There may be no food that elicits the nostalgia of childhood quite like the modest grilled cheese sandwich. Yet, a grilled cheese can surpass your favorite old school cafeteria lunches — these chewy, gooey classic sandwiches can still be enjoyed as an adult. You just need to know how to do it correctly, and it will leave the original American cheese and white bread in the dust.
For a little help on getting your homemade grilled cheese sandwich just right, we reached out to an expert for a Chowhound exclusive. As head chef at Murray’s Cheese, Clare Malfitano is more than qualified to dole out some solid (melting) cheese advice. “At Murray’s,” Malfitano said, “we’re definitely firm believers in using a combination of cheeses. Just like any other signature dish, the cheese acts as our ingredients and each brings its own unique traits to the table.”
The two most important factors in your cheese choice are how well it melts and the flavor it adds to the overall sandwich. Semi-firm cheeses with higher moisture and fat content are better at melting, but you don’t want something too fatty and so moisture-rich that it simply melts right out of the bread. “Younger cheeses like New York white cheddar and red wax gouda have a higher moisture content than their aged counterparts, and this leads to a really nice, consistent melt,” Malfitano says.
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Getting a pro-level grilled cheese at home
A sliced grilled cheese on sourdough with a blend of cheeses. – Jen duMoulin/Shutterstock
Beyond texture, consider how the flavors play off each other as they melt. Clare Malfitano recommends white cheddar and gouda because cheddar’s sharp acidity balances gouda’s sweet, buttery depth. She also likes a savory, Alpine-style cheese, like a gruyère, which, she says, brings hints of “toasted nuts, beef broth, onion, and so on.” Furthermore, she says, “Choosing the right combination of cheeses leads to a symphony of flavors and a perfectly balanced grilled cheese.”
Flavor balance extends to the bread and other ingredients you add to your grilled cheese sandwich. “We like to use sourdough for a lot of our sandwiches, which adds some contrast to the flavor of the cheeses and any other ingredients we choose to showcase,” she explains. “The same would go for any included add-ons like bacon or onion jam.” Whatever butter you choose to grill the sandwich with also affects the flavor. “Salted butter or even cultured butter can add additional flavor to your sandwich in comparison to unsalted butter,” says Malfitano. For example, give your grilled cheese more flavor by frying with garlic butter.
A panini press helps cheese melt evenly to the bread’s edges, but if you don’t have a press, you can imitate one at home: Place a heavy pan on top of your sandwich as it cooks. Malfitano recommends waiting a few minutes before serving. “When cheese is really hot,” she says, “it liquifies, and as it cools, it will begin to regain structure and create that webbed cheese pull that everyone goes crazy for!”
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Dining and Cooking