The Ultimate Comfort Food

 


Bread, butter, cheese.
These are the building blocks of one of the most popular comfort foods of all time, evident in the fact that it has a whole month dedicated to its honor...and I get it! I love this sandwich. The fact that I can make it in less than 10 minutes is amazing. A seemingly simple, yet delicate dish that can go from plain to something particularly gourmet. But where did it come from? How does one make it? Is it possible to improve upon perfection?


Cheesystreetgrill.com traces the origin of the dish all the way back to Roman times when recipes for the sandwich were found engraved in their texts. While the French had already created their own forms of the dish with the Croque Monsieur, grilled cheese as we know it wouldn't appear until the early 20th century when Kraft's founder patented a process of cheese pasteurization that allowed it to be transported without spoiling. Soon after, the creation of sliced bread would be born, changing the world of sandwiches forever...

So, having stood the test of time, how is this sandwich made?
One of the most popular food blog sites, RecipeTinEats.com, describes grilled cheese as having three ingredients: Bread to serve as a base, cheese as the filling and binder, and butter as the fat. These ingredients are then combined together and cooked in the pan. The dish is finished when both sides of the bread are toasted to a golden brown. Simple, right? But even with just three ingredients, making the perfect grilled cheese is a delicate process.

It's rather easy to make mistakes when making this sandwich.  As explained by TheKitchn.com's article, too high of heat on your stove will not only risk your bread burning to a crisp but also not melting the cheese properly. Most of the heat goes into the bread as it's taking the brunt of the heat. The flame doesn't have enough time to melt all the way through the cheese, causing the center to remain solid and at room temperature. To avoid this, it's best to go low and slow, somewhere around medium on the stove. This will allow the bread to properly toast and give the cheese enough time to melt.


 

Of course, this isn't the only way to make grilled cheese. Oftentimes, people substitute butter for other fats, like olive oil or mayonnaise. They would go from white bread to something more robust like sourdough or ciabatta. And with the plethora of cheeses that exist in the world, of course the cheese can be changed. Grilled cheese is a very versatile dish. Hell, you can add whatever you want to it. Add bacon, chicken, avocado, or anything you want, I guarantee it'll still taste great. However, there is a vocal community out there of grilled cheese enthusiasts who will argue that adding anything to a grilled cheese turns it into a "melt"..but..who cares? Cook however you want to, don't let anyone tell you what is and what isn't. After all..grilled cheeses aren't even grilled!

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