Live data from Hacker News

The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

buttondown.com

41–50 of 58 posts

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#41
post #18

The most important lesson about Grilled Cheese that I have learned is that you can buy a mix of expensive cheese, get a nice fresh loaf of sourdough bread, high quality grass fed butter. You can really make an exquisite, amazing, grilled cheese that would cost $25 at a mediocre restaurant with a side of fries. However, a 4 year old will prefer one made out of kraft singles on white.

As a near-fifty year old who has been making sourdough for 6 years, makes homemade mayo with a grated garlic clove and freshly squeezed lemons every couple weeks, and keeps a stash of fine cheeses readily available for all occasions - I'm with the 4 year old. White bread, 2 slices of american, butter - it's hard to beat the sheer comfort, texture, flavor, gooeyness, and simplicity of the classic.

Why are you bothering with all that effort if you prefer the quick easy store-bought thing?

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#42

The most important lesson about Grilled Cheese that I have learned is that you can buy a mix of expensive cheese, get a nice fresh loaf of sourdough bread, high quality grass fed butter. You can really make an exquisite, amazing, grilled cheese that would cost $25 at a mediocre restaurant with a side of fries. However, a 4 year old will prefer one made out of kraft singles on white.

4 year olds eat mud and bogeys. Who cares what they like?

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#43
post #41
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a near-fifty year old who has been making sourdough for 6 years, makes homemade mayo with a grated garlic clove and freshly squeezed lemons every couple weeks, and keeps a stash of fine cheeses readily available for all occasions - I'm with the 4 year old. White bread, 2 slices of american, butter - it's hard to beat the sheer comfort, texture, flavor, gooeyness, and simplicity of the classic.

Why are you bothering with all that effort if you prefer the quick easy store-bought thing?

They are feeding butter grass, they are way past the point of no return

/s

I think some things taste a lot better when you are so conscious about every ingredient and preparation. For sourdough and cheese I always prefer the good ones, what can I say.

P.S. Obviously cows are being fed

> high quality grass fed butter

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#44

Instead of butter I prefer to use Mayonnaise as the fat spread on the bread to cook in the pan. It does a fantastic job.

I haven't tried actual mayo, but I did once try Miracle Whip (which is my preferred condiment in place of mayo). I would strongly advise avoiding that - the grilled cheese made with Miracle Whip was truly nasty. Proper mayo must be different in a way that makes it more effective in this task.

Miracle Whip is similar to Salad Cream in the UK, which is more water than oil. It's oil/fat you want, not water.

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#45
post #39

The most important lesson about Grilled Cheese that I have learned is that you can buy a mix of expensive cheese, get a nice fresh loaf of sourdough bread, high quality grass fed butter. You can really make an exquisite, amazing, grilled cheese that would cost $25 at a mediocre restaurant with a side of fries. However, a 4 year old will prefer one made out of kraft singles on white.

I have found that the best Grilled Cheese is a hybrid. Get the nice bread. Get the nice cheese. But also add some kraft singles to the mix. The sodium citrate will help the melt on not only the single itself, but your nice cheese as well. You'll get the flavors of the good cheese with the melt of the cheap junk. Best of both worlds.

Finally. A true connoisseur.

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#46
post #41
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a near-fifty year old who has been making sourdough for 6 years, makes homemade mayo with a grated garlic clove and freshly squeezed lemons every couple weeks, and keeps a stash of fine cheeses readily available for all occasions - I'm with the 4 year old. White bread, 2 slices of american, butter - it's hard to beat the sheer comfort, texture, flavor, gooeyness, and simplicity of the classic.

Why are you bothering with all that effort if you prefer the quick easy store-bought thing?

They bother with that effort when eating other things, but they keep it simple and go kraft-and-white-bread when making a grilled cheese. They're essentially saying, "While I love putting a lot of effort into cooking most things, when it comes to a grilled cheese, simple and cheap wins out."

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always a trip reflecting on this hyperbolic and profanity-laden style of comment from the old internet. Cringy by today’s standards.

Funny that a post from 2015 is considered old Internet.

I have memes from like 2004 that I remember saving from floppy -> CD-R -> DVDR -> external hdd -> cloud.

God, the young are so cringy.

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#48

The most important lesson about Grilled Cheese that I have learned is that you can buy a mix of expensive cheese, get a nice fresh loaf of sourdough bread, high quality grass fed butter. You can really make an exquisite, amazing, grilled cheese that would cost $25 at a mediocre restaurant with a side of fries. However, a 4 year old will prefer one made out of kraft singles on white.

4 year olds eat mud and bogeys. Who cares what they like?

Parents of four year-olds.

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#49

This author is wrong. You may not add onions, avocado, or any of those other things to a grilled cheese sandwich, at least not if you are trying to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Once you start adding veggies or meat, it becomes a melt. There's nothing wrong with a melt! But words mean things , and you can't just call any sandwich you like a grilled cheese just because the bread is toasted and it has melted cheese i…

This is what I came back for: any post on the Internet about simple food anyone can make will have at least one thread derailing it to explain The One True Way. Put it in the drawer with the anti-pineapple pizza people and the Chicago hot dog truthers. And then ask how people prefer their scrambled eggs. That makes Israel/ Palestine look like a pre-season friendly.

Re: The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

#50
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always a trip reflecting on this hyperbolic and profanity-laden style of comment from the old internet. Cringy by today’s standards.

no, today's hollowed out husk of internet is what is cringy and self conscious, as well as namby-pamby. the attitudes of those who created the internet cannot be called cringy.

The best part of old internet culture is that the people who were there don't really give a damn about the current culture of censoring random perfectly words because of social media.

You can curse on the internet, lots of us don't believe that God will smite us if we do.

Post reply on HN