Althouse: "In a proper sandwich, the cheese is adjacent to the bread to create a moisture barrier against the lettuce."

February 18, 2015

"In a proper sandwich, the cheese is adjacent to the bread to create a moisture barrier against the lettuce."

24 comments:

rhhardin said...: Woody Allen from the life of the Earl of Sandwich

1741: Living in the country on a small inheritance, he works day and night, often skimping on meals to save money for food. His first completed work—a slice of bread, a slice of bread on top of that, and a slice of turkey on top of both—fails miserably. Bitterly disappointed, he returns to his studio and begins again.; 2/18/15, 10:21 AM
traditionalguy said...: You have to empathize with Sheldon. He can't help it if he's right. He has a high IQ, but the lowest possible EQ.; 2/18/15, 10:43 AM
ron winkleheimer said...: @traditionalguy

But Sheldon is correct. Proper construction of a sandwich does need to take into account preventing soggy bread. Though I wouldn't use cheese to prevent bleed through. That is what mayonnaise if for.; 2/18/15, 10:48 AM
Gusty Winds said...: Bread
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Peanut Butter
Bread

The Peanut Butter acts as a moisture barrier to the jelly.; 2/18/15, 10:59 AM
traditionalguy said...: Why not dry off the lettuce?

The time for assembly of sandwich to wolfing down of sandwich is the most relevant metric.

People who will save half in the refrigerator for tomorrow are insane anyway and deserve soggy bread. and mold too. That's as bad as drinking half a bottle of wine and re-corking it for tomorrow.

Sorry. My Sheldon gene is activated.; 2/18/15, 11:00 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Keep the lettuce out until you are about to eat the sandwich. Restaurants put the lettuce and tomato on the plate outside of a hamburger. When my mother made sandwiches for a lunch box, she'd wrap the lettuce separately (in Saran). I thought everyone knew you couldn't pack a sandwich with lettuce already in it.; 2/18/15, 11:24 AM
Thorley Winston said...: Dr. Cooper is wrong on this one. It’s not the cheese that acts as the moisture barrier. That’s what the bacon is for.; 2/18/15, 11:25 AM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: A proper tuna melt has two slices of cheese, one under the tuna and one over the tuna. That both protects the bread from moisture and holds together the tuna.; 2/18/15, 11:28 AM
David-2 said...: In a proper sandwich there is no lettuce.

If you must have a vegetable, try a pickle slice.; 2/18/15, 11:33 AM
'TreHammer said...: David-2 said...
In a proper sandwich there is no lettuce.

If you must have a vegetable, try a pickle slice.

well played; 2/18/15, 11:38 AM
sykes.1 said...: Put mayo between the bread and the lettuce.

BTW, MacDonald's used to have a Whopper-Stopper in which tomato slice and lettuce were kept cold and separate from the meat and cheese. The customer did the last assembly step.; 2/18/15, 12:01 PM
Anonymous said...: MacDonald's used to have a Whopper-Stopper in which tomato slice and lettuce were kept cold and separate from the meat and cheese. The customer did the last assembly step

McDLT. Keeps the hot side hot and the cool side cool.; 2/18/15, 12:09 PM
Chris said...: "There is an art to the business of making sandwiches which it is given to few ever to find the time to explore in depth. It is a simple task, but the opportunities for satisfaction are many and profound." - Douglas Adams; 2/18/15, 1:11 PM
rehajm said...: Lettuce is what salad is for.; 2/18/15, 1:28 PM
Jaq said...: Until I went off to college, I would have told you there were three kinds of sandwiches, the classic Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly, at its best on warm homemade bread, the baked Bean Sandwich, often enjoyed the day after a picnic, and the Meatloaf Sandwich, usually served as a next day leftover from the previous days supper. The Bean and Meatloaf sandwiches of course were served with ketchup, Heinz only.

Ooops, I forgot the Turkey and Stuffing sandwich, reserved for the days immediately following Thanksgiving. These were usually beslavered with a little turkey gravy.; 2/18/15, 1:28 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Sheldon is right, always right.; 2/18/15, 1:33 PM
ron winkleheimer said...: "Lettuce is what salad is for."

I recall an episode of "Good Eats" were Alton Brown is giving instruction on creating the perfect hamburger. He stated that lettuce and tomato go into salads and he wasn't making a salad, he was making a hamburger.; 2/18/15, 2:10 PM
Jaq said...: Tomatoes go on a hamburger, Alton Brown's opinion notwithstanding. But only garden fresh tomatoes. Nothing from the supermarket that has traveled hundreds or thousands of miles and was picked green.; 2/18/15, 2:22 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: From the bottom up, bread, mustard, ham, cheese, tomato, lettuce, mayo, bread. This is inviolable.; 2/18/15, 2:22 PM
ron winkleheimer said...: "Tomatoes go on a hamburger"

They go on a BLT, or just a tomato sandwich, but I definitely agree that they must be garden fresh, picked from your own garden preferably. But good tomatoes can be gotten at a good farmers' market, in season.

I don't classify the abominations that are sold in supermarkets as "real" tomatoes.

Mealy texture and flavorless. I have ran into people who have never had a non-supermarket tomato and don't understand why anyone would eat the things. I agree, you shouldn't eat those things.; 2/18/15, 2:51 PM
tim maguire said...: madisonfella said...MacDonald's used to have a Whopper-Stopper in which tomato slice and lettuce were kept cold and separate from the meat and cheese. The customer did the last assembly step

McDLT. Keeps the hot side hot and the cool side cool.

Greatest burger McDonald's ever made. I still miss it. Damned environmentalists.; 2/18/15, 3:30 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: Discovering that peanut butter as a moisture barrier kept my bread from getting soggy was my first step to becoming an engineer.

And also my last.

But thanks for the flashback, Gusty. I'd forgotten about my genius (for a 6-yr old) insight.; 2/18/15, 3:35 PM
phantommut said...: Mayo, butter. a nice olive oil, cheese....

It ain't rocket science. Ingredients high in oil/fat content protect the hydrophilic bread. The harder problem is in layering items so the coefficients of friction are sufficient to keep ingredients from becoming projectiles if the consumer squeezes too hard.; 2/18/15, 4:04 PM
J said...: Dagwood Bumstead PH.D. in engineering; 2/19/15, 1:35 AM