Serve Carolina Caviar (Pimento Cheese) For the Game

So I'm reading Time Magazine and there it is in black & white, Adam Rapoport, the new editor of Bon Appétit is predicting that Pimento Cheese will be big in 2011!

Well maybe in NYC they're just discovering this traditional Southern staple, but in my house and in many others, especially in South Carolina and Georgia, this down home traditional folkways cheese spread has always been big. Especially on Ritz Crackers at game time.

Pimento Cheese has many nicknames: PC, Carolina Caviar, Atlanta Paté, and Menta Cheese. In the Old South you cannot have a church social, family picnic, card game, wedding, or any social gathering without Pimento Cheese sandwiches. Kids ask for it with the same frequency as they ask for peanut butter up north. Traditionally it is spread on white bread and that's all. At the country club the crusts are removed, it is cut into four triangles, and served on silver platters. At the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, GA, they serve PC sandwiches wrapped in green wax paper (hold your pinkies out, please). Even in such classy settings, they spell it pimento, not pimiento, the technically correct spelling.

When I was at the University of Florida in the 1960s, our favorite late nite stoner munchie was Ritz Crackers with PC. On road trips to away games and New Orleans we'd pack a loaf of Wonder Bread and a tub of storebought PC. Any trip through Atlanta would take us to The Varsity where, when we approached the counter they'd shout "What'll ya have!" and we'd joyfully shout back "Pimento Cheeseburger!" Occasionally we'd go wild and order their chili cheesedog with pimento cheese, or their decadent grilled cheese sandwich with pimento cheese.

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PC's also really good on rye or whole wheat. Serve it on toast points, sliced French bread, and even garlic bread. Make grilled cheese sammies with it all by itself or add lettuce, tomato, and/or fresh basil. Don't forget the bacon. Use it to stuff cherry tomatoes as a snack, or a whole tomato as an appetizer. Stuff celery with it. Dip carrots into it. Add it to grits, chili, omelets, or scrambled eggs. Slather it on top of chili dogs or on burgers instead of sliced cheese as they do in many restaurants in the South (oh my!). I've even seen it on pulled pork in a joint in Mississippi, but I'm not ready for that myself.

Yes, you can buy it in plastic tubs at the grocery, but get a look at all the stuff in there besides pimento, cheese, and mayo? So learn how to make it yourself. Nothing could be easier.

In 2003 the Southern Foodways Alliance held a Pimento Cheese essay and recipe contest that drew 300 entries. Click here to see the three finalists.

Whadaya waitin' for? The game's about to start. (GO BEARS!)

Classic Carolina Caviar

The traditional recipe is simple: Sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, salt and pepper. You can adjust the ingredients up and down as you wish. In the dorms they use Velveeta, but that stuff is one electron from being plastic, so I recommend real cheese. You can buy pimento in jars or you can make your own simply by roasting your own sweet bell peppers. It is cheaper to make your own, and you can amp it up a notch by grilling or smoking the peppers. Click here to learn how to make your own pimento. The classic PC is chunky. But you can make is easier to spread and stuff into tomatoes or deviled eggs by whupping it in the food processor. You have a bit more cleanup, but it's worth it.

Although PC is quick and easy to throw together, it needs a few hours, overnight is best, for the pimento flavor to migrate into the cheese and mayo so every bite has optimal flavor. But don't let it sit around for days. It tends to get watery.

Makes. 8 sandwiches
Production time. 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) bottle pimentos, drained and chopped into 1/4" bits
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 pinches table black pepper
1 pinch table salt

Do this
1) Grate the cheese on the big holes of a box grater into a bowl. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors marry.

Optional. Throw the whole daggum thang into the food processor and whup it up until it is fairly smooth as shown in the stuffed tomato above. There will be some fine granular texture. That's OK.

2) Before serving, let it sit at room temp for about 15 minutes so it is easier to work with.

Fancified Smoked Pimiento Cheese

Many Southerners "doctor" the original recipe to show their creativity and one-up their neighbors. Nothing is more coveted than hearing someone across the room ask "Who made the PC?" Common additives are chunks of roasted pecans, grated onions or chopped scallions, Worcestershire, jalapeños, hot sauce, hot pepper flakes, and black pepper. I've been known to get frisky myself. Back home my neighbors would say I was puttin' on airs by making my Fancified Smoked Pimiento Cheese. It's a bit more work, but I think it's worth it. But it is a bit of heresy. Forgive me.

Have you got a PC memory? If you make it, do you have any tips and tricks?

All text and photos are Copyright (c) 2011 By Meathead, and all rights are reserved

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Comments

[jmddc]

04:15 PM on 02/06/2011

We add a couple dashes of smoked tabasco.

[Cathy Fussell]

08:35 AM on 01/30/2011

I know of a Pimento Cheese friendship quilt. Each quilter made a square with her own idea of Pimento Cheese, and then the squares were assembled to make a whole quilt. This was a gift for the guy who had been photographer for the Georgia Quilt Project. The GQP group had traveled all over Georgia, documenting and photographing quilts, and at almost every community they visited they had been served Pimento Cheese in one form or another -- thus the idea for the quilt.

[bobbiisadukefan]

01:21 PM on 01/27/2011

UMMM, this is my favorite. I have a co-worker that can make some great pimento cheese
and this great little place near my office(walking distance) serves a grilled pimento cheese that is heaven!

[pjcamp]

07:34 PM on 01/24/2011

You're not finished without the cayenne and garlic powder.

[1Woman4Obama]

06:42 PM on 01/24/2011

Winn Dixie used to sell good pimiento cheese but they closed (all/ most?) of their stores. Ruth's is disgusting -- too sweet and too much mayo. Now I just make my own or buy from gourmet delis.

[byla]

04:52 PM on 01/24/2011

I lived in NC and I never heard it called Carolina Caviar. My family is from TX, OK and AR and I grew up eating PC, but I never had a recipe for it. Thanks.

[Momcatusa]

12:39 PM on 01/24/2011

My recipe - adapted from a long line of Southern ladies from the Tennessee/Virginia border - is basically 1 lb. extra-sharp cheddar, grated, 3/4 cup Dukes or Miracle Whip, 1 8-oz block of cream cheese, 2 4-oz jars chopped or sliced pimientos, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and a dash (up to 1/8 tsp) of cayenne pepper. I whip it all up in my stand mixer, pile it in a bowl and cover, and sit around staring at the clock while it chills and the flavors meld. It spreads pretty good right out of the refrigerator, unless your white bread is r-e-e-e-ly fresh, but it RULES on Ritz! I just plain love this stuff!

[Cindy Borden Mercer]

04:14 PM on 01/23/2011

Oh why...why...did you have to share our Southern secret! ;-) My favorite way to eat PC is on a burger with a fried green tomato. YUM!

[Mary Schulte]

11:43 AM on 01/23/2011

My mom used to grind it in a meat grinder rather than gtate it, much better texture. Sometimes she would add bologna (guilty pleasure)

[byla]

04:52 PM on 01/24/2011

Yeah, my mom added bologna to hers also.

[kKirstenc]

11:09 PM on 01/22/2011

Yet another reason to bemoan my lactose intolerance...I am literally drooling over these recipes...thanks, Meathead! :)

[umathummin]

03:42 PM on 01/22/2011

We've got a goat cheese creamery here in western NC, and I make a kick-ass Pimenta Goat with roasted pimentas, and black peppa. Maybe not as good as your mama's pimenta cheese, but pretty danged good and will impress foodie friends.

[memphismagnolia]

12:46 AM on 01/22/2011

My brothers and I were fortunate to always have homemade pimento or chicken salad sandwiches in our lunch box. Thx Mom for never making us suffer cafeteria food! Oh

[Ma Lucille]

10:17 PM on 01/21/2011

made a batch this evening for the weekend...
Duke's
Cream Cheese
Pimentos
grated cheddar
ground mustard, smoky horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, smoky paprika, steakhouse pepper

[giverny98]

06:52 PM on 01/21/2011

I know this is a tad off topic but I thought I'd share another spread recipe. I get requests for this every time I have a party.

Aunt Carol's Dippy

1 block of cream cheese softened
1 16 ounce container sour cream
1 large jar dried beef, shredded or chopped fine (can be found in tuna aisle)
1 bundle of scallions, sliced thin three quarters of the way up the green

Mix all in ingredients. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors meld. You'll want to soften before serving.

Aside from being a dip, it is fantastic on a baked potato or as a schmear for bagels.

Enjoy!

[Meathead]

10:05 AM on 01/22/2011

I can definitely taste this on potatoes!

[TheAntiOkie]

04:23 PM on 01/22/2011

daaaaaa em  sounds delish

[giverny98]

09:40 AM on 01/23/2011

It is the most requested dish in my repertoire. Four simple ingredients = heaven.

[giverny98]

06:45 PM on 01/21/2011

I moved to NC 14 years ago and have embraced many food traditions, including pimento cheese. My husband's grandmother makes the most heavenly ever. I've used it to make mac and cheese. Mmmmm.