In Search of the Perfect Ham Sandwich

The local Safeway in Terrace, BC.

As any good chef knows, a great meal starts with the finest ingredients. Of course, to go outside of the price range of the average Canadian would defeat the whole purpose of this exercise. Therefore, I took careful consideration over which of the three supermarkets I could choose in my small hometown.

• I was looking for cheap ingredients, but I didn't want to buy too much lest it would spoil. This ruled out the Superstore.
• I was still looking for the very best ingredients at a cheap price. I happen to know that Safeway Select has some of the finest quality in breads and meats, sometimes even over so-called 'brand-names'.

For the purposes of this recipe, I decided upon the classic ingredients to really show the history of the hamwich.

Out of all the breads that I could have picked, I decided to go with a simple french bread. Do not buy a baguette; this is a mistake that the ignorant tend to make. The truth is that a baguette simply cannot hold all of the ingredients in a manner as to evenly spread the taste across the entire bread.

Instead, we're looking for an even and broad experience. Because of this, I chose the bread with the widest base. I could have picked sourdough or rye, but again it's a matter of classic taste. Making 'improvements' by choosing more exotic breads will only take away from the true taste of what a hamwich should be.


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