Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
📖

Reuben sandwich

language culture Maturity 11-13 religion Next article →

This article covers sensitive topics: religion. Parents can manage visibility in Parental Controls.

A Reuben is a warm and tasty grilled sandwich.

Corn beef Reuben sandwich
Corn beef Reuben sandwich

It is a popular meal in North America. This sandwich uses several different ingredients together. It features salty corned beef and creamy Swiss cheese. It also includes sauerkraut, which is sour cabbage. People add Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing for flavor. Finally, the whole meal is grilled between slices of rye bread. Many people love this sandwich because of its unique tastes. It is often served in deli restaurants.

There are many stories about how the Reuben began. One story takes us to Omaha, Nebraska. A man named Reuben Kulakofsky lived there. He was a Jewish grocer from Lithuania. Between 1920 and 1935, he played poker at the Blackstone Hotel. He asked for a sandwich with corned beef and sauerkraut. The hotel owner, Charles Schimmel, had a son who worked in the kitchen. The son added Swiss cheese and dressing to the order. He put it all on rye bread. This special sandwich soon became famous on the hotel menu.

Another story says the sandwich started in New York City. A man named Arnold Reuben owned a deli there. He was a German-Jewish man. Some say he made a "Reuben Special" around 1914. Other people believe a chef named Alfred Scheuing made it for Arnold's son in the 1930s. One version says it was made for an actress named Marjorie Rambeau. The kitchen was very empty that night. The chef had to make something quick with what he had. These different stories show how much people value this food.

People create many different versions of the Reuben today. In Montreal, they use smoked meat instead of corned beef. Some people even use fish like walleye or grouper. In Michigan, a version called the Rachel uses turkey or pastrami. Some people like Reuben egg rolls, which are fried snacks. A chef named Dennis Wegner made them in Milwaukee around 1990. You can even make a veggie Reuben. These use mushrooms, zucchini, or cucumbers instead of meat. Some people use wheatmeat or tempeh for a vegan meal.

It is important to know that a Reuben is not kosher. This is because it mixes meat and cheese in one meal. However, you can still find it in kosher-style restaurants. They might use non-dairy cheese or skip the cheese entirely. In Omaha, people celebrate this food every year. They call March 14 Reuben Sandwich Day. It is a fun way to honor a classic meal. Whether it has fish, meat, or vegetables, the Reuben remains a special treat.

428 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (1)
File:Corn beef Reuben sandwich.jpg
Corn beef Reuben sandwich.jpg
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.