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Health & Fitness

Ode to Cheese

How can we even pretend to properly address all things burger without talking about…

Cheese!

In my world, a burger without cheese is like a day without sunshine.

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Random sidebar before we get too deep into this subject: My brother, Jack, bemoans the fact that Monterey Jack cheese is rarely found on any burger menu. If his name was, uh, let’s say, “Swiss,” would he have the same problem?

Anyhoo, my cheese of choice is somewhat mood dependent. If I’m doing the family thing, I’ll order cheddar for me and the kiddos. Cheddar just seems like the most wholesome choice, and I don’t want to expose them to the dark side, American cheese, for fear that they will like it too much. Cheddar is yummy enough, especially if it’s a high quality, sharp cheddar.

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That said, when I’m really letting my hair down, American is my go-to cheese. Please do not tell my mother (she’s not online, thank god), or any of my sophisticated friends…

Ha! who am I trying to kid? My friends are all delightfully immature – much like American cheese.

With American cheese, there’s no need for an aging process, it’s just cranked out by the vat-load in major factories all over the world. I know it’s totally processed and devoid of any nutritional value – yes, yes, I get all that – but did I ever tell you that I was raised by the archetypal granola cruncher of a mother? She made her own yogurt and snuck Brewer’s yeast into our orange juice. So save your nutritional lecture for someone else’s blog. I’m only concerned with the melt factor here, and its soft creamy contrast to the delightful char on top of a properly cooked burger. When you sink your teeth into a burger topped with American cheese and it drips down your fingers, few things in life top that joy!

So now let’s talk about when we are feeling like grownups, maybe out with some friends for a weekend lunch, ordering a quality, grown-up burger. This scene doesn’t call for gooey American – you and I both know you want the pleasantly stinky satisfaction of a little Danish Blue Cheese on that big girl burger. Yum, the tanginess if the cheese juxtaposed by the saltiness of the meat and the sweetness of the bun, mmmm,mmmm,mmmm!

Really, when it comes to cheese on a burger, all I say is, “Bring it on!”

 

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