I first tried a grilled cheese and grape jelly sandwich at a friend’s birthday party when I was 16. I balked at first when my friend claimed she was going to make the best grilled cheese in the whole world and pulled out the grape jelly, but nevertheless, I was willing to give the weird combo a try.

I’m glad I did. For some reason, adding grape jelly to a grilled cheese sandwich is just a real treat. The jelly brings out the flavor of the cheese and almost tastes like a hot dessert, like a cheesecake or a tart of some sort. I can’t really explain it, but it was tasty enough for me to remember the concoction and eat it now and then 10 years later.

The key is to cook the sandwich with a ton of butter, and apply the cheese (regular cheddar cheese, not the American sliced cheese crap) to the bread first, and then apply the grape jelly moderately in between the cheese. Fry as usual and you have a super awesome sandwich. Sure, it sounds weird, but it is truly delicious.

Now, I haven’t tried any other types of jelly, or even jams, with this particular sandwich, but I’m sure they would all taste awesome (except marmalade, something tells me that is bound to be a bad mix). The next time you have a craving for an awesome grilled cheese sandwich, toss in some grape (or any flavor) jelly and you’ll be surprised how great it really is! Who woulda thought?!