The Bold Condiment To Make Your Grilled Cheese Pop

If you have been eating grilled cheese sandwiches since childhood, they may sound boring unless bacon or some kind of slowly roasted meat like pulled pork is used to elevate the sandwich. Nothing against some applewood smoked bacon or braised short ribs, but incorporating those ingredients into your grilled cheese requires an extra trip to the grocery store and can be fairly expensive to purchase. However, there is an easy and inexpensive ingredient you can add to your grilled cheese that will excite your tastebuds. And you likely have this condiment in your refrigerator already.

No matter what extras you add to your grilled cheese, it's not a grilled cheese without some melty, gooey cheese. Picking the right cheese might seem a bit overwhelming with all of the options at the grocery store, but Taste of Home says to go with Colby, provolone, blue cheese, Muenster, or Monterey Jack. Heck, why not use two of them? The other essential grilled cheese ingredient, of course, is bread. Multigrain, sourdough and ciabatta make the list of best breads for the classic sandwich by Food & Wine. Or think outside the box and use a couple of pieces of garlic naan. 

But if you want to make a grilled cheese and all you have in your kitchen is white bread and cheddar cheese, there is still a great way to make the sandwich stand out and delight your taste buds.

Odds are you have one (or even two of three) jars of mustard in your refrigerator at home. The condiment comes in many varieties, from the standard yellow to the slightly sweet honey mustard, as well as in different textures.

When Ina Garten makes her Ultimate Grilled Cheese, she opts for Dijon mustard to pair with gruyere and cheddar cheeses, according to The Food Network. She transforms the Dijon mustard into a spread with mayonnaise and grated parmesan cheese that is slathered onto the bread. Martha Stewart also adds mustard to a grilled cheese, but in this case, the recipe calls for a grainy mustard and sharp cheddar cheese. Grainy mustard, per Taste of Home, contains mustard seeds that can be easily seen.

To make sure your mustard choice complements your cheese, Cheese Professor recommends analyzing their flavors and textures. Three rules should be followed to make sure the pairing works well: match intensities of the cheese and mustard, have contrasting flavors and select different textures. Think a smooth and creamy cheese with a grainy mustard or a spicy cheese with a slightly sweet mustard. A sharp cheddar does best with a highly flavorful mustard like Dijon, according to Cheese Professor.

So, next time you are in the kitchen assembling a grilled cheese, don't forget to spread on some mustard for a big pop of flavor.