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How the sandwich consumed Britain
- VeejayRampay 9y agoAs a Frenchman, I have to say it: I was in England two years ago, got those sandwiches around the cities I visited (London, Margate, Brighton) in bookshops, train stations, street vendors and to be honest, they're very good. Usually heavy on the sauce and easy ingredients like bacon, eggs, mayonnaise, but still, props to the UK for producing quality sandwiches like that on a such a HUGE scale.
- muxator 9y agoMaybe it's my cultural heritage, but for me a sandwich - at least the one I eat on a regular basis - has to be made from fresh ingredients. I am not talking about the taste: I am sure you can make anything asymptotically tasteful, but I do not want to eat a sandwich that resists unaltered for weeks.
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- lozenge 9y agoWith the volumes they are pushing, there is no chance that a sandwich has been on the shelf for weeks.
- muxator 9y agoMaybe you are being ironic. My point was about chemicals.
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- Angostura 9y agoMaybe you're being ironic, but there are few if any preservatives in decent supermarket sarnies. Look at the list of ingredients and the sell-by dates.
- dageshi 9y agoI think most supermarket sandwiches are on the shelves for about 2 days max. On the second day if they've not sold then they cut the price drastically to sell them.
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- stevekemp 9y agoYou don't want to eat chemicals? What's next, not wanting to eat atoms?
- ryandrake 9y agoBe sarcastic if you want, but atoms are no joke. Did you know that some most atoms are toxic in their pure form? You'd have to be crazy to try a spoonful of random atoms. While there are plenty of combinations of atoms that can be consumed safely, it's not true for all of them. You need to be very careful about what kinds of atoms you're eating. Also, "atom" is the root of the word "atomic." You know--as in atomic bombs? That alone should help you to reconsider whether you want to eat these things! The above clearly proves that "not wanting to eat atoms" is a perfectly reasonable opinion.
- foldr 9y agoSandwiches in supermarkets generally stay on the shelf for a day or two. They don't contain any preservatives AFAIK (except perhaps in the bread).
- PaulRobinson 9y agoIf you check the ingredients list you'll find they don't use many preservatives because there is little need, and so use of them would just increase costs. The ingredients you've bought and put in the fridge are no more or less likely to use preservatives than the ones that go into a supermarket sandwich. The cost and ability to make it your own in terms of ingredients is a good reason to make your own, but the preservative argument? That doesn't make sense to me.
- sjclemmy 9y ago1. I love ‘shop bought’ sandwiches. 2. My wife used to work a night shift at a sandwich factory when she was a student.
- Nursie 9y agoI love a good sandwich, but would hesitate to call any of the sandwiches from pre-packed places good. Or from Greggs or Pret for that matter. And I do sometimes eat sandwiches for dinner - on fresh bread of my choosing, with piles of fillings I like, nothing pre-prepared comes close. That's not to say I object to a packet of sandwiches ow and again, but it rapidly loses its charm if that's all there is near work. I am lucky enough to have street food markets nearby in my current role.
- valuearb 9y agoI love sandwiches and like the idea of packaged sandwiches, but unfortunately packaged sandwiches in the US tend to be soggy, and that ruins them for me. Usually the bread, but sometimes the meat and cheese is even wet and that makes me queasy. I wonder if the Brit's have figured out something that the local marts in the US haven't?
- ghaff 9y agoI don't think so. Make a sandwich, wrap it up in plastic, and it's probably going to be soggy. Some people just have higher tolerances for mediocre food.
- OnlyLys 9y agoI tried a lot of prepackaged sandwiches when I lived in London, all of them sucked. Even the more expensive ones from Starbucks were bad. Maybe I'm just not a sandwich person, but I really really hate the bread that they use in the prepackaged sandwiches. They tend to go for that dry, flaky and flavourless stuff that doesn't do anything for me. Edit: Actually, there was one time I had a sandwich I liked, I think it was the premium stuff they sell at M&S, that one was 6/10.
- Nursie 9y agoActually it's in the article - there are tomato varities used specifically because they leal less water, and the sandwich makers talk about "barriers" like butter and mayo to keep the bread from getting wet. So short answer - yes, they have figured it out.
- not_that_noob 9y agoWe figured it out many decades earlier - we call our ubiquitous convenient sandwiches ‘hamburgers’.
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- matthewowen 9y agoAs a Brit now living in the US, I can't help but feel like the popularity of packaged sandwiches in the UK is largely driven by the fact that people in England are terrible at sandwiches. A ham and cheese sandwich in the UK is usually a thin layer of ham, a thin layer of cheese, and some butter. In the US, it's thick wodges of both, plus tomato and lettuce. It's just a more compelling option, and a small sad thing in a cardboard box pales in comparison.
- mrob 9y agoHomemade UK sandwiches are worse than that. In my experience, when most people say "butter" they mean margarine. Shop bought sandwiches are more likely to contain real butter.
- Shorel 9y agoOhh, that really sounds worse.
- PaulRobinson 9y agoAs an aside, they do not have margarine on them because there are no margarine brands on sale in the UK any more, and haven't been for nearly a decade: http://old.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=10421&start=0&sid=c1e2eadc854c7d5f9401ea8e936ac6e8 http://old.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=10421&start=0&sid=c1e... You'll either find they don't need a spread at all like https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/253582556 https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/253582556 - anything which has mayo on it means they get away without it. The "Just Ham" sandwich from Tesco does though, indeed, have butter.
- switch007 9y agoThere are still many non 100% butter products. Here is Utterly Butterly's ingredients list: Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed, Palm), Water, Buttermilk (10%), Modified Maize Starch, Salt, Emulsifier - E471 Sunflower Lecithin, Preservative - Potassium Sorbate, Acid - Lactic Acid, Colours - Annatto, Curcumin, Flavouring I'm not sure what most pre-made sandwich retailers use. I would guess whatever was cheapest...
- cletus 9y agoI lived in the UK for several years and lived on sandwiches for lunch at work, primarily from Pret a Manger (BLT and Thai Chicken mainly). But I also visited particularly several times and as much as I enjoyed my lunch sandwiches the street vendor baguettes were in a whole different league.
- walshemj 9y agoYes going to a Proper cafe run by what looks like extras from EastEnders is both cheaper and a better experience. If you see Coppers (policemen) taking there lunch break there you know its going to be OK
- dageshi 9y agoOne of my small pleasures in life is timing the daily visit to my local supermarket just when all the sandwhiches have been marked down from £3 to 75p to clear them. You'd think you'd get tired of the "all day breakfast triple", but nope!
- PaulRobinson 9y agoWhat time of day does that happen in your neck of the woods? Asking for a friend...
- dageshi 9y agoTypically around 14:30 onwards, essentially any sandwich that's gonna expire that day and didn't shift by 2:30 usually ends up discounted by then.
- dboreham 9y agoRead that as "all day breakfast tripe" and thought surely black pudding would make more sense..
- cjsuk 9y agoI’m glad I’m not alone in enjoying the marked down pricing of a breakfast triple. There is nearly a fight to the death on the sandwiches here if they are in short supply.
- dageshi 9y agoSaid supermarket has also started selling Burgers right next to the sandwiches, the Breakfast Triple has been sorely challenged by the presence of the "Cheese Burger with Bacon" for £2.89. Happily sometimes those are also discounted down to sub £1.
- mappu 9y agoThe show Ben-To is based on seizing the moment when that discount happens.
- whoopdedo 9y agoThere is an art to the business of making sandwiches which it is given to few ever to find the time to explore in depth. It is a simple task, but the opportunities for satisfaction are many and profound. Reading this in 1992 I was entertained by Douglas Adams's whimsical storytelling talent. But now with this bit of historical context I see there was also, as in many of his stories, a social commentary which had passed me by as an American. Of course over here we have restaurants such as McDonald's and White Castle. Did those chains not have a presence in the UK in 1980? Or do other countries make a distinction between beef patties on a bun and sliced bread sandwiches?
- Nursie 9y agoWe do make a distinction. While a burger is clearly meat between two bits of bread, it's not usually considered a sandwich. McD's was certainly not widespread until later in the 80s, IIRC, and White Castle has never had a presence here AFAIK.
- mrgordon 9y agoWhite Castle also isn't present across most of America either. Subway is the largest fast food chain in the world so it would be more interesting to hear what sort of presence they have.
- Lio 9y agoSubway are everywhere in the UK. Having colonised most town centres they’re now popping up in garage forcourts (service stations).
- stevekemp 9y agoWhile McDonalds wasn't widespread there were regional burger / fast-food places around in the UK at that time. For example I had a small birthday-party, which I still remember fondly, at a Wimpy burger-place back in 84 or so.
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- tomjen3 9y agoHaving visited Britain, this was about the only food you could buy and consume that felt at least somewhat British. The joke is that food in Britain is terrible, but I am at a loss to find any food that is British, other than Fish and Chips, breakfast and, well, the sandwich. On the other hand I can list many foods that are French, foods that are uniquely Danish, foods that are German (although I hope never again to have to eat saur-kraut).
- GlennS 9y agoTry: toad in the hole, yorkshire puddings.
- robotresearcher 9y agoRoast beef with potatoes, parsnips and sprouts. In the Napoleonic wars, the French rude nickname for Brits was 'rosbif'. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosbif https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosbif Steamed sponge puddings like Spotted Dick Cornish pasties Meat pies like steak and kidney. Australians are mad about pies but they were a staple before the Brits took them there. Shepherd's pie (it's not a pie so gets its own line). Mustard with a nice kick. Not a meal, but it's very distinctive. It's closer to wasabi than to French mustard.
- JdeBP 9y agojugged kippers kedgeree for breakfast (-:
- walshemj 9y agoCTM Chiken Tika Masala Is one though that's a bit of a hybrid.
- balabaster 9y agoWe have a whole bunch, I won't cover Chicken Tikka Masala or Madras because it could be argued that we've really just appropriated them due to our love of Indian food - and they really are delicious. - Shepherd's Pie - Ploughmans Lunch - Roast lamb and Yorkshire Pudding - Toad in the Hole - Fish & Chips - Cornish Pasty - Pork Pies - Meat Pie - Beef Wellington - Spotted Dick - Treacle Pudding - Sticky Toffee Pudding - Christmas Pudding - Trifle - Scones I'm sure there are stacks more, these are just the ones I can list without stopping to think.
- ivanbakel 9y agoThe way the company representitives talked about "breaking into dinner" was almost dystopic. How could you be proud to think of disrupting an evening meal with a convenience item for your own profit? It's a damning sign of the way the workforce is made to get by if a need for quick food manages to take over even the time away from the office.
- elsurudo 9y agoNo kidding, and I am surprised this is the only comment on here pointing this out. This article is really quite sad, except for the small historical tidbits. It really reminded me of the sad state of affairs that capitalism has brought us to: we are all tugging at the cart in different directions, not really caring which direction it ends up going in. As long as it is _our_ direction – as long as it is us making the money.
- JdeBP 9y agoWhether the packaged sandwich industry is setting its sights on dinner, it has long since set its sights on Christmas dinner. A work colleague this year inspired me to update one of my Frequently Given Answers, which I first put up ten years ago. The trend was already observable back then. * http://jdebp.eu./FGA/christmas-sandwich/ http://jdebp.eu./FGA/christmas-sandwich/
- PaulRobinson 9y agoWell, they're not going after Christmas Dinner. It has been a tradition all my life, and in the lives of every Brit I know that on Boxing Day (which is what we call the day after Christmas Day for those of you who aren't British), the family will have sandwiches using leftovers from the Christmas Dinner. This turkey, cranberry, pigs in blankets and vegetable concoction is a very, very fond memory from my childhood. I'm instantly transported back to a very happy time in my life whenever I eat it. It's not surprising then that retailers have tried to mimic it in the month or two before Christmas, and that I will readily give them money for this brief glimpse of happiness in the middle of an otherwise miserable, boring or frustrating average working day.
- marcosscriven 9y agoHaving recently been diagnosed with coeliac, one of the things I’m really missing is being able to grab a tasty sandwich for lunch. Sometimes there are gluten free alternatives, but generally the texture is terrible.
- jaskerr 9y agoAmen, brother, sing it! Therein lies the problem: the texture of GF breads at room temp. No matter the incantations, or the application of chemical ingredients, no one has conquered the problem of dry, crumbly GF bread. The only solution seems to be the application of heat, whether it be by oven or microwave. Of course, asking your sandwich vendor to 'wave your sandwich for 45 seconds is to be met with a blank stare. Oh, well.
- walshemj 9y agoProbably also due to the reduction in staff canteens as Thatcherism over took the UK
- Humphrey 9y agoInterestingly, you still can't buy a pre-made sandwich from a supermarket in Australia. We have Subways and sandwiches at cafe's and corner stores, but actually barely any "ready to eat" meals at our supermarkets. I wonder whether we have regulations in place that prevent this, just like we do with alcohol? Or is it that the Aussie market is different? Or is there an un-tapped market ready for the taking?
- contingencies 9y agoInsufficient population density, small market, high average distance to market, low "eat out" frequency (but increasing), short commercial hours, arguably higher freshness / quality standards.
- KGIII 9y agoI ordered a sandwich in Cann River and got a plate of sandwich ingredients as an unassembled sandwich. This happened again in Melbourne. I'm skeptical of your whole country's sandwich making skills.
- jpatokal 9y ago...yes you can? Not all of them, but eg the Coles in Pyrmont stocks a healthy range of sangas for the convenience of nearby office dwellers.
- jankotek 9y agoI like optimism in the article, but raise of sandwich is nothing to celebrate.
- mattnewport 9y agoOne of the things I noticed moving to Canada was that every drug store (rough Boots equivalent) and grocery store did not have a vast selection of packaged sandwiches. Having lived off them for work lunches for years I was initially at a bit of a loss for what to eat. I do sometimes wonder when visiting the UK what cultural difference accounts for the relative lack of popularity of such a wildly successful product in Britain here in Canada. Having not eaten bread for many years now though it's largely an academic question these days. I never understood Subway here, just the smell walking past one on the street makes me feel slightly queasy.
- fredley 9y agoWhen I first started traveling under my own steam around Europe, it took me a while to realise that sandwiches, which seem so obvious as to be universal, are such a British thing. Wandering around a foreign city, expecting to be able to just grab a sandwich from almost anywhere and continue sightseeing, only to discover that sandwiches (at that time) just didn't exist was a jarring experience.
- stevekemp 9y agoSame here - I moved from Scotland to Finland and I still catch myself thinking "I'll pop into this corner shop for a sandwich". Larger grocery stores do indeed sell sandwiches, but the selection is very small, and they're just not quite "right". Fast food is easy, but sometimes you just want to sit down drink a decent cup of tea & have a sandwich..
- efrafa 9y agoIt might be unpopular opinion but I totally hate those prepacked triangle sandwitches. Mainly because bread is so bad. When I first time moved to Ireland I was astonished how much people eat them and consider them a regular lunch.
- OnlyLys 9y agoI've lived in London for a few years and recently went on a trip to Dublin. I found there to be more sandwich shops (and for some reason doughnut shops) there. While London has better food overall, there is no doubt that Dubliners know how to make better sandwiches. Even a dingy looking sandwich place near a bus stop made sandwiches that were a step above anything I have ever had in London.
- scirocco 9y agoUK food sucks. Sorry
- Hekvision 9y agoJohn Montagu fue un aristócrata británico que ocupó cargos de cierta relevancia en la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII. No obstante, dicho personaje no ha pasado a la historia por su carrera política o militar, sino por ser el inventor del sándwich. Todavía se debate si esto es cierto, pero el autor Pierre-Jean Grosley popularizó en su libro Tour to London un anécdota que muchos dan por verdadera. Al parecer John Montagu era un empedernido jugador de cartas y le resultaba molesto tener que interrumpir sus partidas para comer. Es por ello que comenzó a ordenar a sus sirvientes que le sirvieran la comida, generalmente carne, entre dos rebanadas de pan. Con ello el aristócrata podía continuar jugando sin hacer pausas que le resultaban molestas, un hábito que se extendió primero entre sus compañeros de partida y conocidos y acabó por generalizarse en todo el país británico.