It’s the culinary equivalent of a warm, fleece blanket. Grilled cheese is a go-to on a cold and wet day — paired with a hot soup or on its own. Anyone can make it, with inexpensive ingredients you probably have on hand. But it’s how we choose to make a grilled cheese that brings us to this story. While there are some universal truths about grilled cheese, which bread, cheese and other ingredients enter the picture is completely up for interpretation. Let’s run through the background, the basics and the better ways to make a grilled cheese, then share readers’ favorites. Cheese dream The grilled cheese we know today got its start in the 1920s during the Great Depression. Called a "cheese dream,” it was an open-faced slice of inexpensive bread with American cheese and sometimes ham or eggs with mayo or mustard, broiled till brown and served with tomato sauce as a Sunday dinner. Sandwich basics Grilled cheese is, in most cases, American cheese nestled inside two pieces of bread (usually white) and coated with butter. It’s then grilled till the bread is just brown and the inside is melted. It’s often paired with a bowl of Campbell’s tomato soup. American is often the go-to choice for grilled cheese because of how easily and quickly it melts. (It’s important to note that American cheese is processed.) Butter creates a crust and adds flavor. The white bread is typical too because it is inexpensive and is a blank canvas for the sandwich. Usually, most people use a skillet to make their sandwich or if they have one, a sandwich press. Quick tips Grilled cheese is a universally easy dish to make. Nothing about it is complicated. So if you’re a takeout-only-because-my-fridge-is-empty type of person, grilled cheese is probably one of a handful of things you make. A few tips, however, to make that basic grilled cheese better. Stale bread: Older, drier bread makes a better sponge for the butter and keeps its structural integrity better as a sandwich. Soft butter: Even if you use a butter substitute normally, there’s just nothing that compares — in my mind — to real dairy butter. It should be softened to make spreading easier. Coat both sides of the bread but don’t go overboard or your bread won’t grill right. Heat: You need to allow enough time to get that cheese melted but you don’t want to over-brown your bread. You should know how long the cheese you are using takes to melt (because they are all different) and adjust the head accordingly. Basically, don’t rush it. Tools: You really don’t need anything fancy to make a decent grilled cheese of course. A skillet works just fine. Even better, a cast-iron pan, which does a better job conducting the heat around the sandwich to get an even melt.