Grilled Cheese Sandwich

An American classic open to any number of variations. Bacon and tomatoe sare popular additions. Good served with Campbell's or homemade Cream of Tomato Soup. I like to dip my sandwich in the soup.

Some notes on the history of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches:

Grilled cheese as we know it is a recent phenomenon. According to food historians, mankind has paired bread with cheese for centuries. Even ancient Roman cookbooks advised combining bread and cheese at mealtimes! In the Middle Ages toast was much used, being made in the ordinary way at an open fire...Often toast was spread with toppings...Meat toppings for toast became fashionable in during the 16th century...Towards the end of the 16th century all knds of things began to appear on toast....[including] melted cheese.

Although no one can pinpoint the precise origin of grilled cheese, the sandwich became very popular in the 1920s. With the huge increase in restaurant dining in the 1920s, inexpensive loaves of bread and processed cheese acted as a catalyst for public consumption of grilled cheese. In fact, by the time the Great Depression struck, grilled cheese sandwiches were a staple of the American diet. During World War II, the grilled cheese sandwich was a particular favorite of the Allied Armed Forces. Therefore, it wasn’t long before school cafeterias and housewives made grilled cheese a regular part of their meal planning. Post WWII institutional foodservice (including school cafeterias) paired grilled cheese with tomato soup to provide the required Vitamin C component. It was also economical and easy.

The grilled cheese sandwich was a direct descendant of both the toasted cheese sandwich (which is not fried) and the Cheese Dream, an economical open faced hot sandwich in which the main ingredient was melted cheese. A 1918 issue of Good Housekeeping mentions this tasty little sandwich as a luncheon dish, referred to as “our teahouse friend.”

A recipe from August 23rd, 1908 called Cheese Dreams from the San Francisco Call shows that the cheese dream differs very little from the modern grilled cheese. “Cut thin slices of bread and butter both sides. Spread on lightly a little French mustard on one side of each slice, then put two slices of bread together with a layer of cheese between coming next to the mustard. Put in oven and let remain until the cheese has thoroughly melted and the bread is crisp. This will be foud a very dainty and appetizing luncheon dish to serve with an entree. If desired, cut the bread in heart shaped pieces, thereby making it a little more attractive.” Amazingly, Mrs. Jessie Smith won a $1 cash prize for coming up with this. (That’s the equivalent of about $28 today.) Other enterprising home economists and home cooks created their own versions along the same basic theme with variations like tomatoes, bacon, and bread crumbs. Some early recipes also suggested dipping the entire sandwich in a mixture of milk and beaten eggs, like French toast.

One of the earliest American grilled cheese recipes featuring the use of a pan (or “chafing dish”)—found in Marion H. Neil’s 1916 cookbook Sandwiches, Salads, and Chafing Dish Recipes—instructs home cooks to “place thick slices of cheese between the bread and fry in plenty of hot butter.” (While this delicacy wasn’t referred to as a grilled cheese sandwich per se, it had an equally apt name, “Cheese Dreams.”)

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Bread: white, wheat, or rye
American, Cheddar, Swiss or other slicing cheese
Soft butter

Butter the outside of the bread. Place slices of cheese between the pieces of bread. Place, buttered side down, in a hot cast iron skillet, cover with a lid. Turn the heat down so the cheese has time to melt before the bread browns. Flip when one side is brown and brown the other. Serve immediately.

Variations: add slices of tomato and/or crisp fried bacon before grilling. A tomato and basil grilled cheese is another idea. Carmelized onions, roasted poblano peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes are other options.