British Sandwich Week

May 23

British Sandwich Week
This week is British Sandwich Week – so in celebration of the iconic British culinary invention, I wanted to share with you some top sandwich facts and sandwiches to tuck into. 

A Quick Overview of Sandwich History
The sandwich as we know it was popularised in England in 1762 by John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Legend has it, that Montagu had a gambling problem which meant he spent hours sitting at the card table. You may interest what’s he play, click to visit star slots and find out how awesome the game that make people get addicted. During a particularly long card session, he asked the house cook to bring him something he could eat without getting up from his seat – cold beef between slices of toast, to be precise – and the sandwich was born. 

The first packaged sandwich didn’t hit retailers shelves till Marks and Spencers launched them in 1985. Nowadays, nearly 12 billion sandwiches are eaten in the UK every year with 4 billion sandwiches of these being purchased from UK catering or retail outlets (like M&S) and as a country the UK spends over £8 billion a year on sandwiches. 

The UK’s Most Popular Sandwiches 
Last year Warburtons did a survey of 2,000 Britons to find out the ten most popular sandwich fillings in the UK, the results were surprisingly unexciting:

  • Cheese
  • Ham and Cheese
  • Ham Salad
  • Sausage
  • Cheese and Onion
  • Egg Mayonnaise
  • Tuna Mayonnaise
  • Chicken Salad
  • Chicken Mayonnaise
  • Cheese and Pickle

With this in mind I wanted to share some more exciting Sandwiches for you to try at home:

  • The BLT (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato).
    • Salty, crispy bacon, sweet and juicy tomato slices and crisp, refreshing lettuce. It doesn’t get much better than a BLT! We like ours served on lightly toasted bread with a spread of light mayo and a dollop of ketchup on the side.
    • If you fancy jazzing it up add some avocado and you’ve got yourself a BLAT!
    • Or you can take it one step above a BLT with a Club Sandwich. This adds in some chicken, and doubles the amount of filling to give you a two layered sandwich monster. Check out my recipe with includes a fried egg here http://www.samstern.co.uk/recipe/club-sandwich/
  • A Classic Bacon or Sausage Sarnie – a breakfast favourite.
  • Chip Butty – a great British Friday classic!
    • Pick up a portion from your favourite chippy (we like ours with a golden, freshly fried finish, not a bland, beige and anaemic chip!) and pile onto soft white bread that’s had a light smear of good quality salted butter. Add a liberal squeeze of ketchup or mayonnaise for dunking!
  • Fish Finger Sandwich – another Friday classic!
    • Cook your fish fingers until they’re crisp and golden, cut open a large crusty bap and spoon in some tangy tartar sauce, add a handful of rocket and enjoy!
  • And last but not least – how could there not be a dessert sandwich on offer.

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