Toast Hawaii

Toast Hawaii is an open sandwich consisting of a slice of toast with ham and cheese, and a maraschino cherry in the middle of a pineapple slice, baked so that the cheese starts to melt. It was made popular by the West German TV cook Clemens Wilmenrod in the 1950s. It is likely that it was adapted from the "Grilled Spamwich" found in a 1939 Spam cookbook and brought to West Germany by American G.I.s. Spam was not available in Germany's grocery stores so Wilmenrod replaced it with a slice of cooked ham. Lightly toasted bread is buttered, covered with a slice of cooked or raw ham, pineapple, and cheese , then baked. It is also common to place a maraschino cherry, cranberries, or other similar fruit on the finished toast, or to season it with sweet paprika powder. Toast Hawaii is similar to other purportetly "Hawaiian-style" dishes that are prepared with pineapple and cheese, such as Hawaiian pizza or Hawaiian steak. The invention of toast Hawaii is generally credited to TV chef Clemens Wilmenrod, who first introduced it in West Germany in 1955. However, it is likely that Wilmenrod took the recipe from his competitor and teacher Hans Karl Adam [de].

Source: Wikipedia