White bread sandwiches with egg sauce (gribiche) and crisps
And why ultra-processed food manufacturers have summoned me for a chat
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Oh dear. My email this week. Intermingled with a lovely offer to do a cookery demo at a summer food festival, and invitations to the launch of a supermarket’s summer wine range, a butchery Masterclass at a posh hotel and the opening of a new pizza spot in London, my In Box contained a couple of Debbie downers.
It seems that big food manufacturers haven’t exactly adored pieces I’ve written lately about ultra-processed food. One email contained a copy of a formal letter of complaint to the newspaper claiming I had “demonised” white packaged supermarket bread and implied it was nutritionally worthless. Demonised.
The letter challenged the basis of the NOVA system that classifies ultra-processed foods (they’re right, it’s not perfect, but it’s the only one there is and it’s not my invention) and insisted that packaged white bread contained some good stuff (technically not untrue, but I didn’t claim otherwise in the piece).
They were, however, silent on the key question of the emulsifiers (and other additives) that some packaged supermarket bread contains and which mounting evidence suggests may not be marvellous for our bodies.
Another email (in fact several persistent ones) involved an invitation by a multinational food company for an in-person meeting to chat, topic undisclosed. I assume they didn’t want to discuss our respective summer holiday plans. (I declined the coffee but said I was happy to receive and read any information they cared to send.)
Ito be honest, complaints about stuff I’ve written generally make me feel queasy - I hate committing errors (although it happens) and I try hard write in a balanced and fair way. But this week I am, as they say, not bothered. These companies simply dislike the increasing (huzzah!) media attention. I get the feeling they don’t want consumers to fully understand how these products are made or what substances actually go into them. Because then, their consumers might stop buying.
So, given my bread-heavy In Box, my recipe this week had to be a sandwich. And it’s glorious. The filling is the French ‘sauce’ gribiche, a decadent herb-flecked egg mayonnaise-style sauce, or a piquant sister of tartare. It’s called a sauce, but it’s more substantial and versatile than that term would suggest. It’s perfect served with asparagus or new potatoes at this of year, and also makes a bright and zingy foil to richer foods like salmon or, as Larousse Gastronomique suggests, calf’s head.
Crisps just add magnificent salty crunch, what can I say?
For the bread I’d encourage everyone to making their own loaf now and then, it’s really not that hard. I think Nigella’s Old-fashioned Sandwich Loaf is unbeatable for ease and deliciousness. If you’re after something with more of a crackly crust, Jim Lahey’s famous no-knead loaf is easy, too, although it does need to rest overnight.
Obviously buy a lovely soft white squishy loaf from the supermarket if that suits you. In actual fact, I do that regularly. Just don’t tell the bread manufacturers.