We eat enough grilled cheese sandwiches a year to fill 900 Olympic-sized swimming pools

A new statewide survey of 5,000 adults in the United States found that the average person eats 36 grilled cheese sandwiches per year. If everyone in the country ate the average amount in a year, it would be enough to cover 29,180 football fields with the classic sandwich.

Currently, Americans eat enough grilled cheese sandwiches in a year to fill nearly 900 Olympic swimming pools.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are a popular comfort food. They’re perfect for quick and easy weekday meals, munchies, and rainy, warm-up days.

Americans love their grilled cheese sandwiches so much that they are often considered the ideal meal to eat throughout the day. 62% agree that it’s best to make the grilled cheese sandwich at home, and 40% said they prefer to eat it at lunch rather than any other time of the day.

In an interesting twist, Mississippians say they prefer to enjoy it as a breakfast option, while those in Kentucky find it best as an afternoon snack. South Dakota finds it perfect for dinner and Oregon prefers to use them to curb late-night snack cravings.

There is no right way to do this

There’s even a holiday. National Grilled Cheese Day is celebrated every April 12. What better proof do you need that Americans are big fans of this easy-to-make sandwich.

Of course, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to their grilled cheese sandwiches.

The study, commissioned by Pepperidge Farm and conducted by OnePoll, asked respondents what the hypothetical “perfect” grilled cheese looks like. The top answer: two slices of American cheese on white bread, medium toasted, cut diagonally.

Everyone agrees that this sandwich is a tried-and-true classic whose basic components are at least some form of melted cheese on two slices of toast. However, many states disagree on the intricacies needed to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

Most people agree that butter is the best coating for the toasted part of the bread. But even that has led to some controversy. Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, and Utah all prefer to butter both the inside and the outside. Meanwhile, California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia all prefer to butter only the inside of the sandwich. And some substitute mayonnaise for butter or margarine. Sacrilege.

There has also been much debate about what might be between the slices of bread. Ham and bacon were the most popular additional ingredients to add in all states.

“I was talking to my French boyfriend the other day, and he was horrified by what we ate for school lunches growing up and grilled cheese was part of that conversation,” says Catherine Xu of Day Trip Nomad. “For them, something similar but in mini format was only served as an appetizer very occasionally and everyone was only allowed a maximum of one in their cafeteria. Personally, I eat it with tomato soup when it’s around, but I think it’s as simple (and unhealthy) as possible.

Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee and Wyoming are sandwich purists, choosing to use only cheese.

Rhode Island stands out for its preference: choosing fresh tomatoes over everything else.

More than half agreed that American cheese was the best option for the sandwich.

Get this bread

“We asked and America answered: Good bread is essential to making the best grilled cheese sandwich,” said Ama Auwarter, vice president of bakery marketing for Campbell Snacks. “We couldn’t agree more. A bread that packs that delicious fresh-from-the-oven flavor is sure to enhance every grilled cheese sandwich. »

While 43 percent of respondents said the bread-to-cheese ratio was the “most important element” of the sandwich, bread was found to be most important in Connecticut, Maryland and New York. The preferred types of bread are white bread, sourdough bread and wheat bread. Overall, all states agreed that white bread was best to use to create the perfect sandwich.

Four in ten people said they preferred thicker bread to thinner bread, which is still preferred by at least 33%.

For many grilled cheese lovers, their favorite bread should be well toasted, crisp on the outside, hold the ingredients together, and have a soft interior.

The degree of toasting, however, is up for debate. Three out of four people said bread should be “medium toasted,” though states like California, New Mexico and North Carolina prefer lightly toasted bread.

Florida and Maine both prefer their bread heavily toasted, although Colorado, Kentucky, and Oklahoma all prefer their bread completely burned.

More than half of those surveyed agreed that cutting diagonally was the best way to split a grilled cheese sandwich.

No matter how much Americans prefer their grilled cheese sandwiches, they will always remain a beloved classic. From restaurant menus to perfect sick day meals, the grilled cheese sandwich is the ultimate comfort food.

This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.

Copyright 2024 Wealth of Geeks

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