Type Sandwich Alternative | Main ingredients Flatbread | |
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Similar Wheat tortilla, Chicken meat, Sandwich, Burrito, Bread roll | ||
A wrap is made with a soft flatbread rolled around a filling.
Contents
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.
History
Mexicans, Armenians, Middle Easterners, Greeks and Turks have been eating wraps since before the 1900s. Mexicans refer to them as burritos, and they come in different ingredient varieties, primarily wheat flour or corn.
The wrap, invented by Shaun Robins 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 OVO Bistro in NYC introduced its wrap sandwich in 1990 under the name "The King Edward," 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 run 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 a variation of 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.
Wraps in public eating places
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, It's a Raps, by DKAJ 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 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.