{{Short description|Cooking appliance}} {{Redirect|Toastie|the sandwich|grilled cheese}} {{Redirect-distinguish|Toasted sandwich|toast sandwich}} {{Multiple issues| {{More citations needed|date=February 2008}} {{Cleanup rewrite|date=October 2014}} {{Original research|date=May 2015}} }} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} thumb|upright|An open electric Bifinett sandwich toaster [[File:Haggis toastie sandwich, Canton Arms, South Lambeth, London (4395184956).jpg|thumb|Haggis toastie sandwich]]
A '''pie iron''', also called a '''pudgy pie iron''', '''sandwich toaster''', '''snackwicher''', '''piey irony''', '''pie burner''', '''toastie maker''', '''sandwich maker''', or '''panini grill''', is a cooking appliance that consists of two hinged concave, round or square, cast iron or aluminium plates on long handles. Its "clamshell" design resembles that of a waffle iron, but without the checkered pattern. Pie irons are used to heat, toast and seal the sandwich.
==Origins== In the U.S., the Tostwich is possibly the earliest toasted sandwich maker, dating back to before 1920. However, it was not patented until 3 March 1925 (applied for on 26 May 1924). It was invented by Charles V. Champion, whose other inventions include a corn-popping machine for the mass production of popcorn.<ref>"[http://sites.rootsweb.com/~ilchs/text/history/misc_stories/inventor/inventor.html Catlin's Own Inventor]", Shirley Nesbitt, 2000, accessed 26 December 2007</ref>
==Operation== thumb|A pie iron over a campfire
Modern versions of the pie-iron are commonly more domestic, if not necessarily more refined, with subdivisions allowing pairs of bread slices to be clamped together around fillings to form pockets or stuffed sandwiches. A combination of heat and pressure seals the bread at the outer edges.
Campfire versions are still made of cast iron and can be cooked over coals, open flames, or a stove, but lightweight aluminium stove-top versions are made, generally being coated with a non-stick surface (PTFE) both as a cleaning aid and to allay fears regarding aluminium in the diet. Once the device is hot, the sandwich can be assembled "inside-out", where the buttered side of the bread faces outwards against the metal plates and the filling sits inside. This produces a crunchier sandwich and helps prevent the bread from sticking.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1512576|title=Toasted sandwich; Butter the outside or not?|date=2015|website=Piston Heads|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> Alternatively, bread can be placed inside unbuttered, which produces a chewier sandwich.<ref name=":0" />
==Regional variants== thumb|Indian open flame sandwich toaster
In 1949, in Australia, the original Jaffle-brand jaffle iron, to be heated over a fire, was designed and patented by ''Surfoplane''<ref name="Paipo/Ruffels">{{cite web |title=A Paipo Interview with John Ruffels |url=https://mypaipoboards.org/interviews/JohnRuffels/JohnRuffels_2011-0305.shtml |website=mypaipoboards.org |access-date=9 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Surfoplane surf mat |url=https://collections.sea.museum/en/objects/180496/surfoplane-surf-mat |website=collections.sea.museum |access-date=9 October 2024}}</ref> inventor, Dr Ernest Eric Smithers,<ref name="pT/s-o-P">{{cite web |title=The Advent of the Surfoplane phenomenon on our beaches led to an increase in lifesavers responses, a fatality, along with lives being saved |url=https://www.pittwateronlinenews.com/SURFOPLANES-Dangers-and-Summer-Hires-History.php |website=pittwateronlinenews.com – Pittwater Online News |access-date=8 October 2024 |date=30 October 2022 |quote=Issue 560}}</ref> from Bondi, Australia.<ref name="AFT">{{cite web |date=18 September 1940 |title=1949 Jaffle craze hits Australia |url=https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au/jaffle-craze/ |access-date=25 November 2020 |website=Australian food history timeline}}</ref> The original Jaffle-brand jaffle iron only sealed the sandwich around the edges, and did not cut it in half. This allowed more filling and or a whole egg.<ref>{{cite web |last1=O’Connell |first1=Jan |date=18 September 1940 |title=1949 Jaffle craze hits Australia |url=https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au/jaffle-craze/ |access-date=18 March 2024 |website=Australian Food Timeline}}</ref> However, since the introduction of the Breville Snack'n'Sandwich Toaster in 1974, most electric jaffle makers in Australia split the sandwich in half.<ref>{{cite web |last1=O’Connell |first1=Jan |date=21 September 1970 |title=1974 Breville Snack'n'Sandwich Toaster |url=https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au/breville-snacknsandwich-maker/ |access-date=18 March 2024 |website=Australian Food Timeline}}</ref>
In 1974, Cuisinart made an Australian electric jaffle iron.<ref name="tT/jaffle">{{cite web |last1=Leigh |first1=Wendy |title=Why Australian Grilled Cheese Is Called A Jaffle |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1676930/jaffle-australian-grilled-cheese/ |website=Tasting Table |access-date=8 October 2024 |date=5 October 2024}}</ref> Rights acquired by John O'Brien for Australian cookware company Breville in the 1970s<ref>{{cite web|title=From the Vault: Toasted Sandwich Maker|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s1115454.htm|work=The New Inventors|publisher=ABC Television|access-date=16 May 2011}}</ref> mean that the name Breville is sometimes used there eponymously to describe both the device and the toasted, sealed sandwich product.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Original 4-Slice|url=http://www.breville.com.au/cooking/sandwich-makers/the-originaltm-4-slice.html|work=Breville Product Information|access-date=16 May 2011|archive-date=6 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206121904/http://www.breville.com.au/cooking/sandwich-makers/the-originaltm-4-slice.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In the UK, the appliance is notorious for being little-used. A survey in 2005 suggested that 45% of British adults own, but do not use, sandwich toasters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=£9bn wasted on unused gadgets for our homes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1498205/9bn-wasted-on-unused-gadgets-for-our-homes.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=The Daily Telegraph|date=12 September 2005 }}</ref>
In India, open flame toasters are used to toast sandwiches. They are often called "Bombay sandwiches" in Mumbai.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Condé Nast Traveller|url=https://www.cntraveller.in/story/bombay-sandwich-recipe-where-to-eat-mumbai-food|title = Is the Bombay Sandwich really from Mumbai?|date = July 2020}}</ref> A similar American utensil is trademarked "Toas-Tite".<ref>{{cite news | journal = The New York Times | title = The Return of the Toas-Tite | last1 = Fabricant | first1 = Florence | date = 14 February 2012 | page = D6 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/dining/the-return-of-the-toas-tite-for-pressed-grilled-sandwiches.html }}</ref>
==See also== * Griddle * List of sandwiches * Toast sandwich * Toaster * Waffle iron
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Home appliances}} {{Pies}} {{Australian cuisine}}
Category:20th-century inventions Category:American inventions Category:Australian inventions Category:Australian pies Category:Cooking appliances