What is the best cheese for cold sandwiches?
Introduction
Are you a cheese lover? If so, you’ll know that the only thing better than tucking into a delicious wedge of cheese is tucking into a cheese sandwich!
Sandwiches are one of life’s many pleasures.
At their heart, they’re so simple, and yet, they’re also so delicious at the same time.
One of the best things about sandwiches is the fact that you can add a whole variety of different fillings to them, along with different slices of bread, different sauces, and different accompaniments.
As any true cheese and/or sandwich connoisseur will attest to, however, no deli sandwich would be complete without cheese of some kind.
Whereas a lot of sandwiches have gooey melted cheese inside, cold sandwiches with cold cheese can be just as delicious, if not more so.
The problem is finding the right cheese to complement a cold sandwich.
But what is the best cheese for cold sandwiches?
Here are some options to choose from.
The Best Cheese for Cold Sandwiches:
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese, which is particularly popular in England, is one of the most versatile cheeses on the market today.
It varies from mild to sharp and goes with all manner of cold fillings in sandwiches.
Depending on the age of the cheese itself, you’ll find that this significantly impacts the flavor.
A young cheddar, for example, is mild, whereas a mature cheddar, or extra mature cheddar, is much sharper and has a nutty taste compared with a creamy and buttery taste.
Because cheddar flavors vary so much depending on the age, finding the proper cheddar to compliment a cold sandwich is very easy.
Popular choices include cheddar cheese and onion, cheddar cheese and tomato, or mature cheddar, pickled onion, and chutney.
Mozzarella cheese
Believe it or not, mozzarella cheese is actually one of the best cheeses to have with a cold sandwich.
People assume that mozzarella cheese has to be warm and melted because we associate it with pizza when the truth of the matter is that a lot of Mediterranean sandwich fillings often use mozzarella in its cold and “raw” form.
Mozzarella is a mild cheese with a creamy and salty taste, which makes it ideal for enhancing the taste of other sandwich-filling ingredients. Cold Parma ham, rocket salad leaves, tomatoes, mozzarella, and balsamic glaze in a focaccia bread is a real winner, or you can simply go with basil, tomato, and mozzarella if you wish to keep things simple.
Swiss cheese
Swiss cheese, which you’ll likely recognize from children’s cartoons due to the holes found in it, is another cheese that works exceptionally well for people looking for a cheese to add to their cold sandwiches.
When we talk about Swiss cheese, usually we’re referring to Emmenthal, though there are plenty of other popular Swiss cheese varieties to choose from.
Swiss cheese, such as Emmenthal, has a nutty, mild, slightly fruity flavor with undertones of cheddar.
If you want a cheese to compliment a cold sandwich filling, rather than overpower it, Swiss is the cheese for you.
A simple ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, and Swiss cheese on rye bread, for example, tastes amazing and is really enhanced thanks to the flavors of the cheese itself. Something stronger such as an extra mature cheddar, for example, would be overpowering.
Cream cheese
Cream cheese is usually sold as a spread that you simply spread onto your bread as you would butter.
Cream cheese is rich, creamy, and mild with just a hint of tangy acidity.
It works incredibly well in cold sandwiches as it is also soft and creamy, so it doesn’t need to be melted in order for it to turn rich and gooey.
A very popular way of using this cheese in cold sandwiches is with smoked salmon and cucumber.
You can also use it with pickled vegetables, as the sharpness from the pickling vinegar and spices cuts through the richness of the cheese wonderfully.
This cheese is delicious, but be warned, it is rich, so a little does go a long way.
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Blue cheese
So far, most of the cheeses we’ve looked at today have been fairly mild in taste.
Blue cheese, however, is most certainly an exception.
Blue cheese, such as stilton, has a very strong taste and aroma that isn’t for everybody. If you are a blue cheese fan, you’ll know just how wonderful it is.
Blue cheese is creamy, sharp, salty, and very aromatic.
It has a sharp taste that lasts a long time and can be very strong and overpowering, so you’ll want to use it sparingly.
Because the cheese is so sharp, it goes very well with fattier meats, making it great for most deli sandwiches.
If you want to get more of the blue cheese flavor and less of the creaminess. Use it with leaner sandwich meats such as chicken or turkey.
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Pepper Jack cheese
Finally, if you prefer your cheese to have a bit of a kick to it, Pepper Jack cheese is perfect.
Pepper Jack cheese is a variety of Monterey Jack cheese that has a nutty, buttery flavor with a kick, thanks to the inclusion of peppers and chilies.
The peppers and chilies in the cheese give it a bit of a kick, without blowing your head off, and they, too, are fantastic when used in cold sandwiches with fresh and flavourful ingredients.
The peppers and chilies enhance the flavors of the other ingredients, rather than overpowering them, which is why Pepper Jack cheese is so popular in delis all over the world.
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