Store-Bought Quiche Gets An Instant Homemade Makeover With This Quick Trick

Quiche may be, in the immortal words of the comedian Chris Fleming, nothing more than "pizza that went to private school," but there's no denying it makes for a satisfying breakfast. Imagine waking up and biting into a fresh, homemade, tender, flaky crust, holding a divine mixture of eggs and whatever other ingredients were included. Onions? Spinach? Ham? Bacon? The world is your oyster. But what if you're not in the mood to get up at some ungodly hour and make breakfast? No worries — just take a store-bought quiche, sprinkle some cheese on top, and pop it under the broiler.

By grating some of your favorite cheese on a store-bought quiche and broiling it, you get an instant homemade makeover that lends a more complex, interesting flavor than what you might get from a quiche you didn't make yourself. What's more, it's something you can customize to your taste, whether you prefer sharp or mild. Put your upgraded quiche out on the table, pour yourself a glass of orange juice after consulting our ranking from worst to best, and recover from your hangover. (If you drink a vodka soda, you might get a less severe hangover than with certain other drinks, but don't count on it.)

What kind of cheese should you use to top your store-bought quiche? Well, you can really choose just about any cheese you want. Using cheddar will impart mild creaminess and tang, while gruyere has a pleasant funkiness — the same kind that makes it your go-to cheese for French onion soup. Pepper jack would lend some welcome bite to your rich, decadent quiche. Whatever the case, feel free to whip out your cheese grater and spread those shreds all over the quiche's surface before it goes under the broiler.

Now, some of you may protest that if you're not in the mood to make a quiche from scratch, you probably won't want to shred cheese by hand. Can't you just buy a pouch of pre-shredded cheese from the supermarket and sprinkle that on top? Yes, there's nothing technically stopping you, but it's still a better idea to grate it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese, you see, is coated with anti-clumping agents, which is useful if you don't want to pull a mass of shredded mozzarella the size of a softball out from the bag. But this makes it a poor choice for melting — it will get clumpy and sad. Anyway, a little bit of an arm workout can be quite invigorating in the early morning — so shred away!