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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Feb 5, 2019 6:07:21 GMT
I have watched enough British television to know that pickle and cheese sandwiches are a British staple. As a Californian, I was most surprised to find that they did not contain pickles, but were made with something called Branston Pickle. This made me curious enough to buy a jar of Branston Pickle (it came from the UK) and now I must make a proper pickle and cheese sandwich. I am reaching out to those in the UK for advice. What I have found (so far) is what seems to be a grilled cheese sandwich with the pickle slathered on it. Common guys, I need to make it right 
Cheers Jim
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Post by cusqueno on Feb 5, 2019 9:51:19 GMT
My view, for what it's worth, is that a pickle and cheese sandwich might be made with cheese and sliced-up pickled onions. Or even gherkins (pickled baby cucumbers). But not any more exotic pickles. Branston Pickle I would say is more akin to a chutney, but none the worse for that, as would be another UK speciality and contender for the sandwich, piccalilli (Google it). Personally, I would tend to go for a bona fide chutney, preferably home-made.
Incidentally, due to the machinations of the global food industry, Branston Pickle is now made in the Netherlands, not England, as is another British staple, HP (Houses of Parliament) Sauce. Lesser known equivalents are still made in the UK, for instance Henderson's Relish instead of HP Sauce.
I fear you might have triggered a lot of correspondence here Jim, possibly including a north/south divide on what a cheese 'n' pickle sandwich should be. Not to mention 'ploughman's lunches'.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Feb 5, 2019 14:39:58 GMT
Oh no Jim...you've opened up a can of worms here....as administrator I was tempted to lock or delete this thread. I live 2 miles from Branston and therefore feel I can comment. I used to take cheese and pickle sandwiches in thick white bread to work almost everyday during 1983..(not sure why except it seemed the easiest thing to make and I really liked it) I find modern day Branston Pickle a little too acidic and sugary and processed for me but still occasionally have it, often with a pork pie, celery, a chunck of cheddar and an apple (I'd call that a Ploughman's myself, but others might need a slice of ham on there). I am with Cusqueno on the preference for home made pickle/chutney though. So, the sandwich must be on buttered thick white, between 2 slices, cut chunks of cheddar and a good slathering of Branston on the cheese in the middle not against the bread. That's it. Don't grate the cheese...at a push you could leave out the butter, other than that, leave well alone |
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robt
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Post by robt on Feb 5, 2019 18:51:52 GMT
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Feb 5, 2019 18:58:08 GMT
Where is that made Rob?
EDIT- just followed the link and I see Wiltshire
and I see a local stockist...I'll give it a go.
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Post by dracco on Feb 21, 2019 18:18:41 GMT
Many years ago (in the late 1970s) when I was working in Toronto, I dropped down to Massachussetts to visit a friend who was working at U.Mass at Amherst (and also to experience the vibrant colours of the New England wood in the fall). He was bemoaning the difficulty of obtaining some essential supplies to support the English palate in the USA, like Marmite and Branston Pickle - especially the latter. However, he had an empty jar, and we decided to try and make some by collecting all the ingredients listed on the label on the back (or at least all of the ones that didn't require access to a synthetic chemistry laboratory).
We had a very pleasant weekend visiting various farmers' markets (he lived in a splendid farmhouse in the woods that had been reconstructed from 18th century timbers)to collect the various vegetables, and then chopped them up and started cooking everything up in an outsize saucepan. The final result wasn't bad at all, although the trickiest bit was getting the balance between dark brown sugar and vinegar just right.
Unfortunately, it' so long ago that I can't remember what the exact ingredients were, any more although I seem to recall that rutabaga was involved.
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Mar 18, 2019 6:11:42 GMT
Many thanks for the input. After receiving my Branston Pickle, I tried several variations of a pickle and cheese sandwich; I even enlisted the help of some friends from the Isle of Wight. I actually preferred actual pickles with cheese (heresy I know). This led me to conclude that (like vegemite versus peanut butter) Branston pickle is an acquired taste (perhaps because it is now made in the Netherlands ). Of course my taste buds may have been damaged by my love of hot spicy Mexican food; which is abundant here in California. Perhaps that is why I don't like chocolate gravy? I always pretended to like the stuff as not to disappoint my mother. Cheese with pickled onion sounds good (I am looking for pickled onion). Of course after reading the thread I now must try some Trackelments onion marmalade (I do like onion jam).
For the record, I loved the Jaffa Cakes from my previous culinary experiments. Oh yes, just to keep us on track, I sometimes carry large Medjool dates (stuffed with peanut butter) as fuel while riding my Viscount.
Cheers Jim |
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