The Co-op retains a wealth of childhood memories for me. Most of them involve either sitting in their car park waiting for my mother while she picked up a "couple of bits" (usually equating to two trolley's worth by the time she returned) or dragging my heals round lethargically behind her as she surveyed and inspected everything with religious zeal.
They've come a long way since my childhood and although it's not the first brand which springs to my mind when I consider food shopping, their friendly, convenient, well stocked stores no longer feel depressing to me (perhaps I just grew up!)
Today I am testing out their Turkey, Stuffing and Cranberry sandwich. Priced at just £2.50 they're even giving me 50% free as well as 10 pence to Mencap. How lovely. A brand with a conscience. Top marks for seasonal spirit.
The sandwich itself however looks like the most boring, uninspiring food offering currently on earth. Packaged in a high gloss, flimsy plastic carton it looks positively grey. I'm not sure if I even want to eat it having now seen it. I feel a bit sad about this. Surely a sandwich of such charitable generousity should also deliver in the foodie stakes?
After avoiding the sandwich for half a day I venture to eat it. Now to be fair, I'm beginning to run out of steam for festive sandwiches so this isn't entirely relevant to this particular sandwich, just the way I am starting to feel after weeks of pre-packed turkeyness.
Upon opening there is a good tang of stuffing drifting out. The sandwich itself however is a mish mash of shredded up bits of turkey and stuffing with a few dots of cranberry here and there for good measure. I can tell straight away that the likelihood of tasting any cranberry in this sandwich is slim to none. I try to shoe horn one half of the sandwich from its container. It's locked in good and proper and as I wrestle with it, parts of it come away in my hand as the rest remains stubbornly clutching to its other half. The bread is flimsy and weak. The type of stuff that if butter even glances at it it will disintegrate. Maybe they over did it with the 50% free? Sandwiches need to breath a bit and I need to keep my sanity when trying to eat them!
Eventually I liberate enough of the sandwich to try a mouthful. The flavouring is ok. It's not setting my taste buds on fire but it's edible. The distinct lack of cranberry ruins it for me and the turkey is a bit stringey. Any hint of cranberry I do pick up is sour. This sandwich needs something else but I'm not quite sure what. A new personality? Time with a life coach? A trip to a day spa to revive its baked goodness? Something, anything which can encourage it to be more than just a bit of turkey and stuffing whacked between two slices of bread.
Verdict: The charitable sandwich of choice.
Rating: Five out of ten
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