Pimento Cheese – perhaps the greatest culinary gift from the south! Along with fried chicken, biscuits, collard greens, pulled pork BBQ, fried okra, corn bread, fried pickles, banana pudding…. OK, the list goes on forever! But seriously, pimento cheese is awesome! Not only is it absolutely scrumptious but it has a really cool history!

There is a big debate as to the exact origins of pimento cheese but one thing people agree on is that it came from the south, with a strong connection to the Carolinas – some even say North Carolina! Some scholars think pimento cheese dates back into the late 1800s but the earliest printed recipe found was from an Asheville cookbook called “The Queen of Appalachia Cookbook,” around 1910. When Pimento cheese first appeared in the early 1900’s, it was served as dainty crust-less sandwiches at tea parties to the upper-class society. Pimento cheese sandwiches were regarded as a delicacy due to the high cost of cheese and pimiento peppers imported from Spain. After James Lewis Kraft sold the first processed cheese in 1915 and southern farmers began growing pimento peppers, the cost of the pimento cheese dropped, sealing its fate as classic southern staple.  Pimento cheese fully transitioned from an upper-class delicacy to a working class lunch during the Great Depression, when cheese was a cheap form of protein. Ever since then, southerners have been slathering the stuff on white bread and spreading it over crackers and celery for decades! Since pimento cheese’s popularity has gone national and with publications like Bon Appetit and Nation’s Restaurant News declaring pimento cheese the hot food trend, now you see it on burgers, hotdogs, and BLT’s, fried into balls, made into dip, put into Mac and Cheese, grits, deviled eggs, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Regardless of how popular pimento cheese gets or how creative people get with it, most southerners are a little persnickety with their pimento cheese and find the familiarity of the same recipe comforting. There was even a crisis at The Masters Tournament when the recipe got changed. Pimento cheese is just one of those things that when you find a good recipe, you stick with it. And this recipe is a good one!

One thing to note about pimento cheese – its all about the simplicity and letting the ingredients shine. So please for the love of all things southern and holy, use good quality mayonnaise! If you were planning to use Miracle Whip or some other brand of mayo-ish like products, just stop, put the cheese back in the fridge, and go but some real mayo! Please 🙂 Also, the colder the cheese is, the easier it is to grate.

Perfect Pimento Cheese

Ingredients

1 8oz block of sharp cheddar cheese

1 80z block of mild cheddar cheese

1 8oz block of sharp white cheddar cheese

1 8oz block of pepper jack cheese

2 4oz jars of diced pimentos, drained

1/2-1 cup of good quality mayonnaise (Dukes preferred)

cracked black pepper, to taste

cayenne or red pepper, to taste (optional)

Directions

Using a coarse cheese grater, shred the cheeses into large coarse shreds. (If you have a greater attachment for your food processor, feel free to use that.)

In a large mixing bowl toss the shredded cheeses with the drained pimentos.

Sprinkle the cheese mixture with the fresh cracked black pepper and a pinch of two of cayenne pepper (if you like spice) and toss.

Starting with 1/2 cup, add in your mayo just until the cheese comes together. If you prefer a more spreadable pimento cheese, feel free to add more mayo.

Store in the refrigerator and serve on white bread, with crackers and celery, or any other way you like it!

Enjoy!

Much Love,

M