# Tomatoe soup and grilled cheese **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769 "2015-02-03T22:55:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/41 "2015-02-04T23:41:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > On\* the side\*, I hope. _Hells no!_ Buttered bread, a layer of cheese, a layer of dill pickle slices, another layer of cheese, and buttered bread. Grill. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/42 "2015-02-04T23:47:28Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > _Hells no!_ Buttered bread, a layer of cheese, a layer of dill pickle slices, another layer of cheese, and buttered bread. Grill. Burn the heretic! No- _grill_ the heretic- with a side of pickles! ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/43 "2015-02-05T00:16:41Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Butter the outsides of the bread and fry in a pan, with a lid over it to melt the cheese. That works too, but grilling it open works better and gives a different flavour to the cheese IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/44 "2015-02-05T01:54:08Z")
From my childhood: white bread, buttered on the outside, several layers of very thinly sliced cheddar and a smidge of mustard. My mom always served Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup with grilled cheese, but these days I am willing to have tomato soup with it. Husband prefers American to cheddar so I sometimes will use American instead of cheddar. Either soup must be reconstituted with milk and served in a mug with a spoon. The sandwich must be cut on the diagonal using the spatula. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/45 "2015-02-05T03:35:32Z")
An alternative way to make a grilled cheese… with a really good baguette, is to roast it (bake it) in the oven. Baguette and gruyere baked in the oven is wonderful and crunchy and hot and tasty 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/46 "2015-02-05T22:38:18Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Our tomato soup recipe morphed over time into a roasted red pepper bisque. My local grocer makes and sells tomato, red pepper and basil bisque. It is amazing. Also smoked gouda makes a fine grilled cheese. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/47 "2015-02-06T02:15:34Z")
Yes, I can. I’ll take my grilled cheese with a bowl of chili! ---
**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:** [February 6, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/48 "2015-02-06T02:23:19Z")
Hm, grilled cheese with chili never occurred to me… but it sounds pretty good, now that you mention it. My only objection is that I regard either one of those by itself as a meal, so it’d feel like I was eating two meals at once. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2015, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/49 "2015-02-06T03:42:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Doc, \*you \*should know that in a soup Kosher salt is no different than table salt (it’s the texture that makes it different) and that “sea salt” is usually just plain NaCl. One possible difference–not that I can tell in terms of flavor–is that a lot of table salt is iodized, while kosher salt is generally not (or possibly never–I’m not sure, but Morton’s isn’t.) ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/50 "2015-02-06T04:03:20Z")
Correction: American “cheese” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/51 "2015-02-06T04:05:49Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Correction: American “cheese” “American cheeze”. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/52 "2015-02-06T16:53:16Z")
It’s “American cheeze like product”. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/53 "2015-02-06T16:59:39Z")
My grilled cheese is on white bread using 2 slices of American cheese. I will eat grilled cheese without tomato soup but not the opposite. The soup is made with skim milk, but instead of using a whole can of milk I use about 2/3 of a can of milk. The soup is warmed up very hot in the microwave, stirred, and a sufficient number of oyster crackers to cover the top of the soup and then a bit more crackers. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/54 "2015-02-06T18:24:10Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Correction: American “cheese” Nope, it’s just a mild soft cheddar. Don’t know why people have a problem with that but they are wrong when they say it’s not “real”. Some of it has a kind of sharp secondary taste. At least to me, and I’ve never found a cheese I don’t like - sharp, mild, flavored (like with horseradish) whatever. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/55 "2015-02-06T18:29:22Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Nope, it’s just a mild soft cheddar. Don’t know why people have a problem with that but they are wrong when they say it’s not “real”. > **[American cheese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cheese)** > > American cheese is a type of processed cheese made from cheddar, Colby, or similar cheeses, in conjunction with sodium citrate, which permits the cheese to be pasteurized without its components separating. It is mild with a creamy and salty flavor, has a medium-firm consistency, and has a low melting point. It is typically yellow or white in color; yellow American cheese is seasoned and colored with annatto. > Processed American cheese was invented in the 1910s by James L. Kraft, the founder of ... \*American cheese is a type of processed cheese. \* _Processed cheese (also known as prepared cheese, cheese product, plastic cheese, or cheese singles) is a food product made from cheese (and sometimes other, unfermented, dairy by-product ingredients); plus emulsifiers, saturated vegetable oils, extra salt, food colorings, and/or whey or sugar._ ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/56 "2015-02-06T19:05:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > [American cheese - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cheese) > > \*American cheese is a type of processed cheese. \* > > _Processed cheese (also known as prepared cheese, cheese product, plastic cheese, or cheese singles) is a food product made from cheese (and sometimes other, unfermented, dairy by-product ingredients); plus emulsifiers, saturated vegetable oils, extra salt, food colorings, and/or whey or sugar._ You might want to call it processed, because it’s a blend of other cheeses. But not all of it has all those other by-products. It’s cheese. Not “cheese”. > [@Boars Head](#): > > American Cheese > > A rich blend of hand-selected Cheddars this classic cheese has a smooth, creamy texture and mild flavor. The perfect choice for a traditional grilled cheese sandwich or rolled up with Boar’s Head Maple Honey Ham and anchored by a pretzel stick makes for a fun, tasty snack. Is Colby Jack not cheese because it is a mixture of cheeses? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/57 "2015-02-06T19:56:15Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Nope, it’s just a mild soft cheddar. Don’t know why people have a problem with that but they are wrong when they say it’s not “real”. > > Some of it has a kind of sharp secondary taste. At least to me, and I’ve never found a cheese I don’t like - sharp, mild, flavored (like with horseradish) whatever. Because there’s American cheese from a deli and there’s Cheese Food that comes individually wrapped in plastic and the latter is what people think of. Both make perfectly good grilled chees(z)e. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/58 "2016-01-14T17:52:10Z")
Thread resurrected because that’s what was for dinner last night. But _elevated_, because my wife was cooking and she doesn’t do “ordinary” anything. So it was grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches (hand-sliced bread, American cheese, tomato slice, Penzey’s Pasta Sprinkle) and Tomato and Basil Bisque (with a sprinkling of Parmesan and a couple of grinds of fresh black pepper.) Comfort food _par excellence_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/59 "2016-01-14T18:20:34Z")
A great lunch on a cold day. American or cheddar cheese (better yet, add some bacon), on white or rye bread, and it has to be Campbell’s tomato soup. Just _has_ to be. Oh, and a dill pickle and some chips on the side. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769/60 "2016-01-14T18:24:15Z")
I use Kraft Shredded Italian cheese on mine. My secret to the perfect grilled cheese is, when the bread is browned perfectly, take a bit of the shredded cheese and sprinkle it into the bottom of the frying pan. Then place the sandwich on top of that cheese and give it 30 seconds to a minute to brown. You have a wonderful cheesy crust on the sandwich that brings the whole thing to another level. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoe-soup-and-grilled-cheese/711769.md?page=4)