Cheese on toast is made by placing sliced or grated

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range 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 prod ...

on toasted bread and melting it under a grill. It is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, United States, and in African countries.

Recipes

Cheese on toast consists of toast (toasted on both sides or just one side), with cheese placed on it and then grilled. Further toppings are optional; the most basic being chopped

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified ...

(raw or grilled with the cheese),

brown sauce Brown sauce is a condiment that is normally dark brown in colour. Its taste is either tart or sweet with a peppery note similar to that of Worcestershire sauce. A.1. Sauce was the first brown sauce and was introduced in 1831. Description Bro ...

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...

. Pickled

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Branston pickle Branston is an English food brand best known for the original Branston Pickle, a sweet pickle first made in 1922 in the village of Branston, Staffordshire, Branston near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, by Crosse & Blackwell. The Branston fact ...

, fried

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es, fried eggs,

Worcestershire sauce Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (UK: ) is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century ...

and

baked beans Baked beans is a Dish (food), dish traditionally containing white Phaseolus vulgaris, common beans that are parboiling, parboiled and then baking, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. Canned baked beans are not baked, but ar ...

are also common. Recipe books and internet articles tend to elaborate on the basics, adding ingredients and specifying accompaniments to make more interesting reading. Consequently, published recipes seldom deal with the most basic form of the dish and frequently refer to the similar dish of

Welsh rarebit Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit ( or ) is a dish of hot cheese sauce, often including ale, mustard, or Worcestershire sauce, served on toasted bread. The origins of the name are unknown, though the earliest recorded use is 1725 as "Welsh ra ...

as "

posh Posh is today an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen *" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' * ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 ...

cheese on toast".

Cheddar cheese Cheddar cheese (or simply cheddar) is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white (or orange if colourings such as annatto are added), and sometimes sharp-tasting. It originates from the English village of Cheddar, Somerset, Cheddar in ...

is most commonly used for cheese on toast, as it is a particularly good cheese for toasting. Lancashire dairies, in conjunction with a "National Cheese Toast Day", have promoted

Lancashire cheese Lancashire is an English cow's-milk cheese from the county of Lancashire. There are three distinct varieties of Lancashire cheese. Young ''Creamy Lancashire'' and mature ''Tasty Lancashire'' are produced by a traditional method, whereas ''Crumbly ...

as the best cheese to use.

Cheese dream

The cheese dream is an open-faced version of the American grilled cheese sandwich made with

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

and

; it is cooked with either

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), 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 ...

, or

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

. Other ingredients such as

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

, eggs, or sliced

can be optionally added to the open-faced sandwich as well. James Beard wrote about cheese dreams in his book “James Beard’s Simple Foods”, describing the sandwich as "a slice of tomato on bread, covered with American cheese which was melted under the broiler and then graced with crisp bacon". It can be cooked in a pan or skillet on the stove top, under a

broiler Breed broiler is any chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') that is bred and raised specifically for meat production. Most commercial broilers reach slaughter weight between four and six weeks of age, although slower growing breeds reach slaug ...

or using a pan in the oven. In its simplest form, it consists of a slice of bread, topped with

American cheese American cheese is a type of processed cheese made from Cheddar cheese, cheddar, Colby cheese, Colby, or similar cheeses, in conjunction with sodium citrate, which permits the cheese to be pasteurized without its components separating. It is mi ...

, and broiled until the cheese puffs up and browns. The cheese dream may have originated during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, as "an inexpensive company supper dish" and an inexpensive option for feeding friends and family at Sunday supper.Marty Meitu
Dreaming up variations of grilled cheese
Oct 10, 2001 ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' p. 29 (Scripps News Service) Additions of sliced

tomatoes The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was d ...

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

and

could be used, and they were often accompanied by

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

and

pickles Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to: Food * Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling * Pickled cucumber * Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...

. A 1932 ''San Jose News'' story, "Cheese Dream New Favorite Sandwich," suggested sprinkling the cheese "very sparingly" with a bit of

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

"and a little minced red sweet pepper"; the sandwich was browned on both sides and served with "very hot, rich tomato sauce." The sandwiches may predate the Depression, however, as a 1918 ''Good Housekeeping'' issue mentions Cheese Dreams as a luncheon dish, "our teahouse friend." Cheese dreams were advertised in 1957 as a 55-cent () luncheonette lenten special in

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropo ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

's ''Sunday News Journal''. The term Cheese Dream has also been used to describe grilled cheese sandwiches, and, in one instance, to Croque monsieur.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheese On Toast British cuisine Irish cuisine Caribbean cuisine Australian sandwiches New Zealand cuisine African cuisine Cheese dishes Toast dishes Food combinations Open-faced sandwiches

Recipes

Cheese dream

See also

References