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When Andy Williams sang that it’s the most wonderful time of the year, I assume he was talking about Christmas sandwich season. As the days grow shorter and the jumpers thicker, the meal deal gets a festive upgrade. Pushed to the back of the shelves are the limp ploughman’s and soggy falafel wraps, replaced instead with turkey and the trimmings, pigs in blankets and stuffing, and some enviable veggie alternatives. If you’re looking to bring a little festive cheer to the sad desk lunch, there’s no easier way to do it. But a spectre haunts the chiller cabinet, floating among the Innocent smoothies and that mystifying single boiled egg in a plastic pot. This Ghost of Christmas (Sandwich) Present is red and wobbly, smearing itself across every vaguely Christmassy sandwich it finds. I’m talking, of course, about cranberry sauce, a condiment used to signpost festive offerings, regardless of whether it tastes nice. No one is safe. Not Boots sandwiches. Not Greggs pasties. Not posh Pret toasties. While I’ve spent my adult life loosening myself from the meal deal’s claw-like grip, I’m willing to make an exception for the Christmas offerings. But a peruse of the supermarkets this year showed that every option comes smothered with cranberry, from turkey to falafel (yes, even at Christmas, some shops can’t think of a more imaginative veggie option than falafel). It’s not looking better at the fancier establishments, either. On paper, Costa’s vegan “turkey and trimmings” sandwich sounds like my dream lunch. You’ve got fake turkey, stuffing, fried onions, mayo… great! But then a slick of cranberry sauce. Criminal. In theory, you’d think the infallible formula of “bread + Christmas dinner + more bread” would be impossible to ruin. But cranberry sauce gives it a damn good try. Including just one thick, sweet layer of the stuff overpowers the already strong flavours that should shine on their own. Call me old fashioned, but rarely do I tuck into a nice, savoury sarnie, enjoying the different tastes and textures, and think, you know what would make this better? Jam. To be clear, I’m not wholly anti-cranberry. There are places it’s appropriate: with vodka or, at a push, on top of some brie. I’m not even anti-cranberry sauce when it comes to Christmas dinner, in a splodge on the side of my plate for the items that suit it. But when it’s smeared over a sandwich, nothing else stands a chance. I can see why sandwich makers turn to cranberry sauce so regularly. Whether it’s turkey or a veggie alternative, a festive sandwich can be a pretty dry affair. But surely there must be a better moist-maker. Gravy? Mayonnaise? Gravy-mayonnaise? (Sounds heinous; actually pretty good). Hell, I’m even pro-butter in this situation, although I can accept that that’s not very Christmassy. Big Cranberry’s dominance is mostly frustrating because the options get better and more varied every year (especially for non-meat eaters), but the red stuff just seems to be inescapable. This year, I’ll be begging Santa that we’re released from its grasp. Read More Beauty advent calendars 2021: Our guide to this year’s top treats 13 best tech gifts to spoil a gadget geek this Christmas 10 best luxury Christmas crackers for dressing up your dining table

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Danish pastries are world-famous, but what do you know about the rest of Scandinavian cuisine? With a food philosophy that centres around seasonal produce, perhaps the Scandi approach to cooking is the way forward when considering the environment and the cost-of-living crisis. “It’s very seasonal, lots of vegetables and very clean flavours,” Copenhagen-based chef and food writer Trine Hahnemann says of Danish cuisine. “So salt, pepper, nutmeg; salt, pepper, lemon; salt, pepper, vinegar – it’s not bland at all, we use spices, but we use them one at a time.” Hahnemann, 58, says this emphasis on seasonality helps save money. “It becomes too expensive to buy vegetables that are out of season, that are shipped or whatever,” she explains – but she’s all to aware that the Danish food scene is a bit of a paradox. She mentions produce “that have become everyday things, which people eat every day – like cucumbers, tomatoes and bananas. You can’t convince people there’s also a season for bananas – it’s year round, all the time. They’re the biggest fruit in Denmark”. This doesn’t stop Hahnemann advocating for eating the seasons – which in Denmark means you might be limited to root vegetables and potatoes in the winter. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, particularly as we’re now coming into summer and there’s a glut of fruit and vegetables available. Summer cabbage, radish, fennel, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, strawberries, tomatoes – they’re all in her shopping basket during this time of year. Hahnemann is a salad fan, and she’s devoted a whole section of her new cookbook, Simply Scandinavian, to them. The chef argues people “don’t take [salads] seriously enough” – and opening a bag from the supermarket won’t quite cut it. “Buy a few vegetables, bake them nicely in the oven with either lemon juice and a little bit of a spice of some kind – it could be garam masala, it could be garlic – then always have a nice dressing. Spend some money on some good oils or good vinegars, because that’s where the flavours are. “Then think about texture… Texture means a lot when we eat.” The moral of the story? “Salads are amazing, because there are no rules – anything can become a salad,” she says. Hahnemann learned traditional Scandinavian cooking from her grandmother, saying: “My favourite dish when I was little that my grandmother would cook for me was meatballs with the cucumber salad.” Her grandma ever explicitly taught her how to make this dish – Hahnemann was instructed to help out, and eventually learned classic Danish recipes through osmosis. “It was much later in my 20s I realised what an amazing gift she’d given me without ever asking if I wanted to be involved – because I was involved, but I was never asked to be part of the cooking. I just saw it all tasted it,” Hahnemann says. Not that feeding Hahnemann was much of a chore: “When I was a child I loved everything. The only thing I didn’t like was a well-done omelette, that was the only thing I couldn’t eat when I was little.” Hahnemann’s grandmother also taught her how to bake, drawing upon the traditional recipes Denmark is famous for. As a child, she practised baking while living on a commune with her parents in the Sixties and Seventies. “There was this idea that children, their creativity should be nurtured, you shouldn’t put limits on things. So I baked all these horrible cakes and the grown-ups would eat them and say, ‘Oh, it’s wonderful Trine’ – and it was nothing like that,” Hahnemann remembers with a laugh. It was only when someone in the commune started giving her tips on beating the butter and sugar before adding the rest of the ingredients that “all of a sudden this world opened up to me about baking”. Hahnemann still uses baking as a tool when she’s “really stressed out”, and has a bakery in Copenhagen putting the spotlight on traditional Scandinavian bakes like cardamom buns and rye bread. She says baking is “the most important thing” about Scandinavian cuisine. “Because of the rye bread, and the whole lunch concept of open sandwiches on the rye bread. The whole breakfast is about bread, then you have all the celebratory baked goods – that you can say we now eat on a more regular basis.” While Hahnemann accepts some “traditions are disappearing, because everybody’s working so much”, she’s keen to keep the spotlight on traditional buns, breads and baking. When she recently taught a baking class, she was “so happy” to have a group of male friends in their 20s sign up, saying: “I think it’s important to keep it alive.” ‘Simply Scandinavian’ by Trine Hahnemann (Quadrille, £27).

Williams boss James Vowles was alert and sharp to McLaren’s amusing attempt at subterfuge during Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Alex Albon, who has been a revelation at Williams this year, was valiantly defending sixth position from McLaren’s Lando Norris, positioning his car perfectly to maintain his place in the order. Yet McLaren, desperate to pass Albon with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton rapidly chasing behind, tried something different: a ‘dummy’ pit-stop. “Box to overtake,” McLaren told Norris over the team radio, with the British driver responding: “Yeah I’m pushing confirm.” The papaya team even sent their mechanics into the pit-lane, looking as though they were going to bizarrely pit their driver. But Williams – and the experienced former Mercedes chief Vowles – were wily and shrewd to the situation, aware that McLaren were merely dummying in an attempt to try and force Williams to pit Albon. “Heard their dummy and saw their pit lane, I thought ‘if they want to stop they can stop, but I’m not!’” Vowles told Sky F1 afterwards. “From McLaren’s perspective and Mercedes’ and Alonso, just one foot wrong and all three would’ve got through. We were very concerned about them. “What saved us was our straight-line speed [today]. We were six or seven kph up on theirs, it was just enough that they couldn’t get through. “We make it look easy, at least Alex does. Alex did a sterling job. We don’t quite have that race-pace but we have a driver out there who can get his elbows out and fight for points. That’s what he did today, he did a sterling job. “Again not a foot wrong. Seventh is just reward, the car pace was slightly behind that but he shone relative to that.” Ultimately, neither Albon nor Norris could keep Hamilton behind, with the seven-time world champion finishing sixth. Albon finished seventh – for another impressive six points for Williams – while Norris came home a place behind in eighth. Max Verstappen won the race – a record-breaking 10th in a row – with Sergio Perez second and Carlos Sainz third. Read More Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix F1 Italian Grand Prix LIVE: Race results and reaction as Verstappen wins at Monza

Bisexual people experience worse health outcomes than other adults in England, a study has found. Data from lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) patients indicates these groups have poorer health outcomes compared to those who identify as heterosexual. The new findings indicate that bisexual people face additional health disparities within an already marginalised community. Experts from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, and Anglia Ruskin University who led the analysis of more than 835,000 adults in England, suggest the differences could result from unique prejudice and discrimination that can come from both mainstream society and LGBTQ+ communities. Minority stress could put bisexual individuals at increased risk of psychological problems and negative behaviours – and ultimately at greater risk of poorer health outcomes Professor Carrie Llewellyn Lead author, Professor Carrie Llewellyn, head of the department of primary care & public health at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, said: “Minority stress could put bisexual individuals at increased risk of psychological problems and negative behaviours – and ultimately at greater risk of poorer health outcomes. “Our results suggest that there is a greater prevalence of long-standing physical health conditions amongst people identifying as LGB. “Furthermore, nearly all LGB individuals across all gender responses in the survey felt less confident in managing their own health.” Prof Llewellyn, added: “While it is well-established that persistent health disparities exist among LGB patients, very little is known about the specific experiences of bisexual people. “Our study goes some way to addressing this gap – finding that bisexual people, especially women, have the worst experiences in healthcare and the worst health outcomes of any sexuality.” The researchers used data from 836,312 adults – including 23,834 people who identified as LGB or ‘other’ – from Ipsos MORI’s 2015/16 English General Practice Patient Survey (GPPS). The study compared the health outcomes of people identifying as LGB with heterosexual groups through their self-reported quality of life, physical and mental health, and confidence in managing their own health. It found that long-term physical and mental health problems were more than twice as likely to be reported for people within LGB groups compared to heterosexual groups. However, for bisexual women the odds were more than four times greater. The research further suggests that bisexual women reported to be half as likely to be living without a long-term health condition. LGB groups across the genders felt less confident in managing their own health and experienced significantly worse quality of life compared to heterosexuals, the study published in The Journal of Sex Research, suggests. Prof Llewellyn said: “A better understanding of the different spectrum of health needs across LGBTQ+ subpopulations is required to provide adequate and equitable healthcare services for all. “Modification of healthcare settings to increase perceived accessibility and providing services that better meet these specific health needs are essential.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Cara Delevingne: Sobriety hasn’t been easy but it has been worth every second What’s the coolest bedding to survive summer heat and night sweats? Harry Judd: I had to learn to be less selfish when I became a father

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