"Grilled cheese?" More like Grilled! Cheese!

I can't EVEN articulately express how game-changing this discovery was. In one of her recent visits, my sister showed me that cheddar cheese--all by itself--can get toasted in a skillet without sticking, and that it turns into these amazing, crispy sheets that look like potato chips. It is absolutely the right choice for a number of occasions, and if you're able to do it (no lactose issues, no veganism, etc.), then you HAVE to do it.

Now, I consider cheese to be a legitimate food.

Right now I'm having a light dinner of apples and cheese, in which cheese--again, ALL BY ITSELF--is the main source of protein and fat. Right?!? Awesome!

Now, I like different cheeses at different temperatures and textures, but typically I like cheese to be served warm. Warm enough for the fats to liquefy.

Not only do I love the illusion of increased richness created by altering the texture, but I also love that heated cheese stops having what's typically one single texture (often like modeling clay), and splits into two or three textures (gooey, oil, and sometimes crisped).

Sure, some cheeses have multiple textures even when chilled, but let's pretend that I'm not including rinds, extra ingredients like dried fruits, or veins of mold in this discussion. Today's food project was specifically a deconstructed grilled cheese sandwich, for the "let's not bother with bread this time" crowd, so I used a Tillamook medium cheddar, and I stand by that choice.

In fact, I love that choice. By liquefying the already-present fats, this cheese ABSOLUTELY felt like a richer food, EVEN THOUGH the actual fat content decreased as the oil ran off. I wouldn't say that the decrease in fat content was enough to be medically significant, but it's absolutely enough to be MATHEMATICALLY interesting.

Alchemy, right?!?

The cheese even tastes noticeably saltier once it's been heated, despite no actual changes in the salt content. I love this alteration, as well, because I like salt. If I'm going to have a bit of the ol' NaCl anyway, then I want to taste it.

Sure, it might get a little tough when it cools, but it's easy enough to avoid that mistake. You just eat it before that happens.

So?

Again, our bottom line here is that heating up cheddar cheese directly in the skillet until it's just toasty enough to flip like a pancake is a brilliant idea.

Here's a photo:
(I put part of the skillet on the burner, and let part of it hover in the air, to help make the cheese heat unevenly. This helped diversify the cheese's textures in a more overt way, and was absolutely the right decision for the situation.)