Grilled cheese

The cheese dream, an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich, became popular in the U.S. during the Great Depression.[1] U.S. government cookbooks describe Navy cooks broiling "American cheese filling sandwiches" during World War II.[2]

A grilled cheese sandwich made with American cheese served with a bowl of tomato soup

A grilled cheese sandwich is assembled by creating a cheese filling, often cheddar, or American, between two slices of bread, and is then heated until the bread browns and the cheese melts. A layer of butter or mayonnaise is sometimes added to the outside of the bread for additional flavor and texture. Some may add additional ingredients, such as peppers, tomatoes, or onions,[3]. Several different methods of heating the sandwich are used, depending on the region and personal preference. Common methods include being cooked on a griddle, fried in a pan, or made in a panini grill or sandwich toaster. This last method is more common in the United Kingdom, where the sandwiches are normally called "toasted sandwiches" or "toasties", and in Australia, where they are called "jaffles". Other methods such as baking in an oven or toaster oven, or in a toasting bag in an electric toaster, may be employed.

The sandwich is typically served as a snack or lunchtime meal, often with a side of salad, soup, french fries, or other accompaniment.

Another form of cooked cheese sandwich is the cheese toastie or toastie, a dish particularly popular in the United Kingdom that is prepared by either baking or grilling a cheese sandwich in an oven, or toasting bag in an electric toaster, or using a pie iron in order to toast the bread and melt the cheese. It is usually served as a snack, or as a (usually lunchtime) meal, in most cases with a side of salad.

To retain the crunchiness of the bread, this grilled cheese sandwich is set on its end. It is made of sharp cheddar cheese, walnut bread, and butter.

Some restaurants, food carts and food trucks in the United States specialize in the grilled cheese sandwich. The Grilled Cheese Grill restaurants are a combination of reclaimed vehicle and food cart restaurants that focus on gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches in Portland, Oregon.[4] The Grilled Cheese Truck is an American food truck company serving gourmet "chef driven" grilled cheese sandwiches.[5] The company started in Los Angeles, California in 2009, and has since expanded throughout Southern California, Phoenix, San Antonio and Austin.[5] The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen is a restaurant in San Francisco, California that specializes in the sandwich.[6]

The Guinness World Record for the most expensive, commercially available sandwich is held by a $214 grilled cheese sandwich, the "Quintessential Grilled Cheese", by Serendipity 3 in New York, USA.[7]