Pimento cheese

Pimento cheese

Pimento cheese on crackers
Type	Spread or relish
Place of origin	United States
Main ingredients	Cheddar cheese or processed cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos
Cookbook: Pimento cheese  Media: Pimento cheese

In the cuisine of the Southern United States, Pimento cheese is a spread or relish made with cheese, mayonnaise and pimentos. It is served spread on bread, crackers and vegetables, or in sandwiches. Pimento cheese sandwiches are a signature item at the professional golf Masters Tournament.

Overview

The basic recipe has few ingredients: sharp cheddar cheese or processed cheese (such as Velveeta or American cheese), mayonnaise or salad dressing, and pimentos, blended to either a smooth or chunky paste.^[1] Regional ingredients include cream cheese, salt and pepper, Louisiana-style hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, paprika, jalapeños, onions, garlic, and dill pickles.^[1][2] Pimento cheese has been referred to as the "pâté of the south", "Carolina caviar" and "the caviar of the South."^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Pimento cheese can be served as a spread on crackers or celery, scooped onto corn chips or tortilla chips, mixed in with mashed yolks for deviled eggs,^[2] added to grits, or slathered over hamburgers or hotdogs.^[10]

A pimento cheese sandwich can be a quick and inexpensive lunch, or it can be served as a cocktail finger food (with crusts trimmed, garnished with watercress, and cut into triangles) or rolled up and cut into pinwheels. It is also a common snack in the Philippines, where it is referred to as cheese pimiento.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Pimento cheese sandwiches are a popular item at the professional golf Masters Tournament.^[15][16] Minor controversy ensued in 2013 when the Augusta National Golf Club switched food suppliers for the Masters and the new supplier was unable to duplicate the recipe used by the previous supplier, resulting in a sandwich with a markedly different taste.^[17]

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  Close-up view of a commercial pimento cheese
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  Homemade pimento cheese spread with crackers

In popular culture

• Better Call Saul Season 1 episode 9 is titled "Pimento" because fixer Mike Ehrmantraut brings a pimento cheese sandwich to a bodyguard job instead of a weapon. By way of explanation, he repeats the adage that pimento is the "caviar of the South," which Thomas Schnauz, episode writer, admits was sourced from Wikipedia itself.^[18]
• In the Breaking Bad episode "Cornered" (the events of which take place several years after the Better Call Saul episode) Mike also offers a pimento cheese sandwich to Jesse Pinkman when they are on a stakeout together.

See also

References