Why The Cheese McDonald's Uses In Egg McMuffins Is The Perfect Choice

McDonald's Egg McMuffin is one of fast food breakfast's mainstay sandwiches. It's simple, quick, and timeless. Something you might not know about it is that the Canadian bacon, freshly cracked egg (yes, Egg McMuffins are made to order), and American cheese handheld is actually based off the concept of eggs Benedict. The sandwich first hit test markets in 1972, and the rest, as you know, is history. But the sandwich wouldn't be the same without its cheese.

That American cheese is exactly what brings it all together. A proper eggs Benedict is similarly constructed, with an open-faced presentation of a toasted English muffin, slices of Canadian bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. But hollandaise sauce isn't something that makes for an ideal fast food situation. This is why the American cheese is such a perfect swap. American cheese has been engineered to melt uniformly. When heat is applied to it, the stuff doesn't separate, but rather turns into a silky, fatty, sauce-like situation, which makes for a clever substitution for hollandaise — an Egg McMuffin just wouldn't be the same without it. (That supremely melty texture also makes American cheese a great topping for instant ramen.)

Other cheeses that would seem like an obvious choice for a breakfast sandwich, like cheddar, have different melting properties. Cheddar's sharpness makes for a delicious pairing with eggs and ham, but the issue is that when it melts its protein separates from its fat. This means you end up with a sheen of grease and a rubbery sheet of what's leftover. When that cools off, it's not so fun to sink your teeth into.

That said, there are some other excellent melting cheeses out there, such as Muenster, German butterkäse, and havarti. But those cheeses lean more towards nutty than they do sharp and salty, which wouldn't do the riff on eggs Benedict any favors. So, even though some cheese connoisseurs insist that American process cheese isn't cheese (it is, mostly), they can't argue the fact that when it melts it makes for the only correct binding for an Egg McMuffin.