In many English-speaking countries, the name panini is given to a grilled sandwich made using various breads. The bread is cut horizontally and filled with deli ingredients, and often served warm after having been pressed by a warming grill.
Panini is a word of Italian origin. In Italian, the noun panino (Italian:[pa'niːno]; pl.: panini) is a diminutive of pane (lit.'bread') and refers to a bread roll. Panino imbottito (lit.'stuffed panino') refers to a sandwich, but the word panino is also often used alone to indicate a sandwich in general. Similar to a panino is a tramezzino, a triangular or square sandwich made up of two slices of soft white bread with the crusts removed.[citation needed]
In English dominant countries, panini is widely used as the singular form, with the plural form panini or paninis, although some speakers use singular panino and plural panini as in Italian.[4][5][6][7]
Although the first US reference to panini dates to 1956, and a precursor appeared in a 16th-century Italian cookbook, the sandwiches became trendy in Milanese bars, called paninoteche, in the 1970s and 1980s. Trendy US restaurants began selling panini, with distinctive variations appearing in various cities.[8]
During the 1980s, the term paninaro arose in Italy to denote a member of a youth culture represented by patrons of sandwich bars, such as Milan's Al Panino, and Italy's first US-style fast food restaurants. Paninari were depicted as right-leaning, fashion-fixated individuals, delighting in showcasing early-1980s consumer goods as status symbols.[9][10][11]
Strahs, Kathy (2013). The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook: More than 200 Perfect-Every-Time Recipes for Making Panini – and Lots of Other Things – on Your Panini Press or Other Countertop Grill. Harvard Common Press. ISBN978-1-55832-792-4.
Tripodi, Anthony (2011). The Everything Panini Press Cookbook. Adams Media. ISBN9781440527692.
