Cheezy Grilled Cheese

Today, grilled cheese sandwiches are found on menus in both delis and in five-star restaurants.

One thing is certain, grilled cheese sandwiches remain an all-time favorite for kids, but also comfort food for adults.

Want to know how to make your grilled cheese into a culinary masterpiece, a healthier version that is free from gluten and the top 8 allergens?

A Snapshot of the First Grilled Cheese

Although no one can pinpoint the exact creation of grilled cheese in America, the sandwich became popular in the 1920s. Open face in origin, popular toppings included tomatoes, eggs, pineapple and bacon.

In addition, it’s worth noting that the actual term “grilled cheese” did not make an appearance in print until the 1960s. Before then it was referred to as “toasted cheese”, “melted cheese” or “toasted sandwiches”.

In fact, I found a recipe for “Melted Cheese” in Mrs. Rorer’s New Cook Book, a reprint of the 1898 Ladies’ Home Journal Cookbook Club.

Check out this recipe for the early makings of what we now call the grilled cheese.

Cooking Methods Evolve

• 1902 – “Melted Cheese” is cooked in hot oven. Source: Mrs. Rorer’s New Cook Book.
• 1929 – “Toasted Cheese” calls for broiling the ingredients. Source: Seven Hundred Sandwiches, by Florence A. Cowles.
• 1939 – “Toasted Sandwich” suggests the ingredients be broiled or sautéed in a frying pan coated with butter. Source: The Boston Cooking School Cookbook.
• 1953 – Bread and cheese should be heated in a commercial waffle iron. Source: Irma S. Rombauer’s, The Joy of Cooking.
• 1993 – In the film Benny & Joon, the character Sam, played by Johnny Depp, cooks a stack of grilled cheese sandwiches using a clothes iron.

Inspiration from Jessica Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica, is the author of 4 cookbooks. Her early books contain strategies for making healthy food appealing to young children. She gave recipes a nutritional boost by incorporating vegetable purees.

We’re doing just that to our simple, but tasty grilled cheese.

The Margarine vs. Mayo Taste Test

Have you ever heard of grilling your grilled cheese in mayo? I’ve heard of it, but never gave it consideration, until this week. Wednesday, I was talking to my brother, Dan about this week’s grilled cheese post. He said he just made a grilled cheese last week and grilled it with mayo and said it was outrageous.

For that reason, let the taste test begin.

We made 2 sandwiches, one grilled with allergy-friendly margarine and the other with Just Mayo. Follow Your Heart makes several varieties of “Vegenaise.” We love their soy-free version that is free from the top 8, but have trouble finding it in our area.

Though you can’t go wrong with either sandwich, here’s what we found:

• The allergy-friendly mayo spreads better than margarine. This is helpful when you’re using a softer bread.
• The sandwich with mayo browned nicely and didn’t burn as easily.
• The mayo provided a crisp outside, with the bread underneath remaining soft.
• The sandwich spread with margarine seemed a bit drier and overly crisp.

In conclusion, our pick for the best allergy-friendly grilled cheese goes to……the sandwich grilled in mayo.

Try this cheezy wonder with its classic side. Yes, that’s right, tomato soup!