Ron DeSantis' nod to the Cuban sandwich recipe pits two Florida cities against each other.

The Cuban sandwich is a culinary classic in Florida. Its recipe sparks passion and, for decades, has been the subject of a debate that has pitted residents of two cities in the Sunshine State against each other. This Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis reignited the controversy by commenting on social media that he had tried a very particular version of this traditional sandwich: the Tampa version, which includes salami , an ingredient that Miami purists consider almost sacrilege.

Governor DeSantis shared a recent culinary experience on social media. “ I had a Cuban sandwich in Tampa, where they put salami in it. Miami restaurants don't include it , ” he wrote on his social media account. X .

Aware of the historic dispute that has been raging between these two cities for years over the ingredients included in this traditional Florida dish , the president posed a question to users of the social network. " Can you put salami in a Cuban sandwich?" he asked . He accompanied the inquiry with a survey that included two possible answers :

The governor's tweet went viral immediately. Within hours, his survey garnered thousands of responses . At the time of writing, with more than 14,000 votes, the Miami recipe (without salami) had 66.1% approval, while the Tampa recipe garnered the remaining 33.9%.

In Miami , it's made with water bread , ham , roast pork, Swiss cheese, and pickles . Mustard is sometimes added, although it's not a mandatory ingredient in all recipes. The bread is buttered, the sandwich is assembled, and pressed until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden.

Tampa shares the same base, but adds slices of Genoa salami . The reason for this difference, according to some historians, is the Italian influence in the Ybor City neighborhood in the late 18th century, when Cuban immigrants working in the tobacco industry encountered a small Italian community, El Mundo reported.

The controversy over the "true recipe" isn't the only one surrounding this dish. There's another dispute about its origins. Some maintain that it originated , as its name would seem to indicate, on the Caribbean island , while those in Florida acknowledge that it originated in Cuba, but that there it was only referred to as a "sandwich." They explain that it wasn't until it was brought to the United States by immigrants in the 18th century that it took on the name "Cuban sandwich."

In South Florida, the snack's popularity grew rapidly and adapted to local customs. Both Miami and Tampa adopted it as a culinary symbol , but each city left its own mark, Cubanet notes.

It's so important to the Sunshine State that since 2016, every August 23rd is officially celebrated as Cuban Sandwich Day in Florida.

Despite the differences, both versions share a recognizable base. The most common ingredients are:

In Tampa, the list also includes Genoa salami , which locals consider the defining characteristic of authenticity.