The Quickest Way To Make Any Sandwich More Flavorful

Sandwiches are satisfying, versatile, and crowd-pleasing preparations that easily deliver on deliciousness. But there is one way to make your sandwiches taste even better, and you don't need to add a single extra ingredient. Instead, embrace another element at your disposal — heat. Our human ability to taste is affected by the temperature of our food, and often the colder it is, the less flavor we're able to perceive. Additionally, many aromas are intensified by warmer conditions, and smell is a major part of how we savor.

Sadly, that means even if you have everything you need for the best tomato sandwich of your life or are clued into the underrated ham that'll be a sandwich game changer, you're not likely going to get the optimal experience if your bites are at a low temperature. By heating your sandwich, you can wake up all those delicious compounds that don't have a fighting chance when they're straight from the fridge, open up flavor possibilities that might otherwise go undetected — and also have the benefit of gooey, crispy textural goodness.

When it comes to sandwiches, there are a number of ways to bring heat to the equation. You can grill, griddle, or toast your bread or press the entire sandwich like a panini, all of which gives you that warm, bready aroma and crisp exterior for contrast. And if you've ever made a grilled cheese, you know this can also be enough for certain interior ingredients to get hot, too.

Other fillings may benefit from a little pre-warming, like roasted veggies. When it comes to protein selections for your sandwich, it's tough to coax the most moist and flavorful results from a cold slice of meat, and even tofu benefits from a little toastiness. Either a quick toss on the stovetop with a cooking oil or — believe it or not — a quick spin in the microwave will get the juices flowing and the flavor popping (though it helps to add a little fat or broth for moisture's sake here, too).

Of course, there's the possibility of even battering and frying the whole shebang (consider why a Monte Cristo sandwich is so utterly irresistible). But no matter how you opt to heat your favorite sandwich, the science of flavor will be in your favor.