Last night I was talking to my friend Amy in Chicago about sandwich fillings over here. Amy is currently enrolled in culinary school and just happens to be finishing her sanitation course at the moment. She made the comment that she has learned a lot (more than she probably wanted to know) about food borne illnesses that arise when sandwiches - and their fixings (i.e. mayo, deli meat, etc.) are out in the open for too long.
Our discussion prompted me to tell her she probably would never want to eat at a sandwich shop over here since so many of their sandwich "fillings" are mayo based. Personally, I do not like mayo. I eat it sparingly - in maybe some chicken salad or dips, and occasionally on a turkey tom sandwich at Jimmy John's. I would much rather have mustard instead. Something about the consistency and processed nature of mayo does not appeal to me. So, these "fillers" over here have little appeal to me since almost all of them are bound with mayonnaise and more mayonnaise.
This morning I went for a shop (as they say here) at my local Sainsbury's. I took this photo of the deli fillers section of the aisle to showcase another angle of this sandwich "filling" normality here.
Choices of the "deli fillers" section include: Free Range Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich Filler, Deli Melt Tuna & Red Onion Filler, Deli-Fillers Seafood Cocktail, Prawn Mayonnaise Sandwich Filler, Tuna & Sweetcorn Sandwich Filler, Egg & Bacon Sandwich Filler, Cheese & Onion Sandwich Filler, Chicken Tikka Deli Filler, and more....
When I looked up Deli Fillers online, I saw that Sainsbury's is offering over 24 kinds of deli fillers on their website; Morrison's boasts over 20 varieties on their online site; and Waitrose has at least 10 varieties of fillers in their "essential" line alone.
I suspect there is an ease of preparation for lunch sandwiches when using these fillers. No need to spend a lot of time fixing a sandwich - just slice open the baguette and dump in some deli filling.
This is one part of local living over here that will not become habit for me....I will stick to my club sandwiches and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
3 comments:
I've seen jars of 'tuna mayo paste' in the grocery store before (not even refridgerated). Yuck!
ewww. i've never sampled the grocery store fillers and am with you...probably never will.
However, I do buy the pre-packaged sandwiches from M&S when i'm in a bind, which are most likely made w/ those tubs of nastiness. Before this post, I've really enjoyed the tuna/sweetcorn actually. I've also fallen victim to Coronation Chicken! And Cassie, you must try a jacket potato w/ beans and grated cheese. It's 'quite nice'. I've been here wayyy too long. help!
I think I've been out of the UK too long! These fillers don't look very familiar. Or perhaps it's just that I never bought them personally, so didn't notice the number and variety of them.
It is a bit of a sign of the times, that people are too busy even to make a sandwich filling, but need it ready-prepared.
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