41°f/5°C, light clouds.
Did you ever make strange sandwiches when you were young? Or maybe you still do?
While trying to think of something easy to make for dinner last night (we ended up having scrambled eggs and sliced tomatoes) I somehow got to thinking about some of the sandwiches we made when I was a child.
Larry's favorite weirdness still, peanut butter and pickle. Image found online.
One favorite was peanut butter and King syrup. Sticky, messy, but my did we love it. Then there were marshmallow cream sandwiches, that gooey white stuff in a jar spread thickly on white bread. I shudder to think of it now, but back then that was a good as cake to us.
Others I remember: butter and white sugar sandwiches, mayonnaise sandwiches, mustard sandwiches, peanut butter and sliced bananas or just sliced bananas and butter, cucumber and butter, and that glory of glories, fried egg, cheese and ketchup. All on gum-sticking white bread, of course. We also would sometimes spread something called kippers on bread and toast under the broiler when I was in my teens. Kippers, I think, are a kind of canned, smoked herring? Not sure but definitely a canned fish.
As I read over this list, I can see that most were sugar heavy, lacking in any nutritional value, and probably filling, at least for a while. How we all managed to avoid diabetes is a wonder.
I haven't had any of these in years, except the peanut butter and banana, which I still like but rarely eat, and cucumber sandwiches, which I love in summer.
I suppose that given the large size of our family and the small size of Dad's paycheck, and adding in Mom's probable desperation to keep us all fed, these mostly cheap sandwich fillers were understandable. And apparently we weren't harmed too badly, as all 13 of us, ranging in age from 60 to 78, are still kicking and in pretty good health.
Buzz feed posed a similar question and got some eye-opening responses, so if you are feeling adventurous maybe some of these will appeal.
Here in West Virginia there is a restaurant called The Secret Sandwich Society. Such an intriguing name! The one time we had an opportunity to go there, the restaurant had burned down. They rebuilt and are open again so maybe one day we will get there, just to find out what the secret is!
Now, 'fess up. What terribly unhealthy or weird sandwiches have you ever made? Do you still make them?
...both of your sandwiches are weird!
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Larry won't even try mine!
DeleteI didn't grow up on weird food but very plain food. I was a skinny kid for a reason.
ReplyDeleteMost of our food was plain too, AC. Mom was the stereotypical English cook, although she got adventurous later in life and became a much better cook.
DeleteI'm with Larry. I love peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. We ate at the Secret Sandwich Society last year on vacation, and we all enjoyed our sandwiches. I would go back if I'm in the area again.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that people who eat a lot of pickles tend to not like sweets as much as most people, and are often thin, or at least a healthy weight. Or maybe I just imagine that?
DeleteI've always been a very picky eater and growing up we didn't have a great choice of things to eat. Luckily Mom baked bread every week and I loved it. Still do rely heavily on bread. I would take a sandwich for my lunch at school and most often it was butter and mustard. Amazing how we all grew up quite healthy!!!
ReplyDeleteHomemade bread, nothing compares. What a lucky child you were! I had to laugh about the butter and mustard. We pit butter (well, margarine) on every sandwich back then.
DeletePeanut butter and pickles...that's an interesting combo.
ReplyDeleteKind of a sweet and sour? He only uses dill pickles.
DeleteKippers aren't canned - they're salted and smoked.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...what we had were called Kipper Snacks" and they were in a tin like sardines, with a key that rolled back the top. Yes, salted and smoked, but in a can. I wonder what the real ones taste like, if these weren't the usual.
Delete5C??? Brrr...
ReplyDeleteYes. Salami-sandwich with sweet whip cream. YUCK!!!
And at "Aunt Emma" you could buy breadroll with... Negerkuss. softer than marshmallow and coated with chocolate.
The name is banned now it´s not called "negro-kiss", but "chocolate-kiss". My generation was fine with the "negro", as were they.
I still gett the shudder from this.
When I was a child peanut butter was not known in Germany.
Canned fish. "Örks" - Ingo STILL eats this. As stuffed pig feet.
Oh, the 60´s you were right about the first article...
Chocolate kiss sounds like something I would have loved! Stuffed pigs feet? Eewww
DeleteWhen Carson came to stay with us, he asked for a mayo sandwich. We don't keep it in the house unless we need it for something (deviled eggs comes to mind). He just didn't understand that!
ReplyDeleteThat's funny! My grandkids had to get used to no pop (soda) at my house. They thought it was very strange.
DeleteI don't think I ever made weird sandwiches, honestly, but my sister loved ketchup sandwiches and I thought that was weird.
ReplyDeleteHusband would make himself a ketchup sandwich when he was a boy after school. One “ weird” sandwich I made for our kids was peanut butter and peach slices on toast. Ripe peaches cut up, not the canned kind. - Jenn
ReplyDeleteAnother ketchup sandwich person! I never even heard of that.
DeletePeaches on peanut butter sounds like it might be good.
For lunches we sometimes had baloney with mayo sandwiches. And a side of potato chips.
ReplyDeleteYes, and put a few chips inside the sandwich for a crunchy delight!
DeleteA friend in junior high would bring cream cheese and olive sandwiches. We convinced another gullible friend that she was eating jellyfish. I've made it since and still call it jellyfish. Can't convince my granddaughters to try it though. Another open face sandwich was butter, sugar and cinnamon - under the broiler for a bit and called cinnamon toast. Then there was just butter and sugar. Or mayo and pickles. Rarely make any of those now.
ReplyDeleteCream cheese and olives?? No thanks. Shudder. But the cinnamon toast, we made that too, in winter. So delicious.
DeleteThere is no way my mother would have let me do that. She made her own bread and rolls, butter came from my grandparents' farm in a crock, and Healthy Food was a big, big item. I think the closest to weird I was allowed was plain boiled macaroni, as I did not like homemade macaroni and cheese.
ReplyDeleteMY kids grew up on Kraft dinner and were allowed to forage in the frig. And they are healthy, thank you for asking.
How sweet it must have been to have homemade breads regularly. I think we were allowed to fix whatever we wanted for lunch, except bot Dad's lunchmeat and cheese.
DeleteMy dad used to have salt and pepper sandwiches. My favourite was like you, peanut butter and syrup.
ReplyDeleteWe ate a lot of peanut butter & mayo when I was a kid. Now, we rarely eat sandwiches at all but I do enjoy the comfort of a grilled PB & J with some warm milk or hot tea.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine in England relished peanut butter and pickled beet (beetroots he called them) sandwiches and tried to inveigle me to try them. I resisted!
ReplyDeleteAre the pickles on PB dill? Or sweet? I'd like to try that one. Can't think of any odd sandwiches in my life, but the white bread, margarine, sugar and cinnamon, certainly brings back memories. KipperSnacks were an occasional treat when I was growing up - I can almost taste them just thinking about it. A while ago I picked up a tin at the store (still wrapped in paper as remembered, and I assume the key is still attached to the top of the tin) for old times' sake, and one of these days I'll open it :)
ReplyDelete