It’s National Grilled Cheese Day, which is perfect because it’s a Friday, and there’s no need to cook anything any more involved. Here is some random grilled cheese-related fun that is floating around on the interwebs:
1. No one knows exactly how old the grilled cheese sandwich is. But one of the earliest references to melted cheese sandwiches is featured in Sarah Tyson Rorer’s “Mrs. Rorer’s New Cookbook” from the year 1902.
2. The French were the first to make it a THING in 1910, when restaurants started adding the “Croque Monsieur” to menus. But that wasn’t JUST grilled cheese, it would also have ham.
3. New research says the average American adult eats 36 grilled cheeses each year. If you’re thinking, “That’s crazy, I haven’t had a SINGLE grilled cheese since the Covid lockdown in 2020”, you’re not alone.
But you also don’t have kids. The AVERAGE of 36 includes parents with kids who eat a LOT of grilled cheeses a year, and parents eat them too, because they aren’t in the mood to make another meal.
4. In a poll, 57% of Americans said they prefer white bread for grilled cheese. 24% like sourdough, 23% said wheat. 70% of people say they use butter when making them, while 20% add mayo.
5. America is divided on the way to cut the sandwich. 52% cut them in half diagonally, while 21% cut them in half vertically, and 10% cut them in half horizontally. 17% of people don’t cut them at all.
6. There are several fun grilled cheese moments in pop culture, but Gen X’ers will think of the movie “Benny & Joon”, when Johnny Depp’s character makes a stack of grilled cheese sandwiches using a clothes iron.
7. Most people just make grilled cheeses in a pan or cast iron skillet. But some people use a toaster oven or panini press, and 9% of people say they use an air fryer, because, well, what CAN’T you do with an air fryer.
(PR Newswire / SWNS / National Today / YouTube)
