A Norwegian-Style Grilled Cheese Starts With One Deli Item You Should No Longer Overlook

It's hard to make a bad grilled cheese. At its simplest, it comprises bread, cheese, a lick of butter, and heat — simple as that. The simplicity also means that there are innumerable ways to riff on this perfect parcel of melty goodness. One way to level up the classic is to run at it like Erling Haaland: Norwegianly. Scandinavians are no strangers to putting cheese on bread, so using one of Norway's favorite fromages is a no-brainer way to put a Nordic spin on the sandwich. Jarlsberg is an easy-eating, smooth, nutty, and semi-hard Swiss-style cheese. Imagine this cheese as a mashup of Emmental and Gouda, because it literally is. Jarlsberg was created by combining both cheesemaking techniques to form a new one, called goutaler.

Melted Jarlsberg might not give wingspan stretches like mozzarella, but it's a fantastic melting cheese and still gives a nice pull. As Jarlsberg melts, it becomes slightly chewy and sweeter-tasting. It's not nose-curlingly pungent like Danish Esrom, but rather mild and buttery, yet complex. This adds depth of flavor to a grilled cheese and is an easy level-up to execute. Just slice the Jarlsberg thinly and use as much as you would any other cheese — a couple of ounces should be enough, but that's really down to personal preference. Use salted butter if you want to keep it traditional, and grill it low and slow to crust up the bread while giving the cheese time to melt.

To customize a Norwegian grilled cheese, you can leverage common Scandinavian flavor combinations. Pickles and onions beautifully contrast the buttery nuttiness of Jarlsberg, and are both ingredients you'll see on a traditional smorgasbord. Ham is always a safe bet in grilled cheese, and smoked ham is an easy win alongside Jarlsberg. To capitalize on Jarlsberg's flavor, you can also get creative with sweet ingredients like caramelized onions, fruit jam, or relish. The bread is up to you, but sourdough is hard to beat for a satisfying and crunchy grilled cheese. 

Jarlsberg grilled cheese sandwiches straddle two distinct, yet equally relevant, cultural contexts. On the one hand, it takes inspiration from Norwegian culinary traditions. On the other hand, it's pretty famous for being mentioned in the 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada." Presented as a sympathy snack for the film's protagonist, made by her chef boyfriend, it's characterized as a thoughtful upgrade to a standard grilled cheese — and rightly so. This makes it a perfect accompaniment to a The Devil Wears Prada Drinking Game, while encouraging people to replicate the sandwich or experiment with its components. You can also use Jarlsberg in combination with other types of grilled cheese sandwiches from around the world, like the Aussie jaffle. Norway may not have taken the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but when it comes to grilled cheese, it may lay claim to the plate.