The Key Step For Preventing Soggy Tomato Toast

No matter if it's for breakfast, lunch, or a simple snack, tomato toast is a good choice to serve up whenever your stomach needs to be topped up. Don't let the simplicity fool you; this summery treat — especially when made with quality, top-of-the-season tomatoes — will burst at the seams with flavor. But good tomatoes tend to be juicy, and that can be a problem for our toast: All that juice can soak through the bread and make it soggy. It may be hard to believe, but the solution is as simple as giving the tomatoes a generous sprinkling of salt.

When you sprinkle salt on the tomatoes, it quickly draws out excess moisture through osmosis. Plus, the salt will season the tomatoes for an extra savory twinge, too, which pairs wonderfully with the fruit's sweetness. Just start by slicing the tomatoes and sprinkling them evenly with salt. A layer of water will form on the surface after a few minutes, which can be blotted away if you please. For an old-school Southern-style tomato sandwich touch, you can spread some mayo on top of the slices and season with more salt and pepper. Add some bread and your tomato toast is ready to go.

If you're reaching out for a jar of table salt to try this trick — hang on a second! While table salt works if you have no other kinds of salt in your pantry, this fine-grained variety is not great at taking out moisture nor seasoning your toast. If keeping the bread from getting soggy is your main goal, choose kosher salt instead. The larger salt crystals will be able to draw out the moisture more handily.

On the other hand, if you want an extra texture and flavor boost for your tomato toast, give sea salt a shot. Certain flaky sea salts, such as the Maldon brand, can offer a nice crunch for your toast thanks to the irregular shape of the crystals. Because they're not as processed, most sea salts also contain trace minerals found within seawater, giving your tomato toast a complex, almost oceanic taste to go with the sweet and tart flavor of the ripe fruit. From sel gris to fleur de sel, you have plenty of options here. Just pick whichever's most accessible to you — any of them will be a huge upgrade to your toast, compared to plain old table salt!