Everybody knows the story of how the sandwich was supposedly invented by the gambler, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. Montague or Monty called for bread with that great British meat, beef, and wanted another piece of bread on top to stop his hands getting greasy. One version of the story has him playing cards. I suppose both stories are correct, he was gambling on the cards.
Before that, before crockery, bread acted as your plate. You ate with and only a knife, your own knife, and no forks.
How life has changed. We went through the white sandwich era. Now everybody likes brown, especially bread with lots of seeds. You can find all kinds of sandwiches, tiny ones with different colours of bread, and huge Subway sandwiches. Strictly speaking a sandwich is a large square of bread cut into two triangles.
In Victorian times, when meat and cheese went off in the heat, cucumber sandwiches were served . The cucumber was refreshing as water was not safe to drink, nor was milk, so people drank tea which was made with boiled water.
Supermarket Sandwich Choice
Now you can buy £1 sandwiches in pound shops, and Boots chemist (to Americans - that's what Brits call a drug store). Tesco and Morrisons and the major supermarkets have had to compete with Value sandwiches at the budget price.
You can find breakfast sandwiches with egg or bacon or both. Smoked salmon sandwiches are highly calorific, especially the ones with cream cheese which counterbalances the greasiness and saltiness. Look for the calorie count. I used to opt for mashed boiled egg. Then I discovered it was mixed with mayonnaise (which is a mixture of egg yolk and oil - usually olive oil but not necessarily) and sometimes a higher calorie count than meat.
You can also find sandwiches and other perishable foods reduced in the evenings in the UK and worldwide.
The major supermarkets make sandwich platters for parties. You can have tiny sandwiches on cocktail sticks. Or giant sandwiches trying to beat the world record.
In the Nineteen Sixties in a park in San Francisco free bread was given out, dyed pink.
At the World Travel Market in London the sandwiches on the Ethiopian stand were in the colours of the Ethiopian flag. I asked somebody if the sandwiches had been flown in from Ethiopia and if that was an Ethiopian tradition.
My companions looked at me as if I were made. 'Don't be silly,' somebody said. 'The whole exhibition probably has one catering company. The individual stands just put in an order.'
They are probably right. Any British caterer can make you up sandwiches in red, white and blue. Green, orange, or whatever colour takes your fancy, to match the colour of your favourite flag or football team. Just as you could. (See my previous posts on colouring rainbow cakes.)
The British Sandwich Association
Association House - 18c Moor Street – Chepstow – NP16 5DB.
Tel: 01291 636337
http://www.sandwich.org.ukAngela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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