When Does A Grilled Cheese Sandwich Become A Melt? Reddit Has Very Strong Opinions

There's no doubt that grilled cheese sandwiches and melts are both delicious delicacies involving bread and gooey cheese. However, the line between these two comforting sandwich categories is, well, melty. Few would question that a tuna-stuffed sandwich topped with the best cheese for a tuna melt can't be called a grilled cheese in good faith. But what about a grilled cheese with smoky pulled pork or a pizza-inspired grilled cheese? Where do you draw the line? Naturally, internet commentators are happy to weigh in.

In a Reddit thread on the r/grilledcheese subreddit, commenters came to the general consensus that adding condiments, spices, and spreads to a so-called grilled cheese is acceptable. However, any addition of meat, seafood, or structurally significant fruits and vegetables pushes a sandwich into melt territory (in other words, you might want to think twice before posting about your delicious leftover burger meat grilled cheese on Reddit). 

What classifies a condiment, spice, or spread is another can of worms – a post showcasing a gorgeous sourdough grilled cheese filled with havarti and blueberry compote sparked a fierce sub-debate over whether compote can be considered a condiment, leading one commenter to lament that the sandwich was "too grilled cheese to be a melt, too melt to be a grilled cheese." Despite the heated criticism for being a borderline melt, most agreed that the sandwich looked delicious.

While the condiment, spice, or spread rule seems to be widely accepted, other Reddit users take a more conservative stance on the line between a grilled cheese and a melt. In a profanity-laced, paragraphs-long post, one individual raged against anyone who dared spoil the grilled cheese name with anything beyond bread, cheese, and spread (which could be mayo or butter, depending on your stance in another great grilled-cheese debate). 

In an equally heated response to said rant, another user took a more liberal approach, arguing that you can add whatever you want to a grilled cheese as long as cheese remains the primary ingredient.

Unfortunately, more official sources are not much help here — according to the Cambridge Dictionary, a melt is "a sandwich containing melted cheese." This rather vague definition means all grilled cheeses are melts, but not all melts are grilled cheeses, because that is defined as "a cheese sandwich that has butter spread on the outside of the bread before being fried" (clearly they've never enjoyed a crispy, mayo-slathered grilled cheese). These definitions raise more questions than answers, and clearly, the gooey debate of when a grilled cheese becomes a melt won't be resolved any time soon. The good news? A cheesy, melty grilled sandwich is just as tasty and comforting, no matter what you call it.