Every day, , a sandwich as simple as they come. Because it’s made with only three ingredients – a half baguette, ham and butter – their quality is essential.
“The bread in France, it’s a cultural thing. The baguette needs to be crispy on the outside and soft inside. The jambon blanc (ham) from the butcher needs to be well-carved, and , slightly salted. Put together, it makes for a super combo,” says Sébastien Carmona, who grew up in the south of Toulouse, France, and is currently co-owner of .
The jambon-beurre is also called Le Parisien, the name referring to the type of ham used in it, jambon blanc or jambon de Paris. This type of lean ham is wet-cured (but not smoked) and slowly cooked in a broth aromatised with vegetables and spices.
Most swear by slightly salted (demi-sel) butter, while others prefer unsalted (doux) or salted (salé) butter. What’s non-negotiable is that the butter needs to be of the highest quality and laid on very thick inside the top and the bottom of the sandwich.
You’ll sometimes see variations of Le Parisien with cheese (most likely Emmental or Gruyère) and sliced . “The cornichons add acidity and crunch,” explains Carmona.
In France, you find jambon-beurre everywhere, from bakeries and sandwich shops to restaurants, cafes and supermarkets. “It’s most often eaten for lunch, when people might not have the time to sit down and want something quick and simple, but still tasty,” says Carmona.
The baguette needs to be crispy on the outside and soft inside. The jambon blanc (ham) from the butcher needs to be well-carved, and the butter is most often from Brittany, slightly salted. Put together, it makes for a super combo.
, when workers in Paris’ Les Halles Market put jambon de Paris and butter between slices of country bread to get them through the workday. It was not until the 1920s that the baguette became the bread of choice for the sandwich.
While the jambon-beurre is still the most consumed sandwich in France, . But it still lends its name to an economical index, “l’indice jambon-beurre”, which rates the spending power of the French according to the variation in the price of the sandwich. , a 1.3 per cent hike in price since 2019.
For a local fix of jambon-beurre, try Baguette Studios in Melbourne. Source: Baguette Studios
Where to eat jambon-beurre in Australia
Despite its ubiquity in France, jambon-beurre is not as common in Australia.
located in inner-city Fitzroy, has had its version of Le Parisien, with Swiss Emmental and cornichons, on the menu since its opening in 2016. “We just had to put the jambon-beurre on our lunch menu, it’s French people’s favourite snack!” says Carmona, who adds that you can also request the classic three-ingredient version.
North Melbourne newcomer bakery has been making waves with its jambon-beurre. The owners tried many different types of ham to suit their baguette, but couldn’t find the right match so they decided to make their own.
“I cure it in a brine of water, salt, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder and spices for about seven days, then rinse it and sous vide it for 12 hours at low temperature," explains co-owner and chef Jiho Sur. When it came to choosing the butter, a New Zealand one won them over.
The jambon-beurre at Baguette Studios is made to incredibly precise specifications. Source: Baguette Studios
“Because it’s only three ingredients, it has to come all together to make a nice synergy. You need a very fresh baguette and nice ham that works well with the baguette. The best butter in the world might not be perfect for our jambon-beurre, you need the butter that works with our baguette and ham,” explains co-owner and pastry chef Aileen Seo.
Each ingredient is weighed to make sure every sandwich is consistent. At the moment, Baguette Studios serves the sandwich with slices of Gruyère and pickles, but the three-ingredient sandwich could come back on the menu in the future.
You can also find jambon-beurre in its purest form at in Melbourne's CBD and in Hahndorf, in South Australia's Adelaide Hills region.
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