Applesauce Association

Yesterday we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, with applesause on the side. My mother always fed me applesauce with my grilled cheese sandwhiches, so its just a natural association that I grew up with. I am now transfering this association to my child.

My visit home last month shed some very interesting light on this grilled-cheese-and-applesauce association. My mother served us grilled cheese sandwiches. Grandma (her mother) was sitting next to me at the table, and said, "Where's the applesauce?" (I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the applesauce tradition went back another generation.) My mom dutifully put it on the table and apologized for having forgotten it. We all then proceeded to enjoy our sandwiches with applesauce.

Then we had an interesting conversation about applesauce. Apparently, my mother got the applesauce tradition from her mother, who thought it was a good combination (and it is). Mom told me that when she was a kid, her mom always used velveeta cheese with their cheese sandwiches, and that she thought it tasted awful. She would smother her sandwich with the applesauce to mask the cheesy taste--that's what she thought it was for.

After years of growing up with applesauce next to my cheese sandwhich (not velveeta), it became a tradition for me, too, but not because I didn't like the cheese. Now I'm transfering that same applesauce association on to the next generation. Thanks Grandma!