This gourmet meal is a staple of the British male, and indeed many of the female members of the UK population.

The basic recipe calls simply for some rashers of bacon squished between two welcoming slices of bread, but opinions vary on the exact make-up of the ideal combination. The best 'hangover-reducer' bacon sandwich consists of the cheapest whitest sliced bread - the stuff that looks like it has been attached to the air blowing device from a bouncy castle in an attempt to give it some bulk - slavered with cheap margarine or butter substitute. Lain on top of the non-dairy spread are two¹ slices of medium smoked back bacon, and all this is coated in tomato ketchup, the amount of this all-dancing, meal-saving condiment chosen to suit your own taste.

Prolonged testing has been carried out in the name of research, varying the ingredients and their proportions, but the researchers continually came back to this recipe. However, some of the additions and variations did show promise:

• Brown sauce² can be used instead of ketchup. Sainsbury's Supermarket (UK) fruit sauce gives the best results, but HP has a tangy merit which cannot be denied.

• A mixture of Dijon mustard and mayonnaise gives the whole concoction a certain 'snob' value.

• Toasting just one side of the bread and cutting up the bacon gives a sandwich 'the way Mum used to make'. Thanks to all mums, for that introduction to the food of the gods from such an early age.

• Laying on some brie or camembert cheese gives that continental flavour. In this case, it is probably best to drop the ketchup.

• Lettuce and Tomato has its followers, but is rather too American for traditional British food, and all that vegetation is in any case out of place in a hangover cure. It is fine for lunch, though.

This Entry is the subject of a video clip created by the h2g2 Aviators.

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¹ Or, if you're really lucky, three.
² Sometimes known as 'Steak Sauce' or 'Chop Sauce', and more usually reserved for fried egg or sausage sandwiches.