# Holy frijole, I've been making grilled cheese sandwiches wrong all these years **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529 "2018-03-31T15:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/101 "2018-04-03T14:15:57Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Tomato slices and spinach leaves have been briefly mentioned (and both are great), but I still think there is a lot of room to explore what goes well with a grilled cheese sandwich besides the cheese, bread, and butter. > > When I was a kid, we always used to put pickle relish onto the sandwiches, after they were cooked. As my tastebuds have grown a wee bit more discerning over the years, I no longer think that sounds tasty. However, a few thin slices of a good kosher dill pickle on a well-made sandwich would not be amiss. I also make a homemade papaya chutney that is quite nice with almost anything, including a grilled cheese sandwich. > > Any other suggestions? > > . Yeppers. Kimchi. When I make “fancy” grilled cheese I use sourdough bread, sliced Jarlsberg cheese and Kimchi. It’s very tasty although purists would say it’s not a grilled cheese if you put anything else between the bread. I’m also partial to Jamie Oliver’s method, Link [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZOgBrgzQ2A). ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/102 "2018-04-03T14:30:11Z")
Y’know there’s a certain point, and I don’t claim to know exactly where that point is, that additional ingredients turn a grilled cheese sandwich into something else, like adding a chicken breast to a BLT doesn’t make a “CBLT,” it makes a chicken sandwich with bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/103 "2018-04-03T14:42:53Z")
Of course, the better question isn’t whether something is or is not a “proper grilled cheese”, but whether it’s a good sandwich. That said, I think that the point where something stops being a “grilled cheese sandwich” is when there’s an uninterrupted layer of something else that separates the cheese from more cheese, or from the bread. So, relish, for instance, melts in with the cheese: It’s still a grilled cheese. Tomato slices come closer, but don’t form an uninterrupted layer: There are still significant gaps. But put in a couple of slices of ham, and now you’ve got a ham-and-cheese sandwich, not a grilled cheese. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/104 "2018-04-03T14:55:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, the better question isn’t whether something is or is not a “proper grilled cheese”, but whether it’s a good sandwich. > > That said, I think that the point where something stops being a “grilled cheese sandwich” is when there’s an uninterrupted layer of something else that separates the cheese from more cheese, or from the bread. So, relish, for instance, melts in with the cheese: It’s still a grilled cheese. Tomato slices come closer, but don’t form an uninterrupted layer: There are still significant gaps. But put in a couple of slices of ham, and now you’ve got a ham-and-cheese sandwich, not a grilled cheese. I can live with this. Basically, is the additional ingredient acting as a condiment or as main element itself? But even that, I suppose, probably has a fuzzy point somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/105 "2018-04-03T16:41:14Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Ah, OK. “'ey up” is a stereotypical (and typical) Yorkshire greeting, which is presumably not well known beyond these shores…so a nice coincidence then. > > And Yorkshire folk tend to say “aye” too… To clarify for someone who isn’t familiar with it, “ayup” is “yup” (i.e. “yes”) with an exaggerated beginning. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/106 "2018-04-03T16:48:24Z")
(with “a” as in “ago”) ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/107 "2018-04-03T22:11:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, the better question isn’t whether something is or is not a “proper grilled cheese”, but whether it’s a good sandwich. > > That said, I think that the point where something stops being a “grilled cheese sandwich” is when there’s an uninterrupted layer of something else that separates the cheese from more cheese, or from the bread. So, relish, for instance, melts in with the cheese: It’s still a grilled cheese. Tomato slices come closer, but don’t form an uninterrupted layer: There are still significant gaps. But put in a couple of slices of ham, and now you’ve got a ham-and-cheese sandwich, not a grilled cheese. There’s a possibility that calling it a cheese toastie - as the Brits and the Dutch (and quite possibly others) do - eliminates that feeling of polluting the purity of the dish. Stick ham in it: ham and cheese toastie (or cheese and ham). Onions: cheese and onion toastie. The structure of the name (qualifier + “toastie”) means that even if just cheese - on its own - is the archetype, adding other ingredients doesn’t feel like straying from legitimate-variant-of-the-same-item territory. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/108 "2018-04-04T02:03:10Z")
What would you call a grilled cheese sandwich with a scrambled egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise? A Frankensteinean hybrid of a BLT, breakfast sandwich, and grilled cheese? Tell me quick, ‘cause I really WANT ONE now. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/109 "2018-04-04T02:25:48Z")
needs hollandaise ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/110 "2018-04-04T14:04:16Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > What would you call a grilled cheese sandwich with a scrambled egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise? A Frankensteinean hybrid of a BLT, breakfast sandwich, and grilled cheese? > > Tell me quick, ‘cause I really WANT ONE now. I would call that delicious! Or lunch! ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/111 "2018-04-04T17:18:08Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Y’know there’s a certain point, and I don’t claim to know exactly where that point is, that additional ingredients turn a grilled cheese sandwich into something else, like adding a chicken breast to a BLT doesn’t make a “CBLT,” it makes a chicken sandwich with bacon. That point is anything other than cheese, bread, and butter or margarine. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/112 "2018-04-04T17:29:11Z")
Is a cold sandwich with cheese and tomato still a cheese sandwich? Then a grilled sandwich with cheese and tomato is still a grilled cheese. With tomato. ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/113 "2018-04-04T17:36:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When I’ve tried mayo, it’s come out much more browned than I prefer it, so I’m back to margarine. Not stick margarine, I hope. The whipped stuff is okay; stick is REALLY BAD for us. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/114 "2018-04-04T17:53:18Z")
Stick margarine and butter are both saturated fat, and have similar health effects. There was a time when margarine would have been mostly trans fat, but that was because we mistakenly thought that trans fat was better than saturated. Now we’ve learned better, and so trans fat pretty much isn’t used anywhere, anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/115 "2018-04-04T19:23:20Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Is a cold sandwich with cheese and tomato still a cheese sandwich? No. A cheese sandwich only has cheese. > [@](#): > > Then a grilled sandwich with cheese and tomato is still a grilled cheese. With tomato. A grilled sandwich with cheese and tomato is a grilled tomato and cheese. Cheese is the lute of food. The only way it can be the main ingredient is if it’s the only ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/116 "2018-04-04T22:34:33Z")
That’s just silly, how would you have a grilled cheese sandwich if it’s just cheese; use Parmesan biscuits as the bread? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/117 "2018-04-04T22:43:30Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > That’s just silly, how would you have a grilled cheese sandwich if it’s just cheese; use Parmesan biscuits as the bread? 😃 It’s all about the tuille. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/118 "2018-04-04T23:40:51Z")
No, you’re thinking of a [chupaqueso](https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2003-09-06). ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/119 "2018-04-05T00:47:30Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Cheese is the lute of food. The only way it can be the main ingredient is if it’s the only ingredient. Did you come up with that? Because, well, that is beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529/120 "2018-04-05T01:32:27Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Tomato slices and spinach leaves have been briefly mentioned (and both are great), but I still think there is a lot of room to explore what goes well with a grilled cheese sandwich besides the cheese, bread, and butter. > > When I was a kid, we always used to put pickle relish onto the sandwiches, after they were cooked. As my tastebuds have grown a wee bit more discerning over the years, I no longer think that sounds tasty. However, a few thin slices of a good kosher dill pickle on a well-made sandwich would not be amiss. I also make a homemade papaya chutney that is quite nice with almost anything, including a grilled cheese sandwich. > > Any other suggestions? > > . The O’Cheeze menu could get you started [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54b6e472e4b05e2e7fbaa1fc/t/5a9437308165f549b5f873f4/1519662898512/Menus.jpg](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54b6e472e4b05e2e7fbaa1fc/t/5a9437308165f549b5f873f4/1519662898512/Menus.jpg) They have a food truck. It sometimes stops outside this place: > **[Minneapolis - Tattersall Distilling](https://www.tattersalldistilling.com/minneapolis/)** > > Enjoy world-class drinks at one of the best cocktail bars in Minneapolis. Located in the Historic Thorp building in the heart of Northeast, sip original craft cocktails and classics with your friends and family at our iconic bar under a... (That was a good night. I wish I could remember it.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-making-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-wrong-all-these-years/811529.md?page=7)