No more messy sandwich tragedies with this clever, easy furoshiki-style technique.

Everyone knows that Japanese cuisine features all sorts of rice-based recipes, but Japan makes some great sandwiches too. We’re not talking just a lazy slice of bologna or spread of peanut butter, either. Sandwich lovers in Japan chow down on sandwiches filled with succulent meats, rich egg salad, savory sauces, and all manner of sliced veggies.

There’s a drawback to all that variety, though, which is that you have to eat these sandwiches carefully, or else you’re liable to spill half their contents before you get them in your mouth. That was the unfortunate fate that befell Japanese Twitter user @lantern_utp the other day, but that tragedy has opened the door to what could be a glorious new sandwich era, since it led to this.

What you’re looking at right there is step one in the new sandwich making method that @lantern_utp devised after spending a day lamenting the sandwich filling spill. Lay a piece of bread flat on the plate, and set down four slices of ham, arranged so that about half of each piece is on the bread and half hanging off the sides.

Next, pile on whatever other ingredients you want. For this example, @lantern_utp used egg salad and sliced cucumber.

Once you’ve got all your fixings in place, fold up the outer halves of the ham…

…and you’ve got all your contents wrapped up in a nice little package! Not only are you now free from the fear of everything spilling onto the floor when you pick your sandwich up for a bite, you’re also far less likely to end up with stuff squirting out onto your hands or face.

▼ All set!

@lantern_utp was partially inspired by furoshiki, traditional Japanese cloths that can be tied and folded in a number of ways to wrap or carry various items.

▼ Furoshiki

@lantern_utp’s idea, which like many clever concepts seems like it should have been obvious in retrospect, quickly amazed Twitter users and had several ready to adopt it as their new sandwich-making method, with comments like:

“Amazing!”
“I just tried this for lunch today, and it’s nothing short of miraculous.”
“It looks so nice and neat.”
“Genius! I bet this would work great for sandwiches with melted cheese.”
“This is a brilliant idea. I always get ketchup on my hands when I eat sandwiches made the usual way.”

As an added bonus, the wrapping even holds together if the sandwich is sliced in half. Yes, you’ll have to be careful not to let the fillings spill straight out, but since half of the pouch is still intact, you don’t have to worry about them leaking out the sides.

Of course, this technique isn’t limited to ham, and you can use whatever your sliced sandwich meat of choice is. Actually, you don’t even need to use meat, as @lantern_utp says it’ll work with large lettuce leaves too, making the idea great for carnivores, herbivores, and really sandwich-ivores of all kinds.

Source: Twitter/@lantern_utp
Top image: Twitter/@lantern_utp
Insert images: @lantern_utp, Wikipedia/Katorisi
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