The Ham And Cheese Sandwich Upgrade You Might Not Have Considered

Before hot dogs became the "it" food to order up while watching your favorite baseball team play, the classic ham and cheese sandwich was making a play to be the food of choice at the ballpark — and it did, at least for a while. This sandwich is made with a bread of choice, cheddar cheese or another forlorn cousin with the same orange color, and slices of spiral ham. It has a French counterpart known as Croque Monsieur, which is always warmed and uses an ingredient you might want to consider using for your next ham and cheese sandwich. Instead of using American or cheddar cheese, it uses Gruyere; this simple change in cheese can give your classic sandwich a flavor upgrade.

This swap is intuitive and easy to make; it requires no special tools and hits all the right notes for your taste buds. While cheddar cheese is a dependable go-to, using slices of Gruyere, Havarti, provolone, or hot pepper cheese will dramatically shift the notes of sweet, savory, nutty, and heat-inducing that works perfectly with the ham and bread.  

Gruyere cheese is both nutty and creamy in taste. It's rich and delicious like butter when it melts and pairs perfectly with ham's sweet and salty nature; it is a perfect stand-in for cheddar. But if you are hankering for ham and Swiss, you will love how Swiss cheese plays a great supporting role with its mild flavor, which allows the ham's sweet and salty notes to be the star of your simple sandwich. This coupling is reminiscent of a Cubano sandwich, which also layers on some pork, mustard, and pickles.

If you want to add a little kick to your sandwich, reach for some pepper jack cheese. This cheese has a spicy taste thanks to the jalapeño peppers and a creamy texture with great meltability, but it cuts the fatty nature of the ham without overpowering it. It also balances out the sweetness of leftover holiday ham, combining it with a little peppery heat.

Havarti cheese's buttery taste is also worth exploring. Dill Havarti is a semi-soft cheese that will add to your ham sandwich, and it has a little bit of herby goodness that is both subtle and noticeable.

Of course, if you are a blue cheese lover, nothing says you can't use this salty cheese with its signature hue on a ham sandwich. Its distinct taste and velvety consistency contrast perfectly with that of the ham. Drizzle some honey on this combo and enjoy the sweet, floral notes it adds.