Grilled Cheese Is The Ultimate Comfort Food For The Ultimate Grilled Cheese Here Are The Cheeses You Should Use
Christine Clark is a freelance writer specializing in food, culture, travel, wine, and cheese. Her work has appeared in Insider, VinePair, Wine Enthusiast, Bon Appétit, The New York Times, Eater, Epicurious, Travel + Leisure, and Afar. Experience: She is a Certified Cheese Professional by the American Cheese Society, dedicated to using her expertise to make education around wine, cheese, and specialty food products more accessible. Christine got her start in cheese at Murray’s Cheese in New York City. After volunteering in the cheesy classroom for years, she finished her time there running the education department, teaching and programming classes on cheese making, pairing, and more. Since leaving Murray’s in 2018, she has been a freelance writer in the food, beverage, and travel spaces. Education: Christine attended Brigham Young University, where she studied English, minored in Gender Studies, and received a Bachelor of Arts in English. The kitchen appliance she can’t live without is her instant pot.
There’s no bad time for comfort food, and it’s hard to think of any meal that’s as quick and satisfying as a crunchy, gooey grilled cheese sandwich.
Whats Better Mayo Or Butter
Butter or mayonnaise work fine for slathering the outside of your sandwich before cooking it. Its what helps to make it that perfectly golden-brown color. We personally prefer salted butter.
Mayonnaise tends to taste like, well, mayonnaise. If you prefer the creamy flavor of mayo over butter, then that might be your choice spread. The takeaway here is that both achieve that perfectly golden aspect we all love, the difference is in the flavor.
About Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Nothing is more comforting than a classic grilled cheese sandwich for a lunch. It is one of those things that you go crazy for even when you are not in the mood of having much for lunch. When you smell the creamy mayo and butter flavor of toasting bread, you just cant resist it. And when you see someone taking a bite into that melty, smooth, creamy, and oh so dreamy cheesy goodness, you are SOLD! Who doesnt love a good grilled cheese sandwich?
A grilled cheese sandwich paired with piping hot soup, and your perfect cozy lunch or dinner is sorted. Even pickiest eaters love this grilled cheese sandwich very much.
Making grilled cheese is not a big deal, but making the ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich with a crispy, crunchy, toasty, buttery outside and ooey-gooey cheese center is certainly impressive.
So with this recipe, you can make the best-grilled cheese recipe which comes with a grilled cheese sandwich perfection.
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Brie And Other Bloomy Rind Cheeses
Brie, Camembert, and other bloomy rind cheeses are just as luscious when melted as they are at room temperature. Choose varieties that are firm enough to slicethis often means seeking out younger specimensand save the ripe wheels to enjoy as they are on a cheese board.
Bloomy rinds are super versatile between slices of bread. They pair beautifully with slices of seasonal fresh fruit as well as fruit preserves, honey, charcuterie, roasted mushrooms, or tomatoes.
Skimping On The Butter Used To Coat Bread
Diet conscious? Ah! Then probably the grilled cheese is not for you, because skimping on the butter will not give you that perfect brown crisp that comes from toasting bread. Without enough fat, the sandwich will feel dry or toasted unevenly. If you dont like the taste of butter, use mayo instead.
There are two ways of coating the bread with fat. You may melt a mixture of butter and mayo in the pan and then put bread on it to coat both sides. Alternatively, you may apply butter on both sides of the bread and then toast it.
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Whats The Difference Between A Grilled Cheese And A Melt
This is a question that has the power to provoke surprisingly strong feelings on certain corners of the internet. In any case, its a fairly simple answer.
A grilled cheese is a dish of cheese between two pieces of bread, fried, baked, or grilled. A melt is similar, but also includes some kind of meat or fish like chicken or tuna.
Another difference is that grilled cheese is traditionally made using sandwich bread whereas melts can be made with many other kinds of bread .
Melts also are typically free to use a wider range of cheeses.
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Tips For The Best Grilled Cheese
- Low heat it takes a little patience to make the perfect grilled cheese. Keep your heat on low to give the cheese time to fully melt while the bread gets golden and crisp. If browning too fast, turn the heat down.
- Butter generously the amount of butter may seem like a lot, but it is important for a crispy exterior.
- Use thick-sliced bread we love using Texas toast because its sliced about twice as thick as normal sandwich bread. You want bread that is about 3/4 to 1 thick, but also avoid bread that is too thick or your cheese wont melt properly. Using bread that is too thin will produce a flimsy and sometimes soggy sandwich.
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S To Grill Cheese Sandwich
There are so many theories on making the best grilled cheese sandwich. This recipe offers 3 options that work well. Depending on if you are making just one for yourself or several for a family or group of friends, one may work better for you. Here are the methods:
- On a griddle or frying pan- best for making one or two sandwiches at a time
- In the oven- best when cooking for a crowd
- In a sandwich toaster, when to want to be hands-free and let the toaster do the job for you.
Tips For Perfect Grilled Cheese
How do I get such an even golden, crispy crust on my grilled cheese with a melty inside?
- Mayonnaise & butter. The key is spreading mayonnaise on the outside of each piece of bread! Dont knock it until you try it! The grilled cheese is then cooked at a low heat in butter until perfectly golden brown and crisp.
- Low heat. Cooking the sandwiches at a low heat ensures the cheese melts at the same rate the exterior browns. You dont want a crisp outside with cold cheese inside.
- Shredded cheese. Using shredded cheese or thin slices of cheese melt faster ensuring a quick melting time. I recommend buying a block of cheese and shredding it yourself. Bags of shredded cheese can sometimes contain additives that keep the shredded cheese separated in the bag but can hinder melting.
- The bread. Use slices of white bread for a classic grilled cheese with a light and fluffy interior or a crusty loaf like sourdough for a crunchier exterior. I like a sturdier bread for a more complex grilled cheese.
- The pan. I like to use a pan that evenly conducts heat like a cast iron skillet or non-stick sauté pan to perfectly toast bread while melting the cheese.
My favorite formula for grilled cheese comes from the tv show, Jane the Virgin. The main character says the perfect grilled cheese is made with equal parts American cheese, yellow Cheddar and white Cheddar cheese. Since yellow and white Cheddar dont have much of a difference I opt for ½ American and ½ cheddar.
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Burnett Dairy Wood River Creamery Cheddar Gruyere
While blending cheeses yourself can deliver the perfect mix of melt-ability and flavor, this award-winning cheese scores high on Brownes list because it comes pre-mixed: A cheddar cheese blended with cultures traditionally reserved for sweeter Swiss-style cheeses, this cheddar gruyere combo taste better than the sum of its parts, Browne says.
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Melting The Cheese In The Microwave
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How To Make The Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Fluffy Mighty White or the fuller texture of artisan sourdough? Taleggio, Teifi or prepacked slices? And what is the best way to cook your sandwich: grill, griddle, frying pan or toastie machine?
Before you dive below the line to scoff at the cheek of publishing a recipe for something as basic as a simple cheese toastie, consider this. Any idiot with a frying pan can make a grilled cheese sandwich but how many are worthy of the enormous calorie load they pack? This is one recipe that deserves to be perfect after all, if you eat too many of the things, life really will be too short to bother with a bad cheese sandwich.
For a start, as the good people of Twitter kindly inform me, the relationship between a cheese toastie and a grilled cheese sandwich is analogous, as Id assumed, to that between macaroni cheese and mac and cheese the latter being the bigger, brasher American version of our own, humbler family favourite. No, as Lynne Clark of the Greedy Piglet blog informed me, a grilled cheese sandwich is buttered on the outside and cooked in a pan, and the toastie is buttered on the inside and, well, toasted. As I dont own any variety of sandwich toaster for the sake of my health, this piece will concentrate on the fried variety .
The Simplest Easiest Meal
A grilled cheese sandwich is one of the worlds most perfect foods with good reason. Not only is it the ultimate marriage of bread and cheese, crunch and melt, but its also one of the simplest, easiest meals ever. Its one of the first foods many of us learn to cook for ourselves and it always rises above whatever ingredients we throw at it. Homemade bread and artisan cheese, week-old grocery store bread and slices of generic brick cheese: it makes no difference. A grilled cheese sandwich is always good.
As such, I firmly believe that the grilled cheese sandwich should stay a simple meal. Over-complicating it just seems silly. If youve never made a grilled cheese before, the steps below will walk you through it. If youre an old pro seeking some new tricks, I have a few thoughts for you to consider:
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Blue Cheeses To Try In Your Next Grilled Cheese
- Bayley Hazen Blue by the Cellars at Jasper Hill, Vermont
- Original Blue by Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., California
- Caveman Blue by Rogue Creamery, Oregon
- Chicory by Tulip Tree Cheese, Indiana
What are your favorite cheeses to use in a grilled cheese sandwich? Tag us @cheesegrotto on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and let us know!
The Best Pan For Grilled Cheese
The pan is just as important, if not more so, than the bread and cheese. A flimsy skillet will grill your sandwich unevenly. A skillet thats too small makes it hard to maneuver the sandwich.
For one sandwich at a time, I like a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.
Grilled cheese sandwiches dont really stick to the pan, so if you dont have a nonstick pan, its fine. I prefer a cast-iron pan.
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Best Sides For Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Grilled cheese sandwiches are classic comfort food thatâs always a hit with kids and adults alike. But what do you serve with it?
Here are some ideas for side dishes that will complement your grilled cheesesandwich perfectly. From easy sides like salads to more complex dishes like macaroni and cheese, weâve got you covered!
Pile On Extra Ingredients
Want to give your grilled cheese some personality? Layer on flavorful toppings to make your own custom sandwich. Don’t pile the ingredients too high because it will be hard to flip your sandwich. Flat items like deli meats, pickles and hot peppers, bacon, sliced fresh tomatoes, apples, and pears, and leafy greens are all good additions. Try our Gourmet Grilled Cheese with Bacon.
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Shredded Or Sliced Cheese
Shredded or sliced are both awesome choices for a great grilled cheese sandwich. Here are some tips for choosing which one will work best for you.
- Shredded cheese: If you like to combine more than one type of cheese, shredded cheese is your best bet. Youll have the ability to fine tune the ratios of each one to your liking. The amount of cheese used will depend on the size of the bread. For a standard loaf of sandwich bread, use & frac13 ½ cup of shredded cheese per sandwich.
- Sliced cheese: If you are only using one type of cheese, 1 oz. of sliced cheese is perfect. Two slices around 2mm thick seem to be ideal. Request a number 2 thickness if you are getting cheese from the deli counter.
Adjust the amount of cheese used per sandwich to your liking. The amounts suggested are good starting points!
Uplands Pleasant Ridge Reserve
This aged, alpine-style cheese has a complex, savory flavor profile that will remind you of French onion soup, says Browne, who keeps this award-winning Wisconsin cheese on hand at all times for both cheese boards and of course, grilled cheese.
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And Dont Go Overboard
Loading up on too much cheese is not only a weight loss no-no, it decreases the quality of your grilled cheese! When thereâs too much cheese between the bread, itâs almost impossible for you to get a full melt without overcooking the bread. A cool trick to make the grilled cheese feel heartierwithout having to pile on excess cheeseis to mash beans or avocado and add it to the sandwich. Youâll get more of the good fats and steer clear of excess inflammation.
Lighten The Butter Load
Butter is a typical component of the classic grilled cheese to achieve that crispy outer texture and depth of flavor, but itâs also packed with saturated fat and calories. Go for the organic grass-fed kinds and donât lather it on the same way you would your conditioner in the shower. You can still reach that same crunch with just a teaspoon of butter. This will reduce your calorie load and help you get to those summer body goals in no time. For more smart swaps and tips, see these 25 Ways to Cut 250 Calories.
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How To Make A Better Grilled Cheese: 7 Tips For A Cheesier Crispier More Flavorful Sandwich
Of all the quick but delicious meals Ive leaned heavily on the past 18 months, grilled cheese is near the top of the list. I almost always have the basic ingredients around some type of bread, some type of cheese as well as some little extras to make the sandwich really sing. I suspect Ive rarely made the same one twice.
Whether youre a grilled cheese improviser or creature of habit, theres usually at least one thing you can do to help transform a good sandwich into a great one. Im not necessarily talking about overhauling your strategy. Instead, these are small tips for making a next-level grilled cheese.
I canvassed the Voraciously team, my food-loving Instagram followers and my own experience to compile this list of suggestions. Mix and match, or pick one to focus on. But most importantly, have fun trying them.
Wed love to hear your tips for the perfect grilled cheese! Share in the comments below.
Is Grilled Cheese Good For Your Health
And although I want to tell you that grilled cheese is also a super healthy dinner option, grilled cheese sandwiches actually contain high calories, saturated fat, and in some cases, sodium, so you should not overeat them.
However, if you know clearly about what you eat and adjust it to be suitable for your bodys needs, nothing will be wrong for you. The staple foods of grilled cheese are whole grain bread and cheese, which are necessary for your health in a medium amount.
Therefore, if you have strong cheese, you can use less cheese in the sandwich to reduce calories. Using whole wheat bread will increase the fiber content and make the grilled cheese sandwich have a nutty flavor.
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