Paul McCartney's Favorite Childhood Sandwich Gives Dentists Nightmares
As one half of the most celebrated songwriting duo in pop music history, Paul McCartney is generally cast as the sweet sentimentalist to John Lennon's acerbic, avant-garde iconoclast. This is, of course, a gross oversimplification — McCartney's interest in experimental tape loops resulted in "Tomorrow Never Knows," one of the most out-there tunes in the Beatles' discography — but his reputation as the Beatle who wrote "silly love songs" stuck. To a certain extent, the shoe did fit: After all, the man managed to make a song about a guy who killed people with a hammer sound like something your grandmother might like. With that in mind, the fact that McCartney's favorite childhood snack was sugar sandwiches seems comically on-the-nose.
In an Instagram Q&A with his daughter Mary, Paul talked about his love for "sugar butties" ("butty" is an English slang term for "sandwich.") Although he described them as "seriously decadent and not good for you at all," the fondness in his voice is evident as he remembers them. "It was just like bread and butter, but with sugar on it — ha-hey! — and that was it."
The star's tastes have clearly changed since his childhood in Liverpool. Notably, he became a health-conscious vegetarian, and while appearing in a cameo role, McCartney contributed a lentil soup recipe to the episode of "The Simpsons" where Lisa quits eating meat. But the food you loved as a kid never really leaves you, does it? Sugar sandwiches are a childhood staple on both sides of the pond.
An important bit of context for young McCartney's love of sugar butties: He grew up in Liverpool in the aftermath of World War II, when the United Kingdom was still recovering from the Blitz. (Liverpool in particular was devastated by German bombs, as it was an industrial hub of considerable importance; London was the only city hit harder.) Rationing didn't completely end in the United Kingdom until 1954, when McCartney was 12, and the economic impact of the war lingered even longer. Sugar sandwiches, then, were a tasty and affordable way for a child to enjoy something sweet, whether their family was rationing or just tightening the metaphorical belt. With that said, however, sugar butties were in fact also eaten before the war.
Other countries got in on the action, too. Sugar sandwiches became popular in America during the Great Depression, as with other simple, economical dishes like water pie or Martha Stewart's beloved onion sandwiches. And Australians will occasionally partake, too — although they prefer a variation called fairy bread, which is bread and butter with "hundreds and thousands" (aka nonpareils) sprinkled over the top.
If you have a sweet tooth, why not give it a try? It only takes a sprinkling of sugar to make it delicious. And even if you think it's a lousy idea, what are you going to do? Argue with the guy who wrote "Yesterday"?
Source: thetakeout.com/Joe Hoeffner
