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Melange Sandwiches
Chop fine equal parts of candied cherries, pineapples, dates, walnuts and almonds. Mix and moisten with orange juice and spread on the bread.
A sweet fruit-and-nut sandwich filling of a type common in early twentieth-century tea menus. The original gives no quantities, no bread and no yield, so the notes below fill those gaps.
- Proportions and yield"Equal parts" by volume works well at 1/4 cup each of the five ingredients, chopped fine. That makes something over a cup of filling once chopped and packed, enough for perhaps six to eight small tea sandwiches.
- Chop, then chop againThe hinge of the recipe is fineness. Candied cherries and dates are sticky and will clump under the knife; a coarse mix tears the bread and squeezes out at the edges. Dust the fruit lightly with a little of the chopped nuts as you work, or pulse everything briefly in a food processor rather than reducing it to paste.
- Candied pineapple"Pineapples" here means candied or glacé pineapple, sold in rings or wedges alongside candied cherries in the baking aisle around the holidays. Canned pineapple is far too wet and will soak the bread through.
- MoisteningOrange juice is used sparingly, just enough to bind, perhaps a tablespoon. Add it a teaspoon at a time; too much and the mixture slumps. A little softened butter spread on the bread first seals the crumb and keeps the filling from soaking in.
- AlmondsBlanched sweet almonds are the likely intent. Toast them lightly if you want more flavor, or leave them untoasted for a paler mixture.
- The breadPeriod sandwich books assume a fine-crumbed white loaf, sliced thin, crusts trimmed, cut into fingers or triangles after filling. Brown bread or a nut bread also suits this filling.
- HoldingThe filling keeps several days covered in the refrigerator and is easier to spread after an hour's rest. Assembled sandwiches should be made within a few hours and kept under a damp cloth so the edges do not dry.
Melange is simply the French for mixture, and the name signals the fashion of the period as much as the contents: French names were often attached to homely dishes in American cookbooks of the period. The sandwich itself belongs to the expansion of the form in the late nineteenth century, when the afternoon tea table and the ladies' luncheon made sweet sandwiches respectable, and sandwich books of the era carry many of them alongside the meat and salad kinds. Candied cherries, glace pineapple and dates were shelf-stable goods that a well-stocked household kept for cake and confectionery, so a filling like this could draw on what was already in the cupboard rather than requiring anything fresh.