When I was a child, I thought like a child, I ate like a child: PB&Js, BLTs and grilled cheese sandwiches made from slices of Velveeta melted to gooey perfection between two slices of skillet-toasted white bread.
But when I became an adult, I put away childish things. I grew out of Velveeta and Wonder bread. Grilled cheese sandwiches, however, are forever — assuming you know how to update them for a more grown-up palate.
Begin by using better bread. In place of the squishy white stuff, try something with more substance: a flavorful sourdough, sweet brioche, or crunchy baguette, for example. Buy a loaf, and slice it yourself into slabs about half an inch think (or halve the baguette lengthwise). The slices should be substantial enough to hold everything together but not so bulky that they overwhelm the flavor of the sandwich.
Next, add some interesting texture or flavors to the filling. Thin slices of sweet apple and spicy jalapenos complement sourdough slices nicely. The brioche makes a delicious and filling breakfast or brunch when stuffed with sliced ham, sauteed mushrooms and a fried egg. A baguette yields a bruschetta-like grilled cheese sandwich when dressed with fresh basil leaves, pesto and tomato confit.
The star in this show, of course, is the cheese. You can use the fanciest, stinkiest, crumbliest cheese your heart desires if you borrow a trick from the food scientists at Kraft. Flip over a box of Velveeta and you’ll find there, listed among the other ingredients, the reason that it slices so easily and melts so uniformly: sodium citrate. This white, crystalline ingredient looks like salt, and in fact it is a salt — a salt of citric acid, which is a natural component of citrus fruits. You can buy sodium citrate at some brewer supply stores or order it readily online.
I keep a big jar of the stuff in my pantry because it is so useful for making cheese sauces for pasta, nachos or fondue. Just dissolve 11 grams of sodium citrate into 1 1/8 cups (265 milliliters) of milk or water over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and gradually whisk or blend in 285 grams of finely grated cheese (3 to 4 cups, depending on the kind of cheese and coarseness of the grater). As the cheese melts, the sodium citrate serves as an emulsifier and prevents the fat from splitting off to form a greasy slick on top.
The recipe below riffs on this technique to make a thicker cheese sauce that sets into an even sheet, perfect for cutting into slices and adding to sandwiches. Use whatever kind or blend of cheeses and liquids you want (cold wheat beer works well in place of water). Add the weights of the cheese and liquid, and multiply the total by 0.028 to get the amount of sodium citrate to use.
For example, you can make 500 grams of emulsified cheese (enough for 12 to 14 slices) by blending 14 grams of sodium citrate into 115 milliliters of cold wheat beer, simmering, and blending in 200 grams (3 cups) of grated Gruyere and 180 grams (3 cups) of grated sharp cheddar.
Poured into a warm baking sheet and covered with plastic wrap, the cheese becomes solid after about two hours in the refrigerator. The slices, when individually wrapped in plastic or parchment paper, will keep for up to two months in the freezer. They thaw quickly, so when you get that Sunday afternoon urge for a quick grilled cheese blast from the past, you can recreate a fond memory from childhood in no time.
If possible, weigh the cheese in the recipe below rather than relying on volume measurements; volumes can vary greatly with the kind of cheese and fineness of grating.
AGED WHITE CHEDDAR ON SOURDOUGH WITH APPLES
Start to finish: 2 1/2 hours (30 minutes active)
Makes 4 sandwiches
For the cheese slices:
3 teaspoons (14 grams) sodium citrate
1/2 cup (115 milliliters) water
6 cups (380 grams) aged white cheddar cheese, grated
For the sandwich:
Butter
8 slices sourdough bread, about 1/2 inch thick
8 very thin slices apple (Honeycrisp, or your favorite variety)
3 tablespoons (30 grams) thinly sliced jalapenos
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