I tested high street BLTs after sarnie was named UK’s fave – winner’s tangy tomato & salty bacon make for bargain lunch
THE tastebud-tickling mix of meat, veg and mayo has made the BLT the nation’s favourite sandwich, a new poll has found.
The combination is believed to have been created during World War Two and it will still be delighting people at lunchtime today.
But which high street supermarket or coffee chain does the classic bread-based snack best?
Thea Jacobs put them to the test to let you know which is best for taste and value for money.
Tesco £2.60
TALK about disappointing. This fell apart the second I took it out of the packet.
The large chunks of tomato left the bread soggy and the bacon was just piled up in the middle.
Nothing was evenly distributed and it required a lot of work to get the perfect bite.
While it’s one of the cheapest options, I’d prefer to pay more for better flavour.
2/5
Costa £4.20
THE coffee chain hasn’t skimped on any of the ingredients, given how much I experienced in this sandwich.
The tangy tomato merged with the salty bacon goodness and was finished off with a green kick from the lettuce.
The sandwich held its structure and each of the ingredients was evenly spread across the bread.
This is a very good BLT but it is also a bit expensive.
3/5
Sainsbury’s £2.75
I WAS starting to wonder why the BLT was such a favourite.
All of the filling was stacked at one end of the sandwich, and despite biting a part with all three, I could barely taste the bacon.
Instead, all I got was lettuce, which was mediocre. Even trying a piece of bacon on its own was disappointing. It’s super-cheap — and it’s easy to see why.
2/5
WHSmith £4
THE worst of the bunch. I found a very uneven distribution of ingredients and the tomato slices were so thin they may as well not have been included.
Lettuce was the biggest proportion of my bite and although there was bacon in it, I could barely tell.
Lacklustre and expensive, I might have to make a move over to good old cheese and pickle.
1/5
Nero £3.90
ALL the ingredients need to come together to make a great BLT and the bacon had a strong smokiness, which was beautifully complemented by the tomato.
That said, the lettuce was a bit lacklustre and didn’t have the crunch I like.
The sandwich did hold its shape when taken from the box, and nothing tried to fall out when I bit it. A good option, but a little on the pricey side.
4/5
Co-op £3.25
UNLIKE the others, this had lashings of mayonnaise, which is helpful in maintaining the integrity of the sandwich.
However, it did mask the taste of the lettuce, which is a large part of why some people will buy a BLT.
The tangy tomato cut through well, and so did the saltiness of the bacon.
This had the most flavourful tomato bits of the bunch. It’s a good product at this mid-level price point.
5/5
M&S £4.50
THERE was barely any lettuce to speak of here and the bacon appeared to mainly be white, uncooked fat.
However, there were nice wedges of tomato on show.
Unsurprisingly, tomato was the overwhelming taste, but it is rounded off by smokey, salty bacon.
Not awful but it’s not great either. If they doubled the amount of bacon and put in a bit more lettuce it would be nearly perfect.
3/5