--- title: What Is The Best Cheese for a Grilled Cheese Sandwich? description: For all those longing to create the most gooey, melty and flavorful grilled cheese imaginable, it's time to start thinking about science. canonical: https://time.com/4101512/best-cheese-for-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-05T18:06:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:26:39.111Z og:title: These Are The 3 Best Cheeses for A Grilled Cheese Sandwich og:description: It's all about the pH og:url: https://time.com/4101512/best-cheese-for-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Are The 3 Best Cheeses for A Grilled Cheese Sandwich twitter:description: It's all about the pH twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These Are the 3 Best Cheeses for a Grilled Cheese Sandwich According to Science  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Nov 5, 2015 6:06 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Nov 5, 2015 6:06 PM UTC For all those longing to create the most gooey, melty and flavorful grilled cheese imaginable, it’s time to start thinking about the science behind the iconic sandwich. In the latest video from the YouTube series [Reactions](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJ9oJ2GUF8Vmb-G63ldGWg), the American Chemical Society explains the chemistry of how cheese melts and why that affects the way that it tastes grilled between two slices of bread. Basically, the gooeyness level of cheese when melted is ultimately based on its pH. Cheeses with an acidity in the range of pH 5.3 to 5.5 — such as gouda, gruyére or manchego — are best for being heated up in a sandwich. When cheeses have a lower pH, aka when they’re “sharper,” they break down more easily, resulting in clumps that are apt to ruin your perfect grilled cheese experience. So when choosing between two types of cheddar, go with the milder one. For a more in-depth explanation of grilled cheese science, see the full clip below: ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4101512/best-cheese-for-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4101512/best-cheese-for-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/"},"headline":"These Are the 3 Best Cheeses for a Grilled Cheese Sandwich According to Science","datePublished":"2015-11-05T18:06:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:26:39.111Z","description":"It's all about the pH","url":"https://time.com/4101512/best-cheese-for-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food","Science topic","Cheese","Chemistry"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4101512/best-cheese-for-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/","name":"These Are the 3 Best Cheeses for a Grilled Cheese Sandwich According to Science"}}]}] ```