What's in My Sandwich?

Synopsis

In this entertaining new science series, farmer Jimmy Doherty tries to discover what really goes into supermarket food. To do this he takes a surprising and novel approach - he sets up his own food factory in a barn.

In this episode Jimmy asks, 'What's really in my sandwich?'. He attempts to discover what they do to supermarket bread to make it stay soft for over a week, while home-baked bread goes stale and rock hard after just a few days.

He wonders why square processed cheese slices are so popular - can it really be because they are so conveniently bread shaped? Why do they melt differently to 'normal cheese'? And if processed cheese only contains 60% cheese, what are the other ingredients?

To copy the factory processes Jimmy makes supermarket bread in a metal dustbin, and square processed cheese slices using a tin bucket and an electric drill.

To complete his investigation Jimmy leaves the barn to find out how one bagged-salad producer in Wiltshire goes to herculean efforts to ensure we never find a caterpillar or bug in our bag, and how waste bananas are being used in Hertfordshire to grow tomatoes out of season.

Credits

Presenter

Jimmy Doherty

Producer

Jerry Foulkes

Executive Producer

Greg Lanning

Broadcasts

1. Wed 28 Oct 2009
   19:30
   BBC One (except Scotland)
2. Wed 28 Oct 2009
   19:30
   BBC HD
3. Wed 28 Oct 2009
   21:30
   BBC One (Scotland only)
4. Sat 31 Oct 2009
   16:05
   BBC HD
5. Wed 11 Nov 2009
   01:45
   BBC One