Grilled Cheese Throwdown with Sargento Natural

In my house, we have a pretty important rule:

When someone offers you free cheese, you take it.

So when Sargento Natural asked me to do a taste test as part of the FoodBuzz Tastemakers Program, I consulted with my inner mouse, who immediately responded with an enthusiastic squeak of approval.

As part of the taste test, I was asked to compare Sargento Natural cheese to a processed (a.k.a. "American") cheese.  No contest, I thought.  I personally hate American cheese.  To me, it tastes and feels like gooey, artificially-flavored plastic.  Comparing any natural cheese to American seemed akin to comparing the genius of Albert Einstein to, well, anyone.  But I also know that some people love processed cheese, especially in:

A Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

See the butter seeping through the cracks in between sandwiches?!

I decided that the only fair way to compare these two cheeses would be in American cheese's home turf, the Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich: cheese, white bread, and lots o' butter.  So I prepared a stack of grilled cheeses: two sandwiches made with Sargento Natural, and two with processed cheese (two of each because the Sous Chef was dining with me, and we also needed lunch for the following day).  I selected the fancier (read: more expensive) of the processed cheeses, to give it a fighting chance against the Natural.  For consistency's sake, the following factors were similar in both sandwiches: type of bread, amount of butter, number of slices of cheese (3), and "sharp cheddar" flavor.

One preheated cast iron skillet later, and the competitors were sizzling away, desperately vying for the prize.  Both cheeses melted nicely, though the processed cheese still had that plastic-y sheen that turns me off so much.  The Sargento Natural melted very well, and was the only one of the two cheeses that produced the effect that all cheese melters/lovers strive for: Crispy Melted Cheese Crust!  A big plus in my score book!

Crispy Melted Cheese Crust achieved by the Sargento Natural

Processed cheese on left, Sargento Natural on right

As far as the taste goes (and in the end, isn't that what really matters?), the Sous Chef initially preferred the processed cheese, saying it tasted "more cheesy".  Then he switched to liking the Sargento Natural.  In the end, though, he didn't really like either one.  I, on the other hand, had a definite winner in mind: the Sargento Natural.  I'm a texture gal, and I just couldn't get over that plastic quality of the processed cheese, and I didn't like how it stuck to the roof of my mouth.  When I pulled the sandwiches apart, the processed cheese stretched and thinned like vinyl or silly putty, whereas the Sargento Natural came apart in melted, long shreds (like cheese is supposed to do).  

All said and done, the Sargento Natural won over the processed cheese (are any of you surprised?)  I think it would have been more fair to compare Sargento Natural to another brand touting its "natural" cheese.  Hmm...maybe I should do my own taste test!

It would give me a good excuse to go out and buy more cheese...

What's your favorite Grilled Cheese cheese?  Do you prefer processed cheese in some cases?