Strawberry sandwich struggles
Defining a treat
After all this time writing about Japanese food and culture, it is clear where Japanese food impressions are most strongly made: The convenience stores. While it would take many more articles to break down the heritage item that is the Japanese conbini, today I want to focus on one of their newly repopularised staple items.
The half-yearly favourite, the red and white morsel of fruit, the strawberry sandwich. Some ground rules to avoid this post being way too long.
I won’t get drawn into tangents.
This is about the strawberry and the sandwich as a combination.
Not strawberries by themselves, nor sandwiches. Although the definition of a sandwich might require some assessing… Fine, just this one tangent.
What is a sandwich?
This is straightforward and a waste of a headline. Anything held together by 2 pieces of bread is a sandwich. Yet the old internet question gnawed at me. Is a hotdog a sandwich? Then there was the alignment chart.
While I identify as a structural purist, ingredient rebel (for the purposes of this article), I also don’t think this was ever something I cared about. I took the naming of these foods on face value. If the vendor thinks it’s a sandwich, then it is a sandwich. The Japanese never had a problem identifying the strawberry sandwich as a sandwich, so why did I go on this tangent and violate my original ground rule?
It is because the British are ingredient purists.
Wait what, and also, why does this matter?
Ingredients Inside
Lets go back to the beginning. A strawberry sandwich is a tasty treat found in the well known disseminators of cuisine, the conbinis. It is a very simple product. Sliced strawberries and whipped cream sandwiched between two slices of Japanese milk bread.
A delightful sweet pick me up, that is easy to eat on the go and keeps the veneer of healthiness. No wonder it has been a staple in the conbini. There are often variants on this concept that involve other fruit. You have the kiwi sandwich, mango sandwich, you get the idea.
Yet the strawberry is the star. Thanks to the iconic colour scheme and luxury status that strawberries hold in Japan (no further tangent today), this strawberry sandwich only arrived to the conbinis after their debut at the depachika (I said no further tangents!) food halls. It was a perfect sort of depachika hall item. Relatively small, aesthetic, and with great margins.
Back in the 1980s, many foods were introduced to match the idea of what the Western world ate. Obviously this needed to be adapted to Japanese customs and taste profile. Naked strawberries and cream would always be too messy and inconvenient for the Japan public.
Instead, the Japanese public could live their Western upper class life of creamy strawberries without a care thanks to bread. All while having that nicely hand-sized containment structure of sandwich. The onigiri-zation of strawberry and cream. As such, the great depachikas all started copying this recipe to capitalise on the popularity.
Not long after that, a “knock-off” version was made available at the conbinis. While I want to say that this meant everyone now had access to a good previously only available for the very few, really anyone could have gone to the depachika. However, by being in the conbinis, it was much more widely available at all times of day, assuming strawberries were in season. Otherwise you’ll get the mixed fruit variant or just another item!
Like I said, Japan never looked back. It was a favourite for anyone to cleanly eat strawberries on the go. Nowadays, there are luxury variants introducing single sourced strawberries from regional players. You can find them at almost every Lawson, 7 Eleven and FamilyMart. People compare the trios offerings often, but my personal opinion is that the differences are down to the strawberry and occasionally where in Japan you are.
However, the depachikas haven’t given up on the sandwich. The great halls still reign supreme in the luxury feel when you are trying to taste imperial. All the classic stores, Isetan, Daimaru and Matsuya in Tokyo (and often in other big cities Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Fukuoka etc.) all offer a higher end version of their original strawberry sandwich with fancier bread, cream and fruit.
I want to highlight a few beyond these giants. A few local cafes that can provide high end artisan sandwiches with a twist.
Recommendations
fruits and seasons- Tokyo (Shibuya)
Yes, I’ve stuck with a boring Tokyo Shibuya pick when there are literally hundreds of other options in the city. However, they have a unique proposition that can be surprisingly difficult when order a fruit based product. They are entirely vegan. It almost seems like a riddle, asking how a strawberry sandwich is not vegan, but in almost every iteration the cream and bread both feature animal products. Instead, this cafe features soy-based cream sweetened with agave syrup. A great choice for those who have dietary requirements or travel with people who do. Note that they are expensive, but what are you expecting with a boutique shop in the heart of Shibuya?
Horiuchi kajitsuen- Nara
A more traditional offering, this is set up as a classic millennial-style cafe with high stools and minimalist interiors. However, the cafe is owned and run by a Nara-based fruit farming family that source all their produce from their farm. They specialise in Kotoka strawberries that are Nara-based varietal ideally eaten in March. Pineapples, plums and other fruit feature in different parts of the year. If you aren’t able to get to Nara, they have a store in Osaka and Tokyo too.
Let them eat cake
So I’ve answered what a strawberry sandwich is, and where you can find a strawberry sandwich, but is a strawberry sandwich a sandwich? This has been the ongoing debate in Britain recently.
You see, in a cross-cultural back and forth, the strawberry-based meal that was inspired by British flavours, brought into Japanese department halls, is now being introduced in British department stores. The global but still very British Marks and Spencer has recently started selling their own strawberry sandwich.
This has become a viral hit. It has captured fans from across the nation, and frequently has stock outages. It also captured the attention of HMRC, the British tax collectors. Under British taxation, any food classified as a confectionary is subject to a 20% tax at point of sale. However, sandwiches are not subject to any additional tax. The arguments seem simple no matter which sand of the bench you’re looking at.
From one perspective, this is a sweet treat that fits under the definition laid out in a 1980’s amendment to this tax “sweetened prepared foods eaten with the fingers”. On the other fingers, traditionally sold sandwiches that have sweetened foods as key ingredients, think peanut butter and jam, have never been subject to any tax.
Not just a theoretical matter, with the increasing popularity of the sandwich itself, the UK government wants a slice. While no legal action has taken place, the discussion is seemingly moving from the internet forums to court. Who is to say where this will land, however if the government can’t even prove giant marshmallows as confectionary, looks like these sandwiches are safe for another season.
I will keep the Japanese line and not weigh in on this. Readers are more than welcome to. Maybe the UK lawyers are brushing up on their knowledge of the sandwich alignment chart. To me, as long as the strawberry sandwich is shelfed nearby, I’m there to eat it. Whether it is legally cake or sandwich, from a café or conbini, in Japan or UK, I’m classifying it as a tasty bite.
The story behind the strawberry sandwich is interesting! I hope the HMRC folks actually try one before making a decision — though if they do, they might not be able to get back to work afterwards!
What a debate 😂