Grilled Cheese Sandwich Introduction:

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are a staple food in American households, and it’s no wonder why. They require minimal ingredients, minimal prep and clean-up, and utilize ingredients that have a long shelf, depending on what consumers decide to use. They are an excellent recipe for college students to have in their arsenal simply because they make filling meals all while being incredibly budget friendly.

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Origins and History:

Grilled cheese sandwiches have been around for a very long time. Some sources even trace them back to ancient Roman times, though it was slightly different than the delicious sandwiches we have today. Ancient romans would experiment with melting cheese on rocks and serving these melted forms as appetizers. This is the earliest known group of people that were doing this, and their experimentation eventually led to humans discovering the delicious gooey sandwich we have today [1].

“A golden-brown grilled cheese sandwich, melted cheese oozing out between two slices of toasted bread on a wooden board covered with a white piece of parchment paper, with partial images of other grilled cheese in the background.

Example image of a grilled cheese.

Moving on from Ancient Rome, history shows us that people began making more “traditional” grilled cheese sandwiches in the early 1900’s, although these sandwiches went by different names, such as “Melted Cheese” or “Toasted Cheese” [2}. With a bit more experimentation, people in the 1900’s quickly grew to realize that they could make a delicious snack out of simple household items, and thus the Grilled Cheese was born. With the invention of processed cheese by James L. Kraft and the integration of Wonder Bread into the food market in the 1920’s, the sandwich became even more affordable and accessible to people from all different financial classes. [2,3]. With ingredients that could stay relatively good for extended periods of time, this sandwich allowed lower income people to create a calorie dense meal with minimal ingredients [2]. It is a recipe that has minimal cleanup, minimal prep, and is good for people who don’t have the time to cook more in-depth meals. One of the earliest known recollections for this snack appears in a cookbook dated back to 1902, though the official name for the sandwich wasn’t coined until the 1960’s [1]. It has been incredibly popular in the United States since the 1940’s and has positive ratings across many different cooking websites [3]. All in all, this sandwich is a household staple and is something that a majority of people would have the capabilities to make. It’s accessibility is why it’s such a staple food for college students. 

How to Make a Grilled Cheese:

Ingredients:

Utensils Needed:

  • Butter knife
  • Plate
  • Spatula
  • Frying pan

Steps: 

  1. Gather ingredients and utensils
  2. Use 1 Tablespoon of butter to butter one side of each piece of bread. 
  3. Heat frying pan over medium heat and place remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter in the pan. Let it melt. 
  4. Once butter is melted, take one slice of bread and place butter side down on pan. 
  5. Place two slices of cheese on the side facing up from the pan. Then, place the other slice of bread, butter side up on top of the cheese. 
  6. Let the grilled cheese cook. Once the bread has turned golden brown (about 3-4 minutes), flip the sandwich and repeat until the other side is cooked. 
  7. Once both sides of the bread are golden brown, and the cheese is melted, turn off the stove and transfer from the pan to a plate. Serve and enjoy! 

If you still have questions, this is an excellent video to reference while making your sandwich:

Example Video: Credit to Casual Cooking Youtube Channel