Whats your preferred cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich?

[kage69]

Take the mildest cheddar you're familiar with, and divide the flavor by 2. It's basically a salty, dairy based grease slab.

This.

I've never understood it, and I like all kinds of cheap food. Acquired taste maybe? Even though we generally screw up the process by overheating things, there is still a gigantic selection of great cheeses available in the States. Even the most basic of generic cheddar is better than the oil squares.

 

[John Connor]

Sams Club has a nice selection of cheese. We don't have a Costco near by where I live.

 

[louis redfoot]

This.

I've never understood it, and I like all kinds of cheap food. Acquired taste maybe? Even though we generally screw up the process by overheating things, there is still a gigantic selection of great cheeses available in the States. Even the most basic of generic cheddar is better than the oil squares.

it's good for at least one thing, crisps fondue ie nachos

 

[WelshBloke]

Take the mildest cheddar you're familiar with, and divide the flavor by 2. It's basically a salty, dairy based grease slab.

Whats exactly the point in it?

 

[lxskllr]

This.

I've never understood it, and I like all kinds of cheap food. Acquired taste maybe? Even though we generally screw up the process by overheating things, there is still a gigantic selection of great cheeses available in the States. Even the most basic of generic cheddar is better than the oil squares.

It was the default sandwich cheese when I was a kid. I've never bought it on my own accord. One of the benefits of buying your own groceries :^D

I did once buy processed "cheese" slices at a dollar store. I wanted grilled cheese, realized I didn't have cheese at the house, and didn't want to stop at the grocery store. Regrettably, I didn't read the ingredients first. Some processed cheeses miss "real" status on a technicality, and don't taste bad, even if they aren't the best. This dollar store "cheese" didn't even melt in the bread. It looked like toy plastic cheese slices, and had zero flavor. I then read the ingredients, and the only dairy in it was a very minor component(lactose maybe?). I'm usually good about reading labels before I buy. That was one of my greatest failures :^(

 

[lxskllr]

Whats exactly the point in it?

It melts very well, and has so little flavor it's unlikely to offend anyone. You gotta remember, Americans had very bland preferences for most of the 20th century. It's only been somewhat recently that bold flavors, and a variety of spices have been common in cookery, barring some localized regional cuisines.

 

[MongGrel]

You can pry my cheap American Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwich from my cold dead hands

 

[louis redfoot]

gettin' wet?

 

[Imp]

Take the mildest cheddar you're familiar with, and divide the flavor by 2. It's basically a salty, dairy based grease slab.

Sounds perfect for cardboard substitution...

 

[WelshBloke]

gettin' wet?

Is it supposed to look like that or has someone already eaten it?

 

[MongGrel]

I need to start a campaign to get the word out about Double Gloucester, put the kabash on this "American cheese" bullshit.

I'm American too btw, so you fancy Europeans take note. I buy by the wheel and save the rinds for soup bitches.

My wife agrees on the Double Gloucester, she had a fit just seeing it mentioned while I was messing around.

They discontinued it at the local store she usually goes to.

 

[Carson Dyle]

The American cheese we know today is the quintessential American product ... cheap, processed, convenient. Still good when melted on a burger, patty melt or a fish sandwich. Other cheeses have more flavor, but completely different textures that don't always stack well on a greasy hockey puck on a white bun.

American cheese was probably derived from Monterrey Jack, which is another fairly bland, but real, cheese. I think if you buy most "jack" cheeses today, like the cheap pepper jacks common in grocery stores, it's just another variation on processed cheese. In the US we have a remarkable selection of really _bad_ cheese. From the packaged pre-sliced stuff and the monster sized blocks in the dairy section, to the garbage they sell in most grocery deli cases.

Velveeta is much the same thing as American, except even softer and more meltable. I understand Velveeta is available in some places outside the US. So soft that it's hard to slice, so isn't used much on sandwiches - usually just melted for things like nachos, queso dip and mac & cheese.

 

[WelshBloke]

It melts very well, and has so little flavor it's unlikely to offend anyone. You gotta remember, Americans had very bland preferences for most of the 20th century. It's only been somewhat recently that bold flavors, and a variety of spices have been common in cookery, barring some localized regional cuisines.

"American cheese can not be legally sold under the name (authentic) "cheese" in the US."

I'm not convinced!

 

[WHAMPOM]

Xtra-sharp cheddar between two slices of buttered toast after thirty seconds in the microwave. Why use cheese with no taste?

 

[Carson Dyle]

They can add as much flavor to processed cheese as they like. Those 98 cent boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese with the powdered cheese that kids LOVE have a lot of flavor.

 

[WT]

Cheddar and imported Swiss on a sourdough loaf, hand-sliced at the bakery. I also add leftover taco meat between the cheeses for a very tasty taco grilled cheese. I can't eat a regular old grilled cheese after I started making these.

 

[Chaotic42]

I bought some butter kase because of this thread. Their cheese selection was a bit small and I literally had to wait in line at the cheese bin to get what I got. The chaos of shopping on a Saturday.

 

[Exterous]

This.

I've never understood it, and I like all kinds of cheap food. Acquired taste maybe? Even though we generally screw up the process by overheating things, there is still a gigantic selection of great cheeses available in the States. Even the most basic of generic cheddar is better than the oil squares.

It melts very well, and has so little flavor it's unlikely to offend anyone. You gotta remember, Americans had very bland preferences for most of the 20th century. It's only been somewhat recently that bold flavors, and a variety of spices have been common in cookery, barring some localized regional cuisines.

Probably a combination of habit, cost and option overload. Kraft has a recognized product and brand name and, if price is a factor, the generic variety (that tastes the same as Kraft) is priced well under a similarly sized block of mediocre cheddar (at least around here). If someone is curious about cheese and go to the cheese area they are left with a bewildering array of options with little to no descriptions of flavor. Maybe they splurge and pick up one or two but its a total crapshoot and its pretty easy to end up with a cheese with a very strong flavor profile that they might not like.

 

[Harrod]

Swiss and Munster are really good together.

 

[WelshBloke]

If someone is curious about cheese and go to the cheese area they are left with a bewildering array of options with little to no descriptions of flavor.

Thats part of the fun! You buy lots of small amounts of different cheeses. And I'd guess that someone curious about cheese wouldn't be buying a "cheese based product" instead!

 

[JEDIYoda]

I use a blend of 3 cheeses velveeta and Colby and limburger!!!

 

[blankslate]

Deli Deluxe Kraft American

Maybe I like the irony of spending extra on American Cheese.


____________

 

[Exterous]

Thats part of the fun! You buy lots of small amounts of different cheeses. And I'd guess that someone curious about cheese wouldn't be buying a "cheese based product" instead!

I'd wager most people don't really know its 'cheese based' and not cheese. And while I agree that its fun to some people (like me) I also dislike it when I spend $5 on a cheese that I end up not liking and throwing out. (Not a lot of places around here let you try a little bit before you buy it). I can see people who spend $5 or $10 on cheese they hate being turned off to the whole experience.

 

[dullard]

I'd wager most people don't really know its 'cheese based' and not cheese. And while I agree that its fun to some people (like me) I also dislike it when I spend $5 on a cheese that I end up not liking and throwing out. (Not a lot of places around here let you try a little bit before you buy it). I can see people who spend $5 or $10 on cheese they hate being turned off to the whole experience.

I too have tried fancy cheeses with disastrous results. But, you are doing it wrong. Don't buy a single fancy cheese, bring it home, and try it alone. You will probably regret doing that. Instead, buy 10 fancy cheeses for a small party or holiday gathering. Then, if you don't like one, you have 9 other cheeses to like. And someone at the party is bound to enjoy the cheese that you didn't like (except for those brown Norwegian cheeses, I've never found someone who likes them, but they are cheese-related foods and not real cheese anyways). That way, everyone is happy and has a good time trying out cheeses.

I'm glad that one of the closest grocery stores to me recently remodeled and greatly expanded their cheese selection. The cheese monger there now knows me by name and lets me try a sample of anything I want. That goes a long way towards finding the right cheeses.

To answer your OP though: cream cheese is the best cheese on a grilled cheese sandwich.

 

[WelshBloke]

I'd wager most people don't really know its 'cheese based' and not cheese.

It says on the packet!

And while I agree that its fun to some people (like me) I also dislike it when I spend $5 on a cheese that I end up not liking and throwing out. (Not a lot of places around here let you try a little bit before you buy it). I can see people who spend $5 or $10 on cheese they hate being turned off to the whole experience.

I don't think that I've ever been to a cheese shop that doesn't let you try if you're buying. Particularly if you're asking their advice!