The Joy of Sandwiches

Prepackaged sandwiches have their place
I’m not sure what that place is
A bit like using someone else’s toothbrush
A bit like getting coffee from one of those train station machines
A bit like comparing artificial grass to real grass
Sandwiches made by someone other than you…
…tend not to take the ingredients into the corners.

The ingredients are afraid of
going anywhere near the corners.

We eat them because we have to. We do most things because we have to, because we are railroaded into it.
But there is a way out. Make your own.
Now if you could imagine your very favourite, most delicious dream sandwich, what would it be? Imagine it
and make it. It’s a really easy way to be creative in a basic culinary way.

Cobs from
Kirkby were tough in texture, fresh and crusty and tasty. My mum used to make a great crusty cob sandwich. I find it difficult to get cob buns these days. It’s like trying to find the holy grail. My mother would fill them with a mature cheese, not too strong, with fresh sliced red onion and tomato. The blend and balance of flavours worked perfectly with the feel and flavour of the cob. The cob can take it, so to speak, is designed by its robustness, to take the strong flavours and textures, that thin and limp commercial bread can’t. There is no better sandwich than the cob sandwich. Perhaps the cob is in a different league and comes under the bun heading. There are so many different thicknesses and textures of bread and so many different constitutions of bun that they will all have their different categories and classifications.

It’s not just the sandwich. It’s the wrapping of it. I like sandwiches either loosely draped in foil and then folded into a bread wrapper to keep it all together, or, as an alternative, lovingly hugged by cling film and then put into
the bread wrapper. There has to be two layers. I suppose it goes back to the packed lunch days of my childhood where my mum’s slightly OCD persona influenced the double or triple wrapping method. It was like nesting dolls. The box inside the box inside the box. I think the double wrapping method is sufficient enough and good practice. First there is a hygienic layer like cling film or foil, to protect the sandwich from the elements and to keep it cool and/or fresh. This is followed by a plastic or paper wrapper, which would usually be a waxed bread wrapper, to contain the sandwiches and keep them from wandering off.
Then there might be a third wrapper. You never knew how many layers you had to get through to get to the sandwich. Then there’s the feel of the sandwich. There’s nothing quite like the feel of a good packed lunch. I’m tempted to give the package a good squeeze but just holding it in your hands is good enough. It’s a bit like a soft toy. Firm but cuddly, obviously, don’t cuddle it too much. Nothing worse than squashed sandwiches…although I can turn a blind eye to a warm squashed potted meat sandwich, a sandwich that has had time to marinate, but won’t make you ill, a sandwich that has gone through a certain amount of travel and wear and tear. An experienced sandwich. Of course, we must be careful about how warm a sandwich gets before it is eaten, how far it has to travel etc. they are all variables we have to take into consideration. If I was going on a day/coach trip for example, and the sandwiches in question, as a result, are marinating for several hours before being eaten, I probably wouldn’t have egg mayonnaise as a filling, or fresh ham, especially not chicken or fish or seafood for both spoiling and aroma issues in
enclosed spaces. I think beef might be okay, obviously cheese and tomato would be fine. Potted meat pastes are highly processed, so they may be okay.
There are cool boxes and tupper-ware available but that takes the fun out of the sport. What we want is a sandwich that can stand the test of time, that can go the duration, a kind of superhero sandwich that we can rely on to be edible, tasty and safe, by the time we come to eat it, whenever that may be. A sandwich that comes through for us, in this unpredictable world. After all, if we can’t rely on our home made, lovingly prepared sandwich, which we have researched for durability, endurance, deliciousness and safety etc. what in the world can we rely on?
There is also the foil versus cling film debate. As a child, I would see my school colleagues have either clingfilm encasing their sandwiches, or foil. What is best? Cling film invariably makes sandwiches squashy and sweaty as it hugs them closely. If you want your sandwiches to squash and sweat then this is not a problem. I quite like a squashed sandwich but surely foil is a better option for freshness and coolness. Perhaps this comes down to the time of year. Cling film in winter, foil for summer. I have not fully grasped the advantages and disadvantages of foil and cling film and what is the best wrapping of the two, if any. Whatever is available is usually my motto and if I was cornered, I would probably come out in favour of foil, after trial and error. I think what this all comes down to, is our own personal taste, our sandwich making ability is our last great freedom. We can make a mobile food, investigated, prepared, researched, devised, created and ultimately showcased, perhaps not to the world, but certainly to ourselves and possibly to our friends, family, neighbours.So go on, make those sandwiches, as they may be among the last great vestiges of expressed and tailored individuality that we can seriously enjoy in these uncertain and challenging times.