Pimento Cheese, it's a Southern thing

Pimento cheese, ah yes, I remember it from my childhood, though to be honest, not very fondly. My father was a big fan. He kept a tub of it in the fridge and made sandwiches of it with white toast (always toast). I remember it from all the holiday parties and neighborhood get togethers and after church potlucks I attended (was forced to go to) with my parents. Though my recollection of it from my youth is one of ewww, turned up noses, yuck and gross! I’m not eating that! Part of it probably came from the fact it seemed to always be served smeared on celery and the whole mushy texture plus tangy flavor was not appealing to my kid taste buds. I didn’t just dislike it, I outright hated it.

Let’s face it, at that age, if it didn’t have sugar somewhere in it, I was not into it. Give me pop-tarts, Captain Crunch with crunch berries, Apple Jacks, anything Hostess or from Davis Bakery in Durham (there’s a throw back for ya’!). Funny how that seems to have carried over to adulthood, go figure.

Because of this preponderance of it, I decided to do a deeper dive on it and see if maybe with my new relocation I could possibly rediscover some kind of appreciation for what I remember as the go to party platter staple of 70s get togethers.

While is considered a Southern staple and called the “pate of the South”, a thorough internet search will come up with some interesting things about the dish, like, while it may have a Southern affiliation, it really came to fore in the North. Yes, once again, those damn Yankees have had a hand in this! In, horrors, New York City! (Yes, that salsa commercial is running through my mind too.) If you care, feel free to read all about it here. Seems the South part of it came into play as pimento growing took hold in Southern states and became production centers. Thus the South seems to have appropriated it much as we did with other things like Pepsi and chicken and waffles. (No, neither of those originated here either people.)

But, beyond its dubious past history, (because anything created up North is suspect, right?) it has been embraced here. Thus I felt compelled to give it another try seeing as how in California, you don’t come across it in grocery stores usually. And you definitely don’t see five or six different brands and versions to choose from. The basics of it are mayonnaise, a yellow cheese and pimentos—yes, that is it. There are many recipes with additional extras of seasonings or spiciness and some that swear by Duke’s Mayo only or others who say Miracle Whip and there would most definitely be a heated argument about which one you are gonna use.

After perusing more than I probably should have, it seems the are variations on two specific types and looking at the ingredients, the biggest difference was the type of cheese.

One side goes with a more homemade look and feel by using shredded sharp cheddar cheese to give it a real bite.

The other had finely shredded American cheese (and some type of cheese powder) which gives it the orange coloring I think many people are used to seeing. In either instance, if you think about it though, you are still eating a mayo and cheese mixture and this is what has always kind of grossed me out. I like mayo and I like cheese, just for whatever reason, not in this combo. And while I may eat cheese by itself, I am NOT eating mayo out of the jar. Just no. Even for me that is too trashy.

But I was game to give these a go and dive right in with a small spoonful of each to taste the difference and see if my tastes had….matured? After one bite I will be honest and say no. Cold, right out of the tub and all those blech childhood memories came flooding back. So I decided to try a different track with some accoutrements.

**celery, pimento cheese and pork rinds**

70s house party baby!! I like celery (now) and pork rinds (ok, maybe I am that trashy), because they are so Southern and why not see how they pair or possibly make it palatable. Not going to say this was 100% successful, particularly with the more homestyle one, but the orange one seemed be okay-ish with a little added crunch. Maybe it was the texture all along? Or maybe it is because I still feel like I am just eating mayonnaise out of a jar. It was while I was scraping the leftovers off the celery back into the tub when I thought, it is cheese, cheese melts, so lets heat this s**t up and see how that works. Or in this instance, baked on some toast as a dad nod.

On the left we have cold right out of the tub and on the right, some time spent under the broiler. I think that may be it for me, a little heat, a lot of melt and out comes the gooeyness, the sharpness from the cheddar and the slight hint of sweet from those pimentos lurking just under the surface. When in doubt, cook it out? I mean, who doesn’t love melted cheese. And if you don’t—get out! Plus, I know some folks who use mayo instead of butter when making grilled cheeses and say it is the best. I just call them crazy….because BUTTER! Though I’m not above trying it some day, eventually, not soon, but whenever. Now that I know how to consume this to my liking, I can get on board with this not quite totally Southern spread.

Upon my return, I had noticed, as I dined about the Triangle, that it seemed to be on offer pretty much everywhere as either a stand alone sandwich or an add on to pretty much any type of sandwich you can think. With my melty goal in mind, I purposely searched out menu options to see what I could find.

Like this from the Q Shack in Durham. A lovely hunk of grilled bologna and pimento cheese on a potato bun with your usual Southern sides of fried okra and hush puppies—because the bun isn’t enough carbs. But there was lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle to put on it to balance some of the richness. It was definitely a white trashy decadent sandwich.

**fried chicken sandwich with pimento cheese and sweet potato fries**

Seems fried chicken sandwiches are just as ubiquitous here as out West. This one from Village Deli in Morrisville was a huge slab and pimento cheese was a “cheese choice” so how could I pass it up. Everything else was deep fried so why not throw some melted mayo cheese on it.

And yes, if a place sells a burger, they have pimento cheese as a topping. Like this one from Tribeca Tavern in Cary which was all in with bacon and fried pickles too. I mean the only thing that could have made this any more Southern is if it was drizzled in butter then covered in sausage gravy. As for what you may be thinking, yes, if that had been an option, I would have at least given it a try.

While pimento cheese my not have been created in the South, they have definitely taken hold of it and made it their own with the standard versions and variations on a them that include additions like jalapeños, bacon (duh!), red peppers, onion, etc. I might not be down to try all these, but if the mood hits me, I know they are out there.

As I have said before, here, butter is a condiment and gravy is a beverage. Now it seems, pimento cheese is right up there with Swiss, provolone, havarti and all the others, at least for peeps here anyway. I can’t say I will be having this as a constant presence in my fridge like I do cheese, but If I see it on menus (heated) I won’t turn my nose up at it. Cold, yes, melty gooey, no.