A cheese sandwich is a

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

made with

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

on bread. Typically semi-hard cheeses are used for the filling, such as

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and t ...

Red Leicester Red Leicester (also known simply as Leicester or Leicestershire cheese) is an English cheese, made in a similar manner to Cheddar cheese, although it is crumbly in texture and typically sold at 6 to 12 months of age. The rind is reddish-orange wi ...

, or

Double Gloucester Gloucester is a traditional, semi-hard cheese which has been made in Gloucestershire, England, since the 16th century. There are two varieties of the cheese, Single and Double; both are traditionally made from milk from Gloucester cattle. Both ...

. A ''Guardian'' article called the cheese sandwich a " British lunchtime staple". Using a

sandwich toaster A pie iron—also called pudgy pie iron, sandwich toaster, snackwicher, toastie maker, that consists of two hinged concave, round or square, cast iron or aluminium plates on long handles. Its "clamshell" design resembles that of a waffle iro ...

frying pan A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab han ...

can transform the cheese sandwich into a cheese toastie. When a meat sandwich is prepared, the cheese becomes the accompaniment, and the sandwich is known by other names such as

ham sandwich The ham sandwich is a common type of sandwich. The bread may be fresh or toasted, and it can be made with a variety of toppings including cheese and vegetables like lettuce, tomato, onion or pickle slices. Various kinds of mustard and mayonnais ...

, tuna sandwich, etc. If the cheese is melted on such a sandwich, the term

melt sandwich A melt sandwich is a type of hot sandwich containing cheese (sometimes grated) and some type of filling such as meat or vegetables. The sandwich is then heated until the cheese is melted. It is the filling that establishes the melt sandwich a ...

is used.

Variants

Popular British variants include the

cheese and pickle sandwich A cheese and pickle sandwich (sometimes known as a cheese and chutney sandwich or a ploughman's sandwich from its resemblance to a ploughman's lunch) is a British sandwich. As its name suggests, it consists of sliced or grated cheese (typically Ch ...

, the

cheese and tomato sandwich A tomato sandwich is a sandwich of tomatoes between slices of bread. The bread of a tomato sandwich is typically spread with mayonnaise. A tomato sandwich may also be seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, anchovies, parsley or basil. Adding c ...

and the cheese and onion sandwich. A

grilled cheese A grilled cheese (sometimes known as a toasted sandwich or cheese toastie) is a hot sandwich typically prepared by heating one or more slices of cheese between slices of bread, with a cooking fat such as butter, on a frying pan, griddle, or san ...

sandwich is a popular American cheese sandwich, in which the sandwich is heated until the cheese melts. An Italian variation is the carrozza, a mozzarella cheese sandwich coated in egg and flour and fried.

Popularity

By 2014 the cheese sandwich was declining in popularity in the United Kingdom. A survey of 2,000 adults’ eating habits by YouGov in December 2014 found that 55% of British adults had not eaten a cheese sandwich during the previous week. In response, in 2015 Anchor Cheddar launched a campaign, using a bus designed to look like a cheese sandwich, to encourage the consumption of this type of food. In 2017, a survey by

YouGov YouGov is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In 2007, it acquired US company Polimetrix, and sinc ...

found that 36% of British people said that cheese is their favourite sandwich filling, and in 2018, a survey of 2000 British people, found that a plain cheese sandwich was the most popular type of sandwich. By 2020 however, a similar study showed that the plain cheese sandwich had become less popular and the

bacon sandwich A bacon sandwich (also known in parts of the United Kingdom and New Zealand as a bacon butty, bacon bap or bacon sarnie, and in parts of Ireland as a rasher sandwich) is a sandwich of cooked bacon between bread that is optionally spread with bu ...

was the favourite.

Health warnings

In 2008, the

Food Standards Agency , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Food Standards Agency.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , ...

warned that one cheese sandwich contains more than half the recommended daily amount of

saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched c ...

. In 2012, Action on Salt campaigned for cheese sandwiches to come with a health warning. The group reported, that the high quantities of salt, contained in the main ingredients of a cheese sandwich, could lead to children consuming an excessive amount. In response, the Dairy Council said that it was wrong to say that cheese sandwiches are not good for you. Action on Salt later withdrew the press release, citing an error.

Research

A study by

Len Fisher Leonard Ross Fisher (born 1942) is an Australian physicist, and visiting senior research fellow at the University of Bristol, UK. He is known for his research into everyday topics, such as the optimal way to dunk a biscuit, and the optimum use ...

at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 2003, found that the optimum thickness for the filling in a cheese sandwich is dependent on the type of cheese used, and that the sandwich should be made with a light spread of

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...

to enhance the flavour of the cheese. This research has drawn criticism for being 'frivolous'.

History

While the original invention of the cheese sandwich is not known to be documented, some interpretations of

William Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

1602 play,

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

report that the line "I love not the humour of bread and cheese" was the first written reference to a cheese sandwich. In January 1889, in

Greenville, Pennsylvania Greenville is a borough with home rule status in northwestern Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located along the Shenango River, it lies roughly 80 miles from both Pittsburgh and Cleveland. It is 1.89 square miles in area, and had a ...

, Henry Hoffman, George Smith and Teddy Atkins took part in a cheese sandwich eating contest. Hoffman won the contest, eating 16 sandwiches in 15 minutes.

In popular culture

The 1903, British short silent

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

, called ''

The Cheese Mites ''The Cheese Mites'' ( 1903) is a British short silent documentary film, produced by Charles Urban and directed by F. Martin Duncan. Plot A gentleman is put off his lunch when he holds up a magnifying glass and sees a microscopic view of the ...

'', features a man making a cheese sandwich and examining it with a

magnifying glass A magnifying glass is a convex lens that is used to produce a magnified image of an object. The lens is usually mounted in a frame with a handle. A magnifying glass can be used to focus light, such as to concentrate the sun's radiation to crea ...

as its main storyline.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheese Sandwich American sandwiches British sandwiches Cheese dishes World cuisine