Grandma Lucy’s Pimento Cheese
Today I’m bringing you a much beloved recipe from the South. From what I read and hear, it isn’t nearly as popular outside of our little geographic region as it is here, but folks in these parts consider it a staple in every home!
Long before the days of snack cakes and convenience foods, Pimento Cheese sandwiches dominated minds when it came to a “quick bite to eat” or a “little lunch”. They were cheap and delicious on plain old white bread, although I serve mine on wheat these days.
I remember going to Grandmama and Grandaddy’s house and finding one or both sitting at their kitchen table having a pimento cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. They’d always ask “Ya want some puh-men-ah cheese, baby?”. I never refused.
I’ve wanted to get this recipe up on here for a while and asked Grandmama how she made her pimento cheese so I could bring you the taste I remember so well. She immediately said “Oh, now if you want the best pimento cheese, you gotta use Velveeta.”
What better time to bring you this than during my time serving as a Velveeta Kitchenista? I hope you’ve been visiting Velveeta It!’s facebook page this month as myself and four other Mom bloggers present a new Velveeta recipe each day but if you haven’t you can still breeze on over there and catch up on all of the wonderful tips and recipes that have been shared so far! Just visit www.facebook.com/velveeta and be sure to drop a howdy to me there this Thursday when I’ll be hosting Tasty Traditions Thursdays!
You’ll need: 16 ounce block of Velveeta, Pimentos, and a little Mayo.
Grate your Velveeta. Now Velveeta is a little on the soft side so I found an easy way of doing this. You remember play-doh? Just get your grater out and place the block of Velveeta against it and press into the grater. It comes out the other side quick and easy as can be and ends up being a lot less work than grating a block of cheddar.
Dump in a jar of drained pimentos. I used the small jar which is about 2 ounces.
Add about 1/2 cup of Mayonnaise. You can add more to taste if you like.
Stir that up well.
Grandmama doesn’t salt and pepper hers so I didn’t either. I found it to be utterly sublime as is but feel free to salt and pepper (and even garlic!) yours if you got a hankerin’ to.
Serve on a sandwich or crackers.
These are a standard at every party, too. There is nothing like little finger pimento cheese sandwiches with the crusts trimmed off to add an air of tradition to a gathering!
Did you eat pimento cheese growing up? Do you have a different recipe or a special Pimento Cheese memory?
Tell me about it in the comments!
Ingredients
- 16 ounce block Velveeta
- 2 ounce jar Pimentos drained
- 1/2 C Mayonnaise
Instructions
- Push Velveeta through a grater until all is grated in a bowl. Add Pimentos and Mayo. Stir well. Salt and pepper if desired. Serve on loaf bread.
Today’s quote is one of those that kinda hits you in layers. Hope you enjoy it!
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
St. Francis of Assisi
Pimento cheese is surely a southern “thang.” I grew up in rural west Tennessee many years ago, so my mother was probably “nearly ’bout” the age of your grandmother. They could have been great pimento cheese eating friends. My mother and my aunt, who lived about a quarter of a mile apart across the field and perhaps a mile by the road, had lunch together veeeeery often under the shade of a big oak tree. They would call each other on the phone and say, “Who is making the pimento cheese today?” I still love pimento cheese and serve it often when we have sandwiches or on crackers. One of my friends expects it every time she comes over. She once told me that she knew she could make it herself, but it was better to wait and have mine.
This is the recipe for pimento cheese that I grew up eating. I have NEVER found anyone else who has ever heard of it made this way but I love it! I don’t know where my mother found the recipe and she doesn’t remember either. The recipe called for the big can of evaporated milk, but we have found from experience that sometimes (not all the time)it would be to runny if we used the whole can and would have to add a little more cheese…but then other times it would be too thick without the whole can. You just kinda have to “play” with it as you make it.
1 tall can evaporated milk
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard (opt)
1 (7 oz.) jar pimentos, drained & chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash cayenne pepper (opt)
Heat approximately 3/4 can milk in a double boiler. Add cheese to hot milk. Stir until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Cool, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients, blend thoroughly. Store in covered container in refrigerator. Keeps well for several weeks when refrigerated.
I grew up eating pimento cheese and love it! I make mine with 1/2 mild cheddar and 1/2 extra sharp cheddar..oh and it has to be Cracker Barrel Cheese. Mix it with pimento’s and Blue Plate Mayo, then spread on fresh white bread. Yum!
Greetings from Upstate South Carolina….
Homemade “men-er cheese” is ALWAYS made with the ONLY mayo around here and that’s Duke’s!
Try a grilled pimmento cheese and bacon sandwich with a piping hot bowl of tomato soup. Now that’s good eating! Yum!
Just for fun, I have been researching pimiento cheese recipes on line. Like so many, I grew up with this staple sandwich spread and yes it was always homemade. Most used “rat” cheese, which is simply a sharp cheddar, pimientos and mayo with a little salt or seasoned salt, but the one difference I have only seen elsewhere once, was that this was NOT mixed with a spoon or fork until after you squeeze the cheese and pimientos together thoroughly with your very clean hands!!Then add mayo with a spoon. The texture is much different.
My hubs LOVES puh-men-ah cheese 🙂 sorry had to put it that same way because this is the way it always sounds when it comes out of my mouth!
There is a small local butcher/store in the town we use to live and that is his fav it is too far of a drive for me to get it for him on a regular basis so maybe I will try making this one to see if it will make do.
I recently found your website and subscribed. So far I have tried 4 recipes and they were all great. I made the pimento cheese – and am now letting it ripen – we plan to pig-out tomorrow. I recently had a BLT made with pimento cheese – interesting combination. I recommend it to any pc lovers.