One of America's Favorites - the Sandwich Wrap

Smoked chicken and avocado wrap

A wrap is a type of sandwich made with a soft flatbread rolled around a filling. The usual flatbreads are wheat-flour tortillas, lavash, or pita; the filling usually consists of cold sliced meat, poultry, or fish accompanied by shredded lettuce, diced tomato or pico de gallo, guacamole, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, grilled onions, cheese, and a sauce, such as ranch or honey mustard.







Mexicans, Armenians, Greeks, Turks and Kurds have been eating wraps since before the 1900s. Mexicans refer to them as tacos, and they come in different ingredient varieties, such as corn, flour and wheat.

The wrap in its Western form probably comes from California, as a generalization of the Tex-Mex burrito, and became popular in the 1990s. It may have been invented and named at a southern California chain called "I Love Juicy" in the early 1980s. The Bobby Valentine Sports Gallery Cafe in Stamford, Connecticut is sometimes claimed to have invented the wrap at about the same time, but Valentine is diffident about it: "Well, that's legend and folklore, but until somebody disputes me or comes up with a better story, I'll say I invented the wrap." Beth Dolan of Stamford, Connecticut is the waitress credited for serving the first wrap after the restaurant had ran out of bread. Moreover, Valentine's own story dates his use of the name 'wrap' to the mid-1990s, after it is documented in California.

A wrap is different from a sandwich: a sandwich has two distinct layers which are the top and bottom pieces of bread. A wrap, on the other hand, is one piece that completely surrounds the content of the wrap.

Preparing wraps in a kitchen

Restaurants such as Camille's Sidewalk Cafe, Sonic Drive-In, Piccolo Gourmet New York, Jason's Deli, Buffalo Wild Wings, Subway, Chick-fil-A, Roly Poly, and McAlister's Deli serve wraps. KFC now serves its chicken in a wrap as menu choice, with lettuce, mayonnaise and salsa. McDonald's has recently introduced a snack wrap, with a fried chicken strip, lettuce, Cheddar, and ranch dressing. Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill has recently introduced a Portobello Chicken Wrap to broaden their selection of grilled menu items. Wraps are also very popular in Australia and New Zealand[citation needed] with chains such as Oporto and Burger Fuel amongst others serving them.

The UK wrap market has grown substantially since 2004 with all major sandwich and fast food stores now selling wraps.








Tuna Roll-Ups


INGREDIENTS:
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained, in spring water
2/3 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon water
6 (12 inch) low carb tortillas  
1 (8 ounce) package Neufchatel cheese


DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, mix tuna, chili sauce and green onions. Blend in enough water to allow easy spreading.
2. Lay tortillas one by one on a flat surface. Spread a thin layer of cheese onto each tortilla, covering the entire surface. Spread tuna mixture over cheese to within an inch of tortilla edge.
3. Starting at the top, roll up the tortilla into a snug cylindrical shape, ensuring the cream cheese seals the bottom.
4. Enclose roll-ups in aluminum foil, and refrigerate or freeze until serving. When ready to serve, cut the roll-ups into 2 inch slices. If frozen, slice the roll-ups about 15 minutes before serving time to allow them to defrost completely.