[{{Google books|4CzqAAAAMAAJ|keywords=mufiletta|plainurl=yes}} 441] |isbn=978-3-89500-019-5 }}]
*''muffuletta''[{{cite book |date=1977 |url={{Google books|jBJdAAAAMAAJ|keywords=muffuletta siciliano|plainurl=yes}} |title=Biblioteca del Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani: Issues 1–4 |language=it |page=28 |via=Google Books }}][{{cite book |last=Avolio |first=Corrado |date=1882 |title=Introduzione allo studio del dialetto siciliano: tentativo d'applicazione del metodo storico-comparativo |publisher=Uff. Tip. di Fr. Zammit |language=it |url={{Google books|PFJAAAAAYAAJ|plainurl=yes}} |page=[{{Google books|PFJAAAAAYAAJ|page=59|keywords=muffiletta siciliano|plainurl=yes}} 59] |via=Google Books }}][{{cite book |last=Pitrè |first=Giuseppe |date=1889 |url={{Google books|seaBAAAAMAAJ|plainurl=yes}} |title=Usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo siciliano |volume=17 |publisher=L. P. Lauriel di C. Clausen |page=[{{Google books|seaBAAAAMAAJ|page=360|keywords=muffuletta siciliano|plainurl=yes}} 360] |language=it |via=Google Books }}][{{cite book |editor1-last=Ciccarelli |editor1-first=Diego |editor2-last=Valenza |editor2-first=Marisa Dora |date=2006 |title=La Sicilia e l'Immacolata: non solo 150 anni |publisher=Officina di Studi Medievali |series=Collana Franciscana |volume=15 |language=it |isbn=978-88-88615-96-7 |url={{Google books|WI8j4eAz1LsC|plainurl=yes}} |page=[{{Google books|WI8j4eAz1LsC|page=39|keywords=muffuletta|plainurl=yes}} 39] |via=Google Books }}][{{cite book |date=1840 |title=Dizionario tascabile familiare siciliano-italiano |volume=1 |location=Palermo |publisher=Stamperia Spampinato |language=it |url={{Google books|FsUDAAAAQAAJ|plainurl=yes}} |page=[{{Google books|FsUDAAAAQAAJ|page=66|keywords=muffulettu|plainurl=yes}} 66] |via=Google Books }}]
*''muffulettu''[{{cite book |last=Pasqualino |first=Michele |date=1790 |title=Vocabolario siciliano etimologico, italiano e latino |volume=4-5 |publisher=Reale Stamperia |language=it |url={{Google books|SSoSAAAAIAAJ|plainurl=yes}} |page=[{{Google books|SSoSAAAAIAAJ|page=26|keywords=muffulettu|plainurl=yes}} 26] |via=Google Books }}][{{cite book |editor-last=Mortillaro |editor-first=Vincenzo |date=1844 |title=Nuovo dizionario siciliano-italiano |volume=2 |publisher=Tip. del Giornale letterario |language=it |page=[{{Google books|vBs9AAAAYAAJ|page=75|keywords=muffulettu|plainurl=yes}} 75] |url={{Google books|vBs9AAAAYAAJ|plainurl=yes}} |via=Google Books }}]
*''muffuletu''[{{cite book | last1=Hertzberg | first1=J. | last2=Franรงois | first2=Z. | last3=Gross | first3=S.S. | title=The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking | publisher=St. Martin's Press | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-250-01828-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zVWwAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 | access-date=May 27, 2016 | page=101}}]
In a 1987 article in ''[American Speech](/source/American_Speech)'', linguists Edwin Eames and Howard Robboy identified the sandwich as a ''musalatta''.[{{cite journal |last1=Eames |first1=Edwin |last2=Robboy |first2=Howard |title=The Submarine Sandwich, Lexical Variations in a Cultural Context |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/452990 |journal=[American Speech](/source/American_Speech) |volume=42 |number=4 |date=December 1967 |pages=279–288 |doi=10.2307/452990 |jstor=452990|url-access=subscription }} Accessed January 15, 2020 {{subscription required}}.]
==History==
The muffuletta sandwich is said to have been created in 1906 at [Central Grocery Co.](/source/Central_Grocery) on [Decatur Street](/source/Decatur_Street_(New_Orleans)), [New Orleans](/source/New_Orleans), [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana), U.S., by its [delicatessen](/source/delicatessen) owner Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant.[{{cite news |last=Orchant |first=Rebecca |date=12 February 2013 |title=The Muffuletta: New Orleans' Original Italian Sandwich |newspaper=Huffington Post |department=Food & Drink |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/muffaletta-new-orleans-muffaletta_n_2664294.html }}][{{cite news |date=10 October 2011 |title=1906: The muffuletta is created in New Orleans |newspaper=Times-Picayune |publisher=NOLA Media Group |url=http://www.nola.com/175years/index.ssf/2011/10/1906_the_muffuletta_is_created.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105233353/http://www.nola.com/175years/index.ssf/2011/10/1906_the_muffuletta_is_created.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 November 2011 }}] 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.[{{cite web |title=Biaggio Montalbano |url=https://www.myneworleans.com/biaggio-montalbano/ |website=myneworleans.com |date=March 2008 |publisher=New Orleans Magazine |access-date=21 February 2022}}] 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.[{{cite web|url=http://www.perroneandsons.com/about/our-history/|title=Our History|publisher=perroneandsons.com}}]
The traditional-style muffuletta sandwich consists of a muffuletta loaf[{{cite web|url=http://www.leidenheimer.com/history_muff.htm|title=Leidenheimer Baking Company|website=www.leidenheimer.com}}] split horizontally and covered with layers of marinated muffuletta-style olive salad,[{{cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/cooking/looking-for-a-summer-snack-try-these-two-spreads-pimento-cheese-and-muffuletta-style-olive-salad-20190709/|title=Looking for a summer snack? Try these two spreads: pimento cheese and muffuletta-style olive salad|publisher=tampabay.com|date=July 8, 2019}}] [salami](/source/salami), [ham](/source/ham), [Swiss cheese](/source/Swiss_cheese_(North_America)), [provolone](/source/provolone), and [mortadella](/source/mortadella).[{{cite web|url=http://www.frenchquarter.com/best-muffulettas-french-quarter-nearby/|title=Best Muffulettas in the French Quarter and Nearby|website=FrenchQuarter.com}}] Quarter, half, and full-sized muffulettas are sold.[{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-5-best-muffuletta-sandwiches-in-new-orleans-1461262657|title=The 5 Best Muffuletta Sandwiches in New Orleans|first=Kathleen|last=Squires|date=21 April 2016|via=www.wsj.com}}][{{cite web|url=https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/muffuletta.html|title=Muffuletta|website=Williams Sonoma}}]
The signature olive salad is a chopped [salad](/source/salad) made from green olives, black olives, olive oil, celery, cauliflower, carrots, sweet peppers, onions, [caper](/source/caper)s, parsley, ''[peperoncini](/source/Peperoncino)'', [oregano](/source/oregano), garlic, vinegar, herbs, and spices. It is a "piquant salad" used as a [spread](/source/Spread_(food)).[{{cite web | url =https://www.williams-sonoma.com/m/recipe/olive-salad.html | title =Olive Salad | last = | first = | date =2023 | website =[Williams-Sonoma](/source/Williams-Sonoma) | publisher = | access-date =October 24, 2023 | quote =This piquant salad is an essential ingredient for the classic New Orleans sandwich known as muffuletta. }}] Celery, cauliflower, and carrots are commonly found in the pickled form known as ''[giardiniera](/source/giardiniera)''.[{{cite book | last1 = Zeitz | first1 = Alexandra | last2 = Deutsch | first2 = Jonathan | last3 = Fulton| first3 = Benjamin | authorlink = | title = We Eat What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Unusual Foods in the United States | publisher = [Greenwood Publishing Group](/source/Greenwood_Publishing_Group)| series = | volume = | edition = | date = 2018| location = | pages = | language = | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D5HCEAAAQBAJ&dq=muffuletta&pg=PT322 | doi = | id = | isbn = 9781440841125 | quote = }}] Capers and [lemon juice](/source/Lemon) may also be included.[{{cite news | last = Weeks | first = Kevin D. | title = Muffaletta Sandwich | newspaper = The Spruce Eats | location = [New York City](/source/New_York_City) | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = December 6, 2022 | url = https://www.thespruceeats.com/muffaletta-olive-salad-sandwich-recipe-913341 | accessdate = October 24, 2023 }}] It is commercially produced for restaurants and for retail sale.[{{cite news | last1 = Lawrence | first1 = Amy| last2 = Fox Burks | first2 = Justin | title = Muffuletta Salad | newspaper =[Washington Post](/source/Washington_Post) | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = May 30, 2020| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/muffuletta-salad/ | accessdate = October 24, 2023 }}]
Muffuletta is usually served cold, but many vendors will toast it.