While working in the U.K., my fellow American boss and I would invite British friends over for a grilled cheese night.
We always started with a basic cheese and bread version, then we would get fancy with some tasty grilled cheese mix-ins . Baffled, the Brits would always need more information before they'd commit, largely, they'd ask, "what is grilled cheese?" After explaining that it's a bread and cheese sandwich pan-fried with butter, they always replied with this rejoinder: "Ah, so a toastie?" At the time I knew there was a difference, but I could never put my finger on it. English toasties were drier, that's all I could tell.
There's a debate over the difference between a toastie and a grilled cheese. Many people claim they are the same and most agree the differences are minor. It all comes down to the method of cooking and the placement of the butter or mayonnaise.
And while the differences in preparation are small, the effects they have on the flavor and texture are big. Method of making a grilled cheese versus a toastie The ingredients of a basic, bare bones toastie and grilled cheese are the same: cheese, bread, and butter. What cheese is up to you, but some cheeses make for better grilled cheeses than others.
To make a traditional toastie, you spread the butter inside the two pieces of bread and cook it in an oven or a toastie maker (essentially a panini press). One of the early recipes, from " The Book of Household Management " published in London in 1861, has this.
