Apparently, I have been asleep at the wheel. Until recently, I didn't even know I needed a pimento cheese recipe! I have never watched one minute of golf on TV, but the recent Masters Tournament has started a firey appetite for pimento cheese.
All of a sudden, everyone is craving pimento cheese. Seriously! I now know Pimento cheese sandwiches have been a part of the Masters Tournament culture since the 1940s. Once again, I'm late to the party!
When I was growing up, pimento cheese was sold in tiny glass jars. It still is, but today, the price is ridiculous. Mom used to put it in celery sticks for an occasional fancy treat.
Pimento cheese is not just a regional thing, even though it's as Southern as sweet tea and collard greens. There’s something oddly nostalgic about it, even if you didn’t grow up with it—which makes sense because pimento cheese has a story all its own.
Pimento cheese started to appear in the early 1900s. Believe it or not, it wasn't in the South, but up North, in New York, about 1800, when cream cheese became available, and canned pimentos were imported from Spain. It was considered quite the upscale spread!
But leave it to the amazing cooks in the hallowed kitchens of the South to take something fancy and turn it into everyday magic. Somewhere along the way, the recipe got a good ol’ Southern twist: sharp cheddar replaced the cream cheese, mayonnaise made it luscious, and the humble pimento got its time to shine.
Before long, pimento cheese sandwiches appeared in lunchboxes, picnic baskets, and church potlucks all across Dixie. It became the thing to bring to a baby shower, a funeral gathering, or a Tuesday afternoon bridge club. Everyone developed their unique way of making it.
Someone told me pimento cheese is like your favorite old quilt: comforting, colorful, and full of little surprises. It’s creamy but not too soft and tangy, with just enough zip. The pimentos give it a lovely sweetness, and when it’s all blended with that sharp cheddar? My stars. It’s downright addictive.
One of the reasons it’s lasted so long is its versatility. This isn’t some high-maintenance appetizer that needs staging and sprigs of parsley. (Whew.) You can spread pimento cheese on crackers and call it a snack. Slather it between two slices of white bread, and you’ve got the perfect sandwich. Add bacon and tomato, and now you’re in heaven.
A melty dollop on top of a warm burger is delish! Or stuffed into celery sticks like we did in the ‘60s. (Remember mom doing that?) It's a little retro treat for parties. I already know it will be a star at my annual Christmas cookie party for my girlfriends!
Many of you jump right in and customize every new recipe your way—yay, you! Some, like my brother, make it exactly according to the recipe the first time and THEN get creative.
But pimento cheese is a playground for creativity, so create! I was "born to be mild," so I stuck with extra sharp cheddar cheese. Add some pepper jack if you like! Please grate your cheese from a block instead of buying grated cheese. The stuff in the bag has a coating that keeps the shreds from sticking together, and it detracts from the taste.
The recipe I found uses cream cheese, which is less expensive than cheddar cheese, so it stretches the yield at a lower price. I used a recipe with onion and garlic powder, but the choice is yours.
A purist would use Duke's mayonnaise because of the "twang." Before you turn up your nose at my choice of mayo, you should know that Great Value mayonnaise, Walmart's store-brand offering, has garnered attention for its affordability and quality, often drawing favorable comparisons to more established brands.
In a blind taste test conducted by Southern Living, Great Value mayonnaise tied with Duke's for the top spot among nine brands.
I am perpetually in a hurry, so I made mine entirely in a food processor, starting with grating the cheese. I emptied the cheese onto a sheet of plastic wrap to save dishes and combined all the other ingredients in the same (unwashed) container.
Next, I added the grated cheese back in and pulsed it just until things were blended, then dumped it in a bowl and finished mixing everything up by hand. It’s the kind of thing you taste as you go, adjusting until it’s just right. And when it is? You’ll know.
It's fine to do everything by hand in a bowl and mix it with your favorite wooden spoon or trusty Danish whisk and some elbow grease. It all depends on how you like to do things, but either way, don't forget to put in the love.
Now, just put it in a covered container for a couple of hours to let all the ingredients get to know each other, then start spooning, spreading, slathering and enjoying this amazing old favorite.
Until next spring, when you're following The Masters Golf Tournament, think of this yummy spread for your Kentucky Derby party!
Whether you grew up with pimento cheese or you’re just meeting it now, there’s a reason this humble spread has stood the test of time. It brings people together. It invites folks to"sit a while." It’s casual, comforting, and just a little sassy—kind of like the women who’ve passed their recipes down for generations.
In my opinion, cheese is one way God shows his love for us. If you love cheese, too, you may like these recipes. Rosalind Carter's Famous Cheese Ring, Amazing Five Minute Cheeseball, and a family favorite, Cheese and Egg Salad Sandwiches. Our girls always called them "track meet sandwiches!" ❤
This is a wonderful old recipe for pimento cheese you can use as a dip, a cracker spread, or a sandwich filling!
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Love GB (Betty Streff)
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