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The Science Behind The Perfect Egg And Cheese Sandwich

Last week, one of our engineers, Colin, told me that he makes the best fried egg and cheese sandwich ever. I was skeptical. What makes any fried egg sandwich better than the next? Yes, he uses our Wildfire Smoked Sea Salt & Herbs, which is amazing on eggs, so that’s a good start, but what else?
So, at 3 o’clock yesterday we left our desks and headed to the kitchen where I was going to see Engineer Colin transform into Chef Colin. And then I realized Engineer Colin is always Engineer Colin, and that’s how I learned his “proprietary” egg sandwich secret. (Taught to him by his grandma, by the way.)
Prep seemed pretty basic. Heat the skillet, butter the outsides of the bread, thinly slice the sharp cheddar, and then he said it: “To get the cheese to melt perfectly, you need a heat conductor that acts as a thermal paste.”
Me: “Whoa, back up, thermal what?”
As he spread mayonnaise on the inside slices of bread he repeated, “Thermal paste. Mayonnaise acts as a perfect thermal paste.”
Ultimately, what he patiently explained to me was that mayonnaise is an excellent heat conductor, much better than butter. And with the cheese directly against it, it quickly melts into the perfect, thick and delicious mess.
I’ll make this again for sure, and maybe wedge a few slices of avocado in the middle–but not between the mayo and cheese! Nothing to disrupt that perfect union.
Try it, and don’t forget the Wildfire Smoked Sea Salt.


- 3 large eggs
- Wheat bread
- Butter
- Mayo
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Wildfire smoked seasalt
- Ground black pepper
- Butter one side of 2 slices of bread.
- Apply mayonnaise to opposite side of bread
- Slice cheddar as thin as possible.
- Cut enough to cover the mayo on both pieces of bread
- Crack eggs into heated non stick pan
- Sprinkle a liberal portion of Wildfire smoked seasalt onto eggs before the flip.
- Lightly dust with black pepper
- Flip eggs and cook to desired “runniness”
- Add eggs to sandwich
- Grill sandwich for 1-2 minutes per side or until golden brown
- Slice and serve
- Enjoy.