Cheese in your Eggs Benedict: Yea or Nay!
Nay!
Eggs Benedict is back bacon, a poched egg and Hollandaise sauce on an English muffin. That's it. It's a perfect dish and yet a lot of restaurants insist on adding cheese to it. I find cheese denatures the whole thing. Especially when it's that yucky tangy orange processed crap. It screws up that taste and texture and makes it somehow seem cheap. Of course, many disagree with me and that's why many restaurateurs use cheese as a default ingredient.
So, what say ye?
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33 Comments:
I agree. Nay.
Eggs Benedict, prepared correctly is perfect as is.
CJ McD at 1:01PM on 07/04/09
nay-the cheese makes it an egg mcmuffin (blech!)
i do like the irish benedict variation tho, which replaces the ham with corned beef hash or Irish bacon.
gastronomeg at 1:05PM on 07/04/09
I agree. Nay.
Eggs Benedict, prepared correctly is perfect as is.
CJ McD at 1:06PM on 07/04/09
Nay. You don't mess with perfection.
arm1970 at 1:24PM on 07/04/09
no cheese .. some things you just don't mess with
goodcooker at 2:05PM on 07/04/09
Not if they're calling it Eggs Benedict. If it's got a decent cheese and they call it something else, that's fine. If they add things or substitute things, it needs to be named something else. Eggs Benedict is a specific combination of ingredients, unlike something called "ham sandwich." If they put cheese on it and don't rename it, what we've got it Eggs Benedict Arnold.
dbcurrie at 2:18PM on 07/04/09
Nay - I'm with @dbcurrie - it's not Eggs Benedict if it has cheese. I'm okay with it if they call it something else, but I don't want to order Eggs Benedict and have a cheesy surprise delivered to my table.
CooksForOne at 3:28PM on 07/04/09
My last supper, Eggs Benedict, should NEVER be messed with.
bessfour at 3:44PM on 07/04/09
I may be chased and torched for my opinion, but I think eggs benedict is perfected with a shaving of pecorino.
However, take from that what you will. This is coming from someone whose dad calls it 'eggs bennie'.
michichan at 4:15PM on 07/04/09
if ordered in a resteraunt NO cheese if they are going to add cheese, then I agree with everyone else Call it something else!!!
huneybumper at 4:37PM on 07/04/09
I'm not particular, as long as it's not a crappy cheese. I think the last time we made it at home the bf threw some thin slices of Jarlsburg swiss on there. But a 'single' of american "cheese"? Nay for sure.
joyyy at 6:00PM on 07/04/09
I'm surprised and relieved by the quasi unanimous responses so far. It seems almost every restaurant here in Montreal that serves eggs benedict puts cheese in them. I don't know why this is and I wonder if it's just a Montreal thing like ordering French fries with pizza.
SqueezeBottle at 6:01PM on 07/04/09
Radioactive orange cheese sets off my lactose intolerance anyway. And after reading Kitchen Confidential, I rarely order hollandaise :( It just sounds kinda gross, especially when fake cheese congeals back into plastic.
The best eggs benedict I've had was at Brenda's Soul Food in San Francisco: breaded and fried catfish instead of back bacon and homemade biscuits. :D
geenersaurus at 8:04PM on 07/04/09
i can't believe this is even a question.
no cheese.
andshewas at 8:33PM on 07/04/09
No Friggin' Way!!! Nay!!!
jonfoxx at 9:59PM on 07/04/09
Just give me a 1/2lb wedge of cheddar on the side.
mmmm...cheese *drool*
PeteRepeat42 at 10:36PM on 07/04/09
agree - the hollandaise sauce adds enough creaminess and richness to the dish - cheese overpowers and makes it way too heavy.
YummyInTheCity at 10:58PM on 07/04/09
Nay Nay NAY! Eggs benedict should not be messed with!
minji at 2:02AM on 07/05/09
There is a greasy spoon I like that does put a slice of cheddar with it, but for some reason they call it "Chicago Style Eggs Benedict", which is odd, because this is in Canada, but whatever. Normally, I say no to the cheese, but for some reason, I love it at this place.
jason at 8:01AM on 07/05/09
Much like there is no sugar in tomato sauce, there is no cheese in Eggs Benedict. End of story.
therealchiffonade at 9:10AM on 07/05/09
Everyone knows Eggs Benedictine is poached eggs served with a puree of salted codfish and a cream sauce.... there is no cheese... If you don't believe me, look in Escoffier's "Le Guide Culinaire".
Pavlov at 9:37AM on 07/05/09
No cheese. Of course not. Don't be silly.
Likeswords at 1:10PM on 07/05/09
Funny this question is asked because one of my criteria for judging a restaurant is how they prepare Eggs B. In one instance, I knew I should stick to the basics because the Eggs B were offered "with our special cheese sauce." Um...I'll have two eggs OE, please. Burn the toast. Thanks.
therealchiffonade at 1:37PM on 07/05/09
I have cheese under my pillow does that answer your question? lol. Eggs B. has always been a fan to me but places I order it never make it right for me because I like a solid poached egg, I do not like runny egg whites. So I rarely order it. What I like to order my fav right now is biscuits and gravy, side of sausage, and hashbrowns. OMG I want this right now with a spicy Bloody Mary.
pjracz10 at 5:00PM on 07/05/09
LOL - I have the opposite problem. I hate being served a golf ball under hollandaise and always have to make sure the waiter knows I want my eggs soft. The runny yolk actually adds to the luxury of the sauce. This of course is only an experience I have when I am willing to ignore the 16 billion calorie price tag.
therealchiffonade at 5:40PM on 07/05/09
When I was little I used to think that hollandaise sauce WAS a cheese sauce. It's the same color, right?
But no, can't imagine eggs benedict with cheese.
mikaque at 5:42PM on 07/05/09
i prefer florentine.... but if you are doing either benedict or florentine, there is no cheese. i would think if it is on the menu with cheese you could ask them to put the cheese on the side...
blizcheetah at 10:18PM on 07/05/09
No. no. no. Eggs Benny does NOT need cheese. My grits, however, do. :o)
juliebugsmama at 9:14AM on 07/06/09
NAY! Talk about gilding the lily!
CookiePie at 12:44PM on 07/06/09
no cheese--I hate that processed cheese. every time someone asks " would you like cheese on that?" My answer is always, "NO, If I wanted cheese I would have asked for it, besides you don't even serve cheese."
dragonfiregrill at 1:48PM on 07/06/09
@therealchiffonade - Amen to the "no sugar in tomato sauce." Bless you for mentioning that!
And nay to the cheese. Why mess with perfection?
TheCheapChick at 2:06PM on 07/06/09
No way on the cheese. Variants on the dish (e.g. changes to the bread type or the toppings or the flavor of the hollandaise) are permissible, but then the dish has to have a different name.
Mizbee at 6:42PM on 07/06/09
I don't eat Eggs Benedict often at all but cheese is not part of the definition so I vote nay!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 5:55PM on 07/10/09