There aren't many foods that you'll see in the lunchbox of a kindergartner and on the fanciest hors d'oeuvre platter. But the simple pleasure of pimento cheese is a way of life for many southerners, appearing everywhere from funeral spreads, to tea party menus, and picnic blankets.
Pimento cheese (or pimenna or mento cheese, depending on where you're from), the blend of sharp cheddar, sweet-spicy pimiento peppers, and rich mayonnaise, is far more than the sum of its parts. It's a creamy, slightly sweet and slightly sharp spread. When properly made, is also a bit punchy, just like the best southern hostesses who serve it.
For this writer, it especially smacks of summertime and visiting grandparents, where sandwiches made with cold pimento cheese were a welcome relief from the Texas heat.
There are as many ways to make pimento cheese as there are cooks who make it. It can be chunky or smooth, spicy or mild, complex or simple. Some cooks use only homemade mayonnaise, others swear by Duke's or Hellmans, and some add cream cheese.
And you can serve it with celery sticks, use it on grilled cheese sandwiches, or use it instead of mayonnaise in deviled eggs. At The Varsity in Atlanta, it's even used as a burger topping.
Following our mother's example, we like to pipe it inside of split snow peas or on top of cherry tomato halves for an easy hors d'oeuvre. But the most classic way to serve pimento cheese is in tea sandwiches, spread on spongy white bread with the crusts cut off. 
Pimento Cheese Recipe
makes about 2 cups
10 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise, preferably homemade
1 small jar chopped pimiento peppers (about 4 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon horseradish sauce (optional)
Chunky style, for spooning atop crackers, or digging into with a fork
Stir all ingredients together in a bowl, mashing with a fork. Refrigerate for at least one hour and preferably overnight.
Smooth style especially good for fancy piping and dipping
Increase mayonnaise to 3/4 of a cup. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and puree until smooth. Refrigerate for at least one hour and preferably overnight.
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Great post! I love pimento cheese. But as a child I would not eat it because of the texture of the pimentos. My palette for vegetables of any type or amount was pretty limited back then. In my family we go with the "pimenna" cheese pronunciation.
Pimento cheese always transports me to the memory of hiding in my great aunt's rose bush so that I didn't have to eat any more of it. As northern kids visiting southern relatives, this was not something we relished. But I haven't had it in a while ... should revisit.
favorite.thing.ever!
I can't believe I've never had the pleasure of tasting homemade pimento cheese. But that's what I get for growing up in California. Love the idea of piping it into cherry tomatoes. I'm definitely going to try your recipe - and I even have a little jar of pimentos already in the pantry, so it was obviously meant to be. ; )
Pimento cheese is the bomb. I like to make it in its simplest form, with grated sharp cheddar cheese, pimentos, mayo, salt & pepper and a healthy sprinkling of cayenne. Serve with triscuits and be transported back South.
I loooove homemade pimiento cheese and it's so easy to make. Far better than the tub of preservative laden crap you get from the grocery store.
That looks totally yummy!!
Being a northerner, I was not familiar with pimento cheese until I saw an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. They visited the Penguin Diner in North Carolina and the pimento cheese grilled cheese looked so good that I ran out and bought supplies to make it and I have to say, it is one of my new favorite snacks. I make mine with a one pound block of cheddar, a half pound block of monterrey jack, two small jars of pimento with the juice, garlic powder, onion powder, organic mayonnaise, black pepper and some Frank's Red Hot. All of this goes in the food processor to make a paste that then goes into the fridge to chill out for a bit.
Yesterday I was searching for a snack and couldn't find anything substantial enough to satisfy and I wasn't looking for a full meal. Looking through the fridge I found a slice of panchetta and the pimento cheese and proceeded to make a really great grilled cheese sandwich.
I fried up the panchetta so it was crispy and rendered some of the fat into the pan, then I put the panchetta on some white bread with pimento cheese and fried it up in the pan to make an excelled panchetta and pimento grilled cheese sandwich.
Highly recommended.
I like it with horseradish (about a tablespoon) and bacon (4 crisp strips). That's the amount for 8 oz cheddar.
I have to say (and I'm a southerner), I've never seen that fine a texture for pimento cheese. In my experience it has never been served as a puree. My family makes theirs much like misswhisk, but with a couple of modifications.
Here's ours: big block of Cabot's white cheddar cheese, grated in food processor or by hand; 1 roasted red pepper, cut into dice; 1 Tb. grated onion (more or less depending on preference); tons of fresh cracked black pepper and a dash cayenne; tiny bit of good mayo (like Hellman's). Only enough mayo to barely hold it together. Triscuits or fresh veggies are the perfect accompaniment, or make into finger sandwiches, preferably on wheat bread.
Related, but not the same is Kentucky beer cheese, which is finely processed. Here is a not very authentic (thankfully free of processed cheese), but good, version: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/kentucky-beer-cheese-on-toast
The real kind is like my favorite aunt always made for church picnics, on white bread triangles with the crusts cut off, with orange cheddar, jar pimento, mayonnaise and if you want to get fancy, some cream cheese. Shred the cheese in a grater.
I made this last week. I've always had the store-bought stuff and it always left a lot to be desired. This was fantastic! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I just made this and it is awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! I think this is the recipe I've been looking for. The homemade "pimenna" cheese I remember from childhood was smooth, but all the recipes I have found recently tend to be lumpy and don't spread as well. I will be making this tomorrow! : )
I don't care for mayonnaise, and by extension don't like pimento cheese that much. That said, I have very fond memories of helping my grandmother make pimento cheese for church lunches. We used her rotary grater to grate the cheese, which produced a very fine grate and a smooth finished product without the need to puree. Her recipe was simple - cheese, mayo, pimentos. Nothing more, nothing less.
I do not like pimento cheese. I also do not like velveeta "queso"