As A Born And Raised Southerner This Is The Only Pimento Cheese Brand I'll Use

Being Southern comes with certain eccentricities, or quirks of habit, which might strike curiosity in those unacquainted with the region. We like our tea tooth-achingly sweet (preferably kept in a plastic pitcher and placed into the door of the fridge, always ready to pour), and our gravy giblet filled (leave out the liver, though). More than anything, however, we hold mayonnaise to be the cornerstone of all dining, or at least my family did. Growing up, I was fed such delicacies as mayonnaise sandwiches, fried chicken livers, and, on special occasions, pimento cheese dip.

For the uninitiated, pimento cheese is a dip/spread that is made with chopped, canned pimento peppers, shredded cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper to taste. That is the recipe at its most basic, and that's how my family always made it. The resulting spread was creamy, tangy, and incredibly rich — the perfect pairing for a butter cracker, biscuits, and toast. You could find pimento cheese at almost any gathering or dinner party. A few decades ago, pimento cheese was one of those quirky Southern foods that Northerners might've balked at. But in recent years, there's been a bit of a pimento cheese takeover. In fact, you can probably find at least a few tubs in your local grocery store.

However, as a certified pimento cheese aficionado, I have my opinions on which is the best. To me, Palmetto Cheese is the brand that simply can't be beat. As far as pimento cheese goes, Palmetto Cheese is relatively new. First founded in 2006, the brand has since expanded into being a national brand. And for good reason, its pimento cheese is creamy, tangy, and has a thick, chunky texture that will have you hooked on the first bite.

So what makes Palmetto Cheese stand out from other pimento cheese brands (in all the right ways)? It's simple, the ingredient list that is. Palmetto Cheese is made with sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, cream cheese, pimento peppers, along with a few other seasonings and preservatives. The addition of cream cheese is a deviation from more traditional recipes, but it adds a much needed creaminess that mellows out the tang of the mayonnaise. The taste of Palmetto Cheese is as near to homemade as I've ever encountered in a pre-packaged pimento cheese. It somehow tastes freshly made, and the cheese maintains its just-shredded texture.

And that's another thing, the texture is sublime. While some pre-packaged pimento cheeses, such as Kraft's pimento cheese spread, have a completely smooth texture similar to pub cheese, Palmetto's pimento cheese doesn't shy away from the chunky texture of shredded cheese. The chunky texture doesn't make it any less spreadable, however. Its chunkiness only makes it all the better for dolloping on a burger, or into an omelet. Palmetto pimento cheese also works wonders on a sandwich with fried green tomatoes (another Southern classic). From jalapeño pimento cheese to bacon and pepper jack, there are flavors to suit almost anyone's taste preference. Palmetto Cheese also has new whipped varieties for anyone who prefers their pimento cheese to be smooth in texture.

Now, okay, my choice of a pimento cheese that includes cream cheese might be offensive to some of my fellow Southerners, especially since many traditional Southern pimento cheese recipes don't include cream cheese at all. However, historically speaking, cream cheese is an integral part of the dish, and one that is definitely worth adding in. But speaking of history, we simply can't skate past the fact that, when it comes down to it, the origins of pimento cheese aren't all that Southern at all. In fact, the first iterations of pimento cheese, which hit shelves in the early 20th century, were industrially produced and sold nationwide, often by Northern food manufacturers. And yes, they included cream cheese.

It wasn't until pimento cheese's initial popularity waned after World War II that pimento cheese became a Southern staple, only this time, the trend was led by home cooks making their own batches of the dippable spread (or is it a spreadable dip?) that the mayonnaise-based pimento took over. So maybe Palmetto's cream cheese based recipe is a return to form for the adoptive Southern classic. Plus, Palmetto Cheese is a quintessentially Southern company, originating from Pawleys Island in South Carolina. Before being sold, the cheese was often served as a part of seafood boils, and was a beloved local classic. And though Palmetto is a relatively new brand (it's less than 20 years old), it is now a certified Southern favorite, and might just be responsible for introducing a whole new generation of people (and Southerners) to the beloved spread.