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Comment on The American Grilled Cheese Sandwich Essay (2024)

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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.

It's convenient and makes a good colour, but I've always found it loses to butter in terms of flavour. Maybe a mix of the two would work well (like they put on banh mi, though I think that's often mayo+margarine)

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.

Real mayo is an emulsion of eggs and oil.

Miracle Whip? What's the sugar content on that label and the other ingredients. Is this even sold as food like thing or is it more of a candy condiment like 'chocolate sauce'?

Yes, Miracle Whip. Some folks use in place of mayonnaise for things like sandwiches and salads. The consistency is similar-ish to mayo, and it tends to taste more tart than store-bought mayo does (although mayo varies a great deal in this way).

It is nothing like chocolate sauce; it is definitely not a confection.

The first ingredient of Miracle Whip is water. But it does have eggs, and oil. And sugar. And other stuff.

It originated during the Great Depression; when people were broke as fuck and affording food was a challenge, Miracle Whip was a cheaper way to kinda-sorta get some of the same things done that mayonnaise would otherwise do.

(But things do change: These days, Miracle Whip tends to be more expensive than mayo.)

this is a good choice because it has less water content than solid butter and promotes better browning. Other options would be to use olive oil, tallow or ghee

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