Default Cheese

I thought I would tackle the subject of cheese today. Demistify 2 of the myths. Subway would like you to believe that they put the triangles of cheese all in the same postion because of what they call sub artistry. They actually want you to believe that it "taste better this way". They have a whole manual on how to make the sandwich step by step and how certain ingredients go on. I always thought it was for aesthetic reasons. When I worked there I questioned this. Why would I get in trouble if I put onions on before the tomato? I said it must be for aesthetics. The corporate trainer said "no, it's because it taste better that way". Actually the only thing that matters is what topping goes on first and last, all others are interchangable.

What Subway doesn't want you to know is that there is a reason behind the layout of their cheese and it's not for looks or for taste but for money. A loyal regular pointed out the benefits of making two squares out of the 4 triangles. Here he illustrates why it makes the most sense. He's right, it would give you the most coverage. You wouldn't be left with bites of sandwich without cheese if they did it his way. So it isn't for taste after all. What if a pizza company decided that they were only going to cover half the pie with cheese and you'd just have less crust on one side but no cheese on the other. You would obviously pay to get extra cheese to cover the remainder of the pie right?

Well this is basically what Subway is doing and here now, for your enjoyment, is an actual subway manager to comfirm this.

Myth One Busted!

Next myth, that most sandwich shops would like you to believe is that the reason why american cheese is basically the default cheese is that it is the most popular cheese. This is not the case. It is the most popular for children but not for adults. Provolone actually ranks higher with adults. I will say one good thing about american cheese. It melts well. The american cheese that subshops buy isn't super high quality but it melts well and is decent for your average joe taste buds. If you get a meatball sub ask for half american and half provolone. It will keep your meatball sub from being too stringy. Provolone melts okay but it's very stringy. So the american cheese helps to combat that. This does not mean that I think american cheese belongs on a meatball sub. If I had it my way, subshops would serve fontina cheese with their meatball subs. It taste better and melts like a dream, but the reality is that fontina is too expensive and it isn't a cheese that is known to the masses like american or provolone. I'm really dreaming though because there aren't very many sandwich shops that would serve fontina so let me get back to american cheese.

I do not believe american cheese should be put on every sandwich. It's dull, and doesn't really stand out when paired with a cold turkey or ham sub the way swiss, or pepperjack does.

So if the reason isn't taste or popularity then what is it? Yes you are right it's money. It's easy to see sandwich shops motives. They really only have a few, which are: taste, money, aesthetics, customer service, and popularity.

American cheese is the cheapest cheese sold. Sorry Dad but I'm ratting you out on this one. While my dad is an excellent grill cook. He gave up smoking cigs after many years but decided that he liked smokey flavors so he took up grilling. My dad makes a great burger but I haven't been able to tell him that sticking kraft singles american cheese on the burger does not make it a cheese burger in my eyes. I think an american burger would be great with a smoked cheddar or a plain old sharp cheddar. I know why he uses the american especially for cooking at reunions. It's cheap and it melts well. I just wish I could get him on a different cheese. Perhaps I should bring the cheese next time he makes burgers, but again I'm rambling and must get back to talking about american cheese as the default.

I can't really fault subshops for making american the default cheese. It's good for their bottom line and it is a very popular cheese with children, and most adults don't mind it even if its not their favorite. The subshop knows most people just ride with it. If the menu says "cheese" chances are it is american. Also note that if the menu has a sandwich and it doesn't say it includes cheese then cheese cost extra in most cases.

We had a cheese issue at Jersey Mike's as the owner of the franchise was getting bored with the same old cheeses. So he brought in a few specialty cheeses, such as havarti, a personal favorite of mine, and munster. The regular customers loved it, however corporate did not. Corporate came down and said that the owner could not deviate from the menu. That he didn't have the right to change the Jersey Mike's brand. So he had to get rid of it. This elicted a lot of response from the customers. They were upset, the cheese was more expensive and most customers who loved it said they would gladly pay a little extra if it was brought back. Some customers were upset with the owner about it but we assured them it was not his fault. There is a lesson learned in this. The only way a customer can change the operations of a franshised subshop is to write corporate. I'm sure that if enough peole for that location wrote in, they would allow us one not all but one specialty cheese which was the most popular to come back as an extra item and charge extra for it. Probably between 20 cents for half a sub and 40 for whole.

We have some people that really complain about extra charges, but seriously folks 20-40 cents to make your sandwich extra special. People who were not only willing to pay the extra but also had a good attitude were often rewarded with extra special care. I can't stress enough how much a good nice attitude reflects on your sandwich. You would be amazed.