By Destiny Alleman
Looking down at the warm embrace of cheese and toasted Martin’s potato bread comforts me with the familiar aroma of sweetness, mirth, and family. I can’t wait to dig in. I know my mom has stacked two Kraft singles in between my childhood favorite spongy bread before buttering the outsides. It smells like heaven. Despite my family’s opposing worlds, my father’s American culture and my mother’s background of African cooking make a simple, yet deeply soothing comfort dish. Grilled cheese.
Grilled cheese sandwich from the Jolly Pumpkin - located in Ann Arbor, MI. Taken 11/04/23 by Destiny Alleman.
The grilled cheese emerged as an American staple food in the Great Depression era (Kuecker). While this was its popularity peak due to its widespread convenience and accessibility, the American artisanal cheese-making industry refined its taste. It was carried on by conscientious U.S. women who experimented with “caseyculture” (Keenan). Caseyculture is an industry tied to the culturing of cheese - one of grilled cheese’s optimal ingredients, according to the Wall Street Journal. Investigating historical times, we find that American women were the propellers of the heart of American food culture. “Some were back-to-the-landers, or interested in the "eat local" movement… still others were inspired by lush French goat cheeses and the burgeoning California cuisine” (Keenan).
A view from Sava’s - where I had a grilled cheese sandwich. This is right beside State Street. Taken 10/21/23 by Destiny Alleman.
Grilled chicken cheese sandwich, alongside salad, from my trip to Tyson’s Corner in VA. Taken 11/22/23 by Destiny Alleman.
We can thank the industry behind culturing cheese for our delicious grilled cheese enjoyed today in American restaurants. One famous name in modern American food culture is Guy Fieri, who, in his hit-show series of Flavortown, explores grilled cheese among other relevant dishes in United States pop culture (Contois). As I see it, American food culture encompasses various foods from around the world resembling our diversity in ethnicity and thought. Although other countries perceive us as only eating hamburgers, they are missing cultural gems such as the adapted Jamaican jerk chicken and carne asada. The existence of countless cultures around us fuel the authenticity of distinctive restaurants around the United States.
While some dismiss the existence of a said ‘American culture’, Contois suggests that it embodies the “assimilation of minorities” into a collective community of the American people. We can argue that we are individualistic as a nation, but American food culture supports multiculturalism more than we think. I grew up in a household with an African mother and American father. While I could think of tangible outstanding qualities from my Zimbabwean heritage, in the past I found myself undermining American food culture because it infiltrated every aspect of my life. Nevertheless, I view American food culture as a heartwarming multicultural, inclusive dance between substantial traditions. From the Spanish “bocadillo de queso” to the Indian “paneer sandwich”, other international cultures unexpectedly connect to the product of the American grilled cheese sandwich. Rather than ignore American food culture, we can emphasize its phenomenal ability to bring vastly different identities to appreciate the grilled cheese sandwich.
Its top crunchy outer piece of sweet crisp bread describes my first learning experience in cooking with my mom. Its gooey, hearty inner layer of umami cheese reminds me of the cozy nights with my family whenever I am homesick. Its grilled, sealing final piece solidifies the simmer of interest it gave me to further my cooking skills.
In my multicultural family, the grilled cheese sandwich holds a special spot in my heart because it brings me back to that feeling of home. The nostalgic spark it elicits whenever I have the opportunity to enjoy its presence. Through the journey spanning years of discovering grilled cheese, I have grown as an individual through my cultural perspective. Seeming to demonstrate an illusion of simple bread and cheese, grilled cheese requests me to go deeper into my identity - to explore the foundations of the American ‘identity sandwich’.
Works Cited