Don't Forget One Step When Adding Veggies To Your Sandwich

Let's be real: who doesn't love a good sandwich? Sandwiches can be as plain or deliciously bizarre as the sandwich-maker wants them to be, you can throw them together in a heartbeat, and the ingredients are often pretty affordable, even with inflation making the cost of store-bought sammies rise. Sandwiches also get you a little serving of almost every food group–protein, dairy, veggies, grains–which gets harder and harder to do the older and busier you are. Making a sandwich at home is an easy task, but what if I told you that just washing your veggies will take your next sandwich to the next level?

Washing your sandwich veggies is the one step you should never forget. Even if the ingredients are pre-washed, running them under cold water for a few seconds basically pulls a Frankenstein's Monster on them and gives them some life after death. Lettuce firms and crisps up, tomatoes gain a snappy bite, cucumbers and bell peppers lose that sad floppiness–basically anything in need of a structural touch-up can benefit from a rinse.

There are two different types of washing I'm talking about here. If your veggies aren't pre-washed, you need to give them a good cleaning first, and make sure to do this step correctly. This step is important for safety reasons, considering all the hands these veggies pass through and the amount of floors they've probably graced on their way to your plate. The second wash is the one that gives your veggies a new lease on life. You don't want to soak them. Just give them a cold water rinse for around 5 to 10 seconds and then leave them on the counter to dry off. If you're in a big rush, you can towel dry them.

Also important: seasoning your veggies! Adding salt on your tomatoes brings out the sweetness and complements the acidic kick without overpowering it. Salt also enhances the flavor of even bland lettuce. Cracking fresh pepper over your veggies is another tried and true chef move. Just wait until your veggies are mostly done drying but still a bit moist and sprinkle to your heart's content. A little pre-seasoning brings so much extra flavor to your sandwich that you'll never want to make them any other way again. Good thing for you, a quick rinse and dash of salt hardly adds any prep time at all.