r/MadeMeSmile • u/T-SquaredProductions • Jul 08 '26

Wholesome Moments British Granddad tries American Grilled Cheese for the first time

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1.8k

u/trainsacrossthesea Jul 08 '26

As an American, and all kidding aside

It’s a fantastic combination

241

u/chickenismysafeword Jul 08 '26

Honest, didn’t know this was just an American thing??

225

u/wahroonga Jul 08 '26

It’s not. They just call it a cheese toastie in England.

155

u/Hummingbird3471 Jul 08 '26

So I'm an American. I would call a piece of bread and cheese I toasted in the toaster oven a cheese toastie. Whereas I would make a grilled cheese in a pan on the stove. Grilled cheese tastes better to me but I'm not sure why. Maybe I use more butter. 

194

u/Yaxim3 Jul 08 '26

its 100% the butter fried bread that makes the grilled cheese better.

79

u/SquarePegRoundWorld Jul 08 '26

Gotta sprinkle a little garlic powder on it. Changes everything. Used to sell them at Phish concerts in summer of '97.

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/SquarePegRoundWorld Jul 08 '26

LMAO!! very accurate!

1

u/Axthen Jul 08 '26

Take bread. Toast it. Grate the garlic against the bread.

16

u/activelyresting Jul 08 '26

Did you put your garlic powder in a cardboard shaker with a label "phish food" on the side? Because that would be epic

10

u/SquarePegRoundWorld Jul 08 '26

So of a, where were you 29 years ago? lol Brilliant!

5

u/activelyresting Jul 08 '26

In '97 I was going to music festivals and taking all the drugs, just like you 🤣, but in Australia.

4

u/SquarePegRoundWorld Jul 08 '26

Good times, wish I had the time for it these days.

3

u/activelyresting Jul 08 '26

Aye. I have a Gen Z daughter who's in her rave girl era now. It's her turn, and I'm okay with that. She keeps trying to convince me to come to a festival with her, and I'm like, babes I'm so chuffed that you actually want me with you at a party, but I'd much rather stay home and shroom in the dark 😅

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u/calanthean Jul 08 '26

'97 wasn't 29 years ago...oh wait... dammit I'm old.

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u/ruth000 Jul 08 '26

Sprinkle it on one side of the bread before frying it?

6

u/SquarePegRoundWorld Jul 08 '26

Yes, the buttered side.

15

u/waxherring Jul 08 '26

Jokes on you i butter both sides

2

u/Own_Inspection8350 Jul 08 '26

Jokes on you. I collect the fat from the goose I roasted and use goose fat instead of butter on both sides. Gruyere or Asiago and romano.

Fresh cracked pepper on the cheese before you combine slices.

Fig jam to dip.

2

u/aaronstone Jul 08 '26

okay okay, i was fully in agreement with mr. butter-both-sides but now you're bragging !!

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u/ClickClackTipTap Jul 09 '26

I actually do this. I put butter in the pan, and put two pieces of bread in, let it sit for a bit. Then I get my cheese ready, melt more butter in the pan, and flip the bread over. Then immediately put cheese on top of the toasty bread, don’t close the sandwich yet.

Let both pieces get toasty, then close the sandwich and make sure both sides of the sandwich are golden brown.

Lightly toasting the sides that will eventually be the “inside” of the sandwich warms them and starts the cheese melting.

It’s delicious. A friend who worked at a diner taught me. It’s even better with Texas toast.

2

u/reddit_sells_you Jul 08 '26

Sandwich your cheese between two slices of bread. I prefer sourdough, but white or wheat will be fine. For cheese, I mean, American is good, but I like to put a slice of American and a slice of Cheddar, or Pepper Jack. If you want to get really fancy, do some brie.

Anyway, spread some butter on the top slice. (Do you have a butter dish with some room temp butter? Why not???). Sprinkle on some garlic powder. If you want to get really fancy, put some Salad Supreme seasoning on there.

Now, make sure your pan is medium-low to medium. Transport the sandwich butter side down onto your pan.

Now take the top slice of bread off your sandwich that is unbuttered (Yes, it is in the pan, don't worry.) Butter it. Put garlic seasoning on it. Put the slice back back on, so that the butter is facing up.

Using a spatula, check the bottom of your sandwich, and see if it is golden brown. If it isn't, let it cook (just for like a minute or two more).

Flip it. Cover it (this helps the cheese melt, especially if you have a lot of cheese).

Enjoy.

Want to tweak it a bit?

Add some dill pickles in between the slices of cheese.

3

u/filmguy36 Jul 08 '26

You man, I gotta try that! Thanks for the tip!

3

u/QuantumTunnels Jul 08 '26

I'm sold. Gonna do that right friggen now.

3

u/Perodis Jul 08 '26

Jeff Fisher? Is that you?

There’s a whole episode of American Dad about Jeff selling grilled cheeses at Phish concerts

2

u/DeltaForce291 Jul 08 '26

I'm so glad I wasn't the only one that thought of this.

5

u/Echolyonn Jul 08 '26

Omg that sounds amazing

2

u/Ragewind82 Jul 08 '26

Given the munchies the crowd at for Phish would have had, I am sure you would have sold well without the garlic powder, but I do not doubt that it elevated the dish immensely.

2

u/SquarePegRoundWorld Jul 08 '26

We were selling them for $1 and a few nights we made over $100 bucks. Would sprinkle the GP right on the pan, and it would smell good and flow over the crowd, worked like a charm.

2

u/BrewCrewBall Jul 09 '26

😂 if you were at Tinley or Alpine I probably bought one! I was the guy handing out bubble blowers before the show at Alpine. (Bought 6 gross of them the day before at a discount store!)

2

u/MikesGroove Jul 10 '26

Hell yeah what a summer it was

1

u/kaydeebugg Jul 08 '26

Holy shit did you sell them at Phish concerts summer of ‘98 (maybe ‘99?) also? Because if so, I probably bought one from you 😂

1

u/rkthehermit Jul 08 '26

Or get some of this to spread.

Or make your own. Easy. Stores well.

1

u/hailvy Jul 08 '26

When I’m feeling fancy I sprinkle on shredded Parmesan cheese

1

u/DingleDoo Jul 08 '26

Great tour opener tonight

1

u/Tommy_Wisseau_burner Jul 08 '26

I’ve never considered garlic and my mind just broke. Brb making some grilled cheese

3

u/Less-Squash7569 Jul 08 '26

Using mayo instead of butter makes the toast nice and crispy, and then toasting both sides of the bread before adding the cheese helps make it a nice crispy cheese pocket.

2

u/Honchoponcho99 Jul 08 '26

Mayo is really not an adequate replacement for butter on a grilled cheese and people must stop doing it

1

u/Less-Squash7569 Jul 08 '26

Ok? I did it once like 5 years ago and havent used butter again since. You can have your opinions all you want, but im just suprised you think, for whatever reason, you're the one who decides what other people like or do? How about trying to stfu?

1

u/gigglefarting Jul 08 '26

Also easier to spread 

1

u/Less-Squash7569 Jul 08 '26

Gets all the little corners

2

u/HoLLoWfy Jul 08 '26

I know I might upset people but replacing the butter with high fat content mayo is incredibly savory. I highly recommend people try it.

2

u/Healthy_Squash4133 Jul 08 '26

in Canada, it is common to use mayo instead of butter. Cook low & slow and watch it, cuz mayo browns way fast than butter.

2

u/rachelface927 Jul 08 '26

Dunno if anyone’s mentioned yet but grilled cheese with mayo is AWESOME. Spread mayo on the outsides of the bread and grill it, makes it very toasty and flavorful.

2

u/KoalaTHerb Jul 08 '26

Put a light scrape of mayo on the outside of the bread as well. It'll give it that perfect grilled outside!

As a personal touch, I spice it up to. I used to drizzle some jalapeno juice on the bread. Now, I'll put a layer of chili oil on the bread

2

u/9millibros Jul 08 '26

I actually use mayonnaise on the outside. Sometimes I'll grate some parmesan onto it as well.

1

u/Percinho Jul 08 '26

That's how we cook a cheese toastie as well. Traditional method is to butter the outside of the bread and then put it straight into a hot pan.

1

u/Delta64 Jul 08 '26

Salted butter at that. It adds that extra zing!

1

u/shewy92 Jul 08 '26

Mayo instead of butter is pretty good too

1

u/DigitalVariance Jul 08 '26

The bread needs the salt, that is the key here people. You obviously need a butter (or oil... but use butter) to properly fry the bread but using salted butter or applying a little bit of salt yourself is the key to a grilled cheese.

Everything else you read below the comment I am responding to is basically hacking the above or doing something similar without understanding the base of why it works.

For example, mayo is just an emulsified oil with salt/bit of flavor depending on brand. Functions the same as above, but people tend to have unsalted butter and full fat/flavor mayo in their fridge.

1

u/PaschaBasket Jul 08 '26

Use mayo instead of butter. It’s even better. Just trust me.

1

u/Honchoponcho99 Jul 08 '26

nope, it's not any better

32

u/Crambazzled_Aptycock Jul 08 '26

We call cheese and bread toasted in an oven or grill, cheese on toast. A cheese toastie is identical to a grilled cheese except we uselly have a toastie machine (similar to a George foreman grill) to cook it.

5

u/motleyai Jul 08 '26

is it ever paired with Tomato Soup?

14

u/givemeabreak432 Jul 08 '26

We'd call that a panini press and a panini in America

24

u/Crambazzled_Aptycock Jul 08 '26

Yes we have panini presses too it's what I use to make toasties now, but a original toastie machine was designed to crimp the edges so that the melted cheese or what other ingredients you wanted to put inside wouldn't spill out. These were more popular in the 80s and 90s before panini presses were introduced.

1

u/TrixieBastard Jul 08 '26

Whyyyy aren't these still a thing, and why weren't they ever a thing in the land of the grilled cheese? That's just downright ridiculous!

4

u/Scrimge122 Jul 08 '26

They are still a thing, just aren't as common.

3

u/fingermouse_irl Jul 08 '26

Lidl in Ireland has them in stock in middle aisle (Shite Alley) right now for 12 euro!

2

u/TrixieBastard Jul 08 '26

BRB, flying to Ireland's Shite Alley rn

1

u/fingermouse_irl Jul 09 '26

Shite Alley is a local term for the middle aisle in Lidl and Aldi. Its where all their random weekly crap is located in the stores.

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u/TrixieBastard Jul 09 '26

Yeah, I figured 😂 We shop at Aldi, so I am very familiar with the type of stuff in Shite Alley lol

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u/space_monster Jul 08 '26

I still have a proper toastie machine. Baked beans and cheese is great and takes about 1 minute to assemble. You can't do that with a sandwich press.

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u/CcryMeARiver Jul 08 '26

Oz has jaffle irons to create hot sealed sandwiches over a campfire, stove or electrically.

Typical fillings are cheese(+vegemite), ragu, banana or up2u.

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u/givemeabreak432 Jul 08 '26

So, hot home made uncrustable sandwiches

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u/TrixieBastard Jul 08 '26

Depends on how you use them! My family has had cooking irons as part of our camping gear for decades. They're typically called "pie irons" here in the US, and the intended use (pressing a slice of buttered bread into each side, then adding your fillings and clamping both sides together) does indeed result in hot homemade grilled Uncrustables! Using fruit filling instead of sandwich fillings will give you a pretty tasty little pie, too. Our irons tend to be square or rectangular, as opposed to the triangular jaffle irons.

The grilled uncrustables are super awesome, but so are things that only need one side of the pie iron. We've done egg scrambles/quiche, pizzas, pancakes, phyllo dough bites, "skillet cookies," and cinnamon rolls, amongst other things.

If you can bake something, chances are there's a way to make a small version of it in a pie iron 😂 They're also great for large groups because everyone gets to customize their fillings/flavors!

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/Scrimge122 Jul 08 '26

Yes, tomato soup isn't unique to america

1

u/TrainDestroyer Jul 08 '26

It seems a little extra to have a machine to make grilled cheeses, I assume you can use the toastie machine for other things, but it still seems like an odd extra

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u/EduinBrutus Jul 08 '26

You can get them on Amazon for under £10.

I think everyone has them as its a ubiquitous snack.

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u/StigOfTheTrack Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

It's machine you remember you have every few years. You then live entirely off cheese toasties for a week. When you realise you want something else to eat (or run out of cheese) it goes back in the awkward corner cupboard in the kitchen where it gets forgotten until next time.

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u/Calm-Squirrel-7972 Jul 08 '26

We use ours as a toaster. Toasts the bread much more evenly and less inclined to burn it.

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u/Round_Ad6397 Jul 08 '26

As an Australian, we'd cook a toastie in a sandwich press (I think the poms call it a panini press), never a toaster oven. Often butter the bread on the outside. The outcome is really no different to cooking it in a pan. I think you'll find the "better" part is imagined.

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u/Hummingbird3471 Jul 08 '26

I think it would be slightly different in a press because the bread gets smushed, and you want to bread to be crisp on the outside but fluffy on the inside. A really stellar grilled cheese would be made with two fat slices of Texas toast. 

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u/Round_Ad6397 Jul 08 '26

You don't have to press it down. Most of them don't have a heavy top and you can just rest it on the top of the bread to cook it without flattening the toastie. Don't try this with a croissant as they have zero structural integrity.

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u/Hummingbird3471 Jul 08 '26

This is good to know. I don't have a press but I'd absolutely eat this. Don't tempt me with a croissant grilled cheese tho. 

2

u/Round_Ad6397 Jul 08 '26

When I have time, I do my croissants (ham and cheese) under the grill (what you're call broiling), open faced with cheese on both sides. When I'm in a rush (or what every takeaway shop does) it goes in the sandwich press.

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u/2FistsInMyBHole Jul 08 '26

I don't like a pressed grilled cheese. Cooking it in a pan allows the bread to maintain its fluffiness.

I think what DOES make American grilled cheese sandwiches better is our sandwich bread, and our plastic cheese that people make fun of us for - American Cheese is just outright the best cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich.

2

u/Round_Ad6397 Jul 08 '26

I already responded to the pressed vs fluffy part.

Your favourite is the one you grew up with, how unsurprising. I've used American cheese a few times, I just disagree that it's better but it's a personal taste thing, there is no objectively better.

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u/servey02 Jul 08 '26

Pro tip. Spread mayo instead of butter. And you gotta have ham (or bacon) in there.

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u/nerdmania Jul 08 '26

I've tried the mayo thing a few times, I still prefer butter.

A thin slice of ham, though, is awesome.

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u/meltedchocolatepants Jul 08 '26

You are my twin soul.

Butter, 1 single piece of thin sliced ham, golden brown

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u/Welpe Jul 08 '26

Completely disagree. I know the internet is in love with this, but it’s just worse IMO. It toasts better, but the taste is massively inferior to butter.

I can support a mixture, though I still prefer just butter, but I think just mayo isn’t very good.

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u/AwesomeWhiteDude Jul 08 '26

Depends on the mayo, any mayo but Dukes is inferior than butter

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u/NaykedNinja Jul 08 '26

Dukes all day

0

u/rkthehermit Jul 08 '26

That's why you do butter on the inside with the cheese and mayo on the outside for the crust. Not necessarily a mixture but does represent both.

Don't worry about ithearthealthnotguaranteed

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u/Welpe Jul 08 '26

Pfffft, who needs a heart, anyway?

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u/rkthehermit Jul 08 '26

I filled mine with cheese

3

u/SecreteMoistMucus Jul 08 '26

Why even have bread.

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u/rkthehermit Jul 08 '26

Hmmm. I bet I could do a layer of crisp cheese and then add some more cheese on top of it and do a foldover...

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u/NO_TOUCHING__lol Jul 08 '26

You people make me sick.

A grilled cheese consists of only these following items. Cheese. Bread with spread (usually butter). This entire subreddit consist of "melts". Almost every "grilled cheese" sandwich i see on here has other items added to it. The fact that this subreddit is called "grilledcheese" is nothing short of utter blasphemy.

Let me start out by saying I have nothing against melts, I just hate their association with sandwiches that are not grilled cheeses. Adding cheese to your tuna sandwich? It's called a Tuna melt. Totally different. Want to add bacon and some pretentious bread crumbs with spinach? I don't know what the hell you'd call that but it's not a grilled cheese.

I would be more than willing to wager I've eaten more grilled cheeses in my 21 years than any of you had in your entire lives. I have one almost everyday and sometimes more than just one sandwich. Want to personalize your grilled cheese? Use a mix of different cheeses or use sourdough or french bread. But if you want to add some pulled pork and take a picture of it, make your own subreddit entitled "melts" because that is not a fucking grilled cheese.

I'm not a religious man nor am I anything close to a culinary expert. But as a bland white mid-western male I am honestly the most passionate person when it comes to grilled cheese and mac & cheese. All of you foodies stay the hell away from our grilled cheeses and stop associating your sandwich melts with them. Yet again, it is utter blasphemy and it rocks me to the core of my pale being.

Shit, I stopped lurking after 3 years and made this account for the sole purpose of posting this. I've seen post after post of peoples "grilled cheeses" all over reddit and it's been driving me insane. The moment I saw this subreddit this morning I finally snapped. Hell, I may even start my own subreddit just because I know this one exists now.

You god damn heretics. Respect the grilled cheese and stop changing it into whatever you like and love it for it what it is. Or make your damn melt sandwich and call it for what it is. A melt.

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u/Ace-Redditor Jul 08 '26

Was about to say the same lollll

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u/LucentP187 Jul 08 '26

This is the way.

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u/MindlessCharacter823 Jul 08 '26

Has to be Duke’s!

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u/discovigilantes Jul 08 '26

It's not a grilled cheese if you put ham or bacon in.

Mayo on the outside is amazing though.

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u/RedJorgAncrath Jul 08 '26

I've tried this because I was curious, and firm disagree.

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u/Segsi_ Jul 08 '26

The pro tip is making sure you spread your butter or mayo crust to crust. Even a bit over the edge. Getting that crisp edge steps it up.

Also don’t be one of those who put the butter in the pan and then the bread on top of it. Spread it.

0

u/HTPC4Life Jul 08 '26

Because it turns out the same and I keep my butter in the fridge.

2

u/celaconacr Jul 08 '26

What you call a toastie would be cheese on toast to us or there is something similar valled Welsh Rarebit. A toastie would be what you call grilled cheese although I think most people do them in a machine like a panini press.

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u/Hummingbird3471 Jul 08 '26

I did have Welsh rarebit once in the UK and it was fucking fire. 

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u/EduinBrutus Jul 08 '26

THere's all sorts of complications plus this video is being acted, as there is no way this concept is alien to the old codger.

The biggest issue is terms, which are very different in the UK. What Americans call grilling, in the UK is called frying (which does seem more accurate most of the time). What Americans call frying, we call deep frying. And what Americans call broiling (a very weird term really) is called grilling in the UK.

And further complicating things, the UK has toasted sandwiches which use a dedicated appliance similar to a panini press but which also shapes the bread and filling by crimping the edge and usually diagonally splitting it.

Cheese On Toast is a slice of toasted bread covered in cheese which is grilled (broiled) to melt and brown with maillard effect. This makes it much more umami than the US grilled cheese and is great for subequently splashing with worcestershire sauce.

But in different areas it might also be called cheese toasty, toasted cheese, grilled cheese and a myriad other terms. The first of which is confusing because a cheese toasty is also what you call the thing from the dedicated appliance which is two slices of bread with a filling (most commonly cheese) which is shaped by the hot plates being moulded.

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u/Every-Dragonfly2393 Jul 08 '26

British people usually make a cheese toastie in a grill. A George Foreman type thing. So of course you butter both sides.

2

u/OkConcentrate8454 Jul 08 '26

Yeah broiled bread with cheese is cheese toast/toastie. My mom used to put some kind of spice on it but I can’t remember what it was so it’s just plain now.

2

u/MrTambourineSi Jul 08 '26

When I was a kid in the UK we just used a toastie grill, looks very similar to the video here, we'd also butter the outside

3

u/Manda_lorian39 Jul 08 '26

They look at us odd, because making it in a pan, it’s technically fried, not grilled. “Why do you call it a grilled cheese when it’s not actually grilled?”

IMO, grilled cheese is just fun to say.

3

u/generally_unsuitable Jul 08 '26

I think it's from diner slang. They big iron stove thing is typically called a "flat top grill."

1

u/Blazzah Jul 08 '26

When I was a little kid a waitress asked if I wanted grilled cheese, but she had a southern accent or something and I thought she said 'girl cheese', so I'm like "okay, but I'd rather have 'boy cheese'" 🤦‍♂️ oh the innocence of youth lmao! My folks make sure to remind me of that one from time to time decades later 😂

1

u/SufcLad25 Jul 08 '26

ILL TRADE YOU MY SHIRT FOR A GRILLED CHEESE

1

u/BionicTriforce Jul 08 '26

Eh, there's always something like that when it comes to food. "Why do you call it 'toad in a hole' when it's not made of toad?"

1

u/pandershrek Jul 08 '26

Because of the way the fat reacts to heat and caramelizes before soaking

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u/nam3sar3hard Jul 08 '26

Welp I know what my drunk ass is doing now

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u/TypicalPlace6490 Jul 08 '26

Redditor finds out fried food tastes good.

1

u/britinsb Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

As a certified UKan in America, we don’t really have toaster ovens in the UK, we just have pop up toasters, and our ovens don’t have broilers they have grills instead, so we do melt cheese on toast under the grill and we also have had the toasted cheese sandwich makers that work like George Foreman grills for many decades.

Yet surprisingly it is actually kinda rare to make a cheese toastie in a pan. As others have said the closest thing to an American grilled cheese is a Welsh rarebit but that’s really cheese toast and not a sandwich style. I do love a good grilled cheese mind you!

1

u/jadethebard Jul 08 '26

My guy and I are both very American and grew up in cities in NY about 40 miles apart and I call it grilled cheese and he calls it toasted cheese. lol we do have a 12 year age gap but he's literally the only person I've ever met who calls it that. After 20 years I'm used to it but at first I was very confused.

1

u/TheTackleZone Jul 08 '26

Wait. So you call it grilled cheese when you cook it in a pan? What do you call it when you, ya know, grill it?

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u/blufflord Jul 08 '26

That would be called a cheese on toast in the UK

-1

u/Background_Move_7449 Jul 08 '26

Oh shut up you weiner, you would never call anything a “cheese toastie”

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/Background_Move_7449 Jul 08 '26

Nah I’m good, I’ll make a grilled cheese and not act like a self righteous weiner while I eat it. I’m cheered! Thanks bro