Move Over, Butter, It’s Mayo Time

When making grilled cheese, it’s traditional to spread butter or margarine on the outside of the bread before cooking. But those ingredients aren’t ideal. Cold butter can be difficult to spread, and it’s prone to burning quickly. Plus, you’ll likely end up needing to use a few tablespoons of butter, which is high in fat and calories.

Mayonnaise, on the other hand, is a game changer when it comes to making grilled cheese, and all you need is about 1 tablespoon. Not only is it a suitable substitute for butter, but it’s also likely to improve the snack in ways you never imagined. First, mayo is far easier to spread than butter, and you don’t even need to bring it up to room temperature. Mayo also has a higher smoke point than butter, so the sandwich is less likely to burn quickly. Lastly, mayo has a lighter flavor than butter, allowing the cheese inside your sandwich to really shine through. All of these benefits make mayonnaise the perfect choice over butter for a top-notch grilled cheese.

Don’t Skimp on the Fat

One important caveat: You won’t achieve a crispy crust without using full-fat mayonnaise. Reduced-fat spreads have a higher water content than full-fat versions, so they won’t produce as crispy a result. We’ll leave the brand of mayo up to you, though, whether you prefer Hellmann’s (aka Best Foods), Duke’s, or another option.

Steps To Achieve Golden-Brown Goodness

Outside of swapping butter for mayo, there are no changes to how you should cook your grilled cheese sandwich. Of course, everyone has their own process, but we suggest using a cast-iron skillet, low to medium heat, and cooking for two to three minutes on each side. Also, cover the pan with a lid to keep the heat in and help the cheese melt.

One last tip is to consider boosting the flavor of the mayo-coated exterior by sprinkling a bit of parmesan cheese so it sticks to the mayo and cooks into the crust. Or, use garlic aioli instead of traditional mayo if you’re looking to add some depth of flavor to the sandwich. Consider the mayonnaise a blank canvas for your culinary creativity.

How To Peel a Hard-Boiled Egg

The only item you need to peel hard-boiled eggs in under 30 seconds is a clear Mason jar. If you don’t already have one, you can find endless options online or at your local thrift store. We recommend using a clear jar so you can see when the eggs are fully peeled. 

Now comes the fun part: Fill the Mason jar halfway with water, then use a spoon to gently drop your hard-boiled egg inside. Secure the lid tightly, give the jar a good shake, and watch as the shell chips away. You want to shake it hard enough to crack those shells, but not so hard that the egg explodes.

When most of the shell has been removed — this should take around 10 seconds or so — retrieve the egg with your spoon. You may need to use your fingers to remove any remaining bits of shell, but they should slide right off. You can now enjoy perfectly peeled hard-boiled eggs, without worrying about dropping one into the trash can mid-peel (we’ve all been there).

Practical Tips To Make Egg-Peeling Easier

If you don’t have a Mason jar at your disposal, you can try any of these quick and easy tips to make peeling the old-fashioned way a little easier. The first thing we recommend is to cool your freshly boiled eggs in a bath of ice water. This will not only prevent your eggs from overcooking, but also help separate the egg white from the shell, resulting in larger chips and an easier peel.

You can also try adding a little distilled white vinegar (about 2 teaspoons) to the water while you’re boiling the eggs, which could help dissolve the hard outer layer of the shell and separate the egg white from the shell membrane.