Pimento Cheese, 'Southern Pate', or Why I am not a vegan.

As someone who grew up spread between several southern states,my maternal grandparents were always within driving distance. Their anchor was (generations before me) Clayton County in lower Alabama. Food knowledge and food loving began there. I was never much of a carnivore even as a child so I was allowed to indulge and love all things dairy - especially cheese. Especially Pimento Cheese, well almost exclusively Pimento Cheese. It was easy to make, it was good and it made me happy. The first batch of pimento cheese I was ever allowed to make on my own cannot be recalled but I watched the process for years, standing at someone's coat tail waiting for a bite right off the spoon. Never mind the bread. Still the preferred way to indulge - pure and simple pimento cheese. Don't bother with bread, cracker, celery - just give me some pimento cheese, please and thank you.

SA's Kitchen Pimento Cheese - pure & simple:

8 oz hand grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 t vinegar
1/2 t dry mustard
8 - 10 oz pimientos, finely chopped
dollup of mayonnaise - just enough to bind the ingredients together - you be the judge

There is a preponderance of Pimento Cheese recipes floating around but I am a purist other than sometimes adding the occasional splash of bourbon and hot sauce.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl - cover and refrigerate just as long as you can stand it.

Factoids about Pimento Cheese:

• Pimiento (Spanish for cherry red pepper)
• Pimento (southern for same)
• Pimiento dried = paprika
• Pimiento Pepper grown in US - largest state producer is Georgia
• Pimento Cheese Sandwich - white bread and pimento cheese served at Augusta, Georgia during the Masters, still

Ingredients list history:

• Sunshine Pimentos, 1916, Griffin, Georgia
• Piknik Mayonnaise, 1922, Brundidge, Alabama (still made in Alabama)
• Hoop Cheese - black rind hoop cheese for Pimento Cheese (aged longer than red rind hoop cheese) a common type of firm pressed farmers cheese prevalent across the southern region and usually locally produced. Short shelf life life and sold by weight in many grocery stores and markets.

Want to read more about Pimento Cheese? The Southern Foodways Alliance published an excellent resource 2003 PIMENTO CHEESE INVITATIONAL







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