Monte Cristo

noun

Mon·te Cris·to ˌmän-tē-ˈkri-(ˌ)stō

variants or less commonly Monte Cristo sandwich

plural Monte Cristos also Monte Cristo sandwiches

: a sandwich that contains ham, cheese, mustard, and often turkey and mayonnaise, that is dipped in egg and pan-fried, and that is often dusted with powdered sugar and served with jam

The pure American version of the croque monsieur is the Monte Cristo. There's deli ham and cheese—and sometimes turkey—but with added sugar in the form of jam or powdered sugar and added fat in the form of French toast or deep frying. Many variations of this classic sandwich are fully coated in a pancake-like batter and deep fried …—

Lacey Muszynski

Monte Cristo sandwiches are a cross between breakfast and lunch, with elements borrowed from French toast and club sandwiches. … Classic versions often include a sifting of powdered sugar or a spoonful of jam to add sweetness to this savory sandwich.—

Judith Evans

Gruyere is the classic Swiss cheese used in Monte Cristos.—

Stephen Wilder

… their Monte Cristo, a creative reworking of the classic, served on brioche flavored with orange and mint and slathered in house-made jam …—

Cheryl Alters Jamison et al.

Word History

Etymology

after Monte Cristo (or Montecristo), island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, best known for its role in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo), novel (1844-46) by Alexandre dumas

Note: The earliest known print occurrence of Monte Cristo as the name of a sandwich is in the January, 1923 issue of The Caterer and Hotel Proprietor's Gazette (p. 32). A recipe for Monte Cristo sandwich essentially the same as the twenty-first-century recipe appears on the cooking page of the Los Angeles Times for May 4, 1924 (p. 6). In the San Francisco Examiner for January 16, 1925 (p. 12), the same dish is referred to as Christine's sandwich (Christine is not further identified by the anonymous editor). In response to a letter to the Examiner from a Mrs. Hull asking how to make a "Monte Carlo sandwich" (May 14, 1927, p. 16), a Miss D.S. writes "I saw Mrs. Hull's letter asking how to make a Monte Carlo sandwich, and I think she may mean a Monte Cristo …" (May 23, 1927, p. 12); Miss D.S. proceeds to give the conventional recipe. The editor, writing under the byline "Prudence Penny," adds "… this is a variation of my Christine sandwich." Note that all of the known journalistic citations for Monte Cristo before 1930 are from sources in California or Hawaii—suggesting that the word, if not the sandwich, originated on the West Coast. Monte Cristo was given wide circulation by its use in Louella Parsons' nationally syndicated Hollywood gossip column on August 11, 1929. It is not known why the sandwich received the name Monte Cristo, though if the early evidence in the San Francisco area is relevant, Monte Cristo may have been only one of several variants, one suggesting the other and no single variant being of particular significance. Barry Popik (at barrypopik.com) thought that the name might have been inspired by Monte Cristo, a silent film version of the Dumas novel that premiered in 1922.