Welcome to the SFA

Welcome to the Southern Foodways Alliance -- an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture with headquarters at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Southern Foodways Alliance documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South. We set a common table where black and white, rich and poor -- all who gather-- may consider our history and our future in a spirit of reconciliation.

Great Pimento Cheese Competition
Finalist 2

finalist 1 | finalist 2 | finalist 3

Jim Early
Winston-Salem NC

My Family History of Pimento Cheese

As a small child in an eastern North Carolina town, blustery winter Saturdays were spent “in camp.” Camp was a “special place” behind the boarded walls of the attic, accessible by slithering through a small opening at the rafters onto an island of carefully spread planks over the ceiling joist. The “campfire” was provided by a vivid imagination and a 12 volt flashlight. A daisy chain of extension cords and an old Motorola radio provided all the entertainment a red-headed, freckled-faced, Opie looking 5 year-old cowboy could wish. Saturday morning was the Buster Brown Show, sponsored by shoes of the same name. Each week Smiling Ed McCoy told stories to his sidekicks Froggy the Gremlin (Hi-ya kids! Hi-ya, Hi-ya, Hi-ya!) and Midnight the Cat (niceeee). My all time favorite story was Bomba the Jungleboy and his great Bull Elephant Tela. I can still hear the sound of Tela’s trumpet. This Saturday ritual was regularly accompanied by three of my favorite “campfire” treats: My mother’s homemade pimento cheese, homemade fried apple pies and cold fresh milk (our in-town neighbor had a cow and shared). Mother’s pimento cheese was hand ground in a #2 Universal Sausage Grinder and made from a wheel of sharp cheddar cheese, pimento, Duke’s Mayonnaise and black pepper. The apples for the pies came from the tree in our backyard and in season it was my duty to gather apples every morning and afternoon. The apples were peeled and sliced by mother who arranged them on white sheets spread over Adirondack chairs in the backyard to dry. The dried apples were hung in cloth sacks for the winter. Mother’s chunky pimento cheese spread thickly on Merita white bread, warm golden brown fried apple pies and a big glass of cold milk from Henry Moss’s cow (lowered over the attic wall by a loving mother who respected a cowboy’s need for space) could turn a nasty winter day into a not-to-be forgotten memory.

Almost sixty years later on a Saturday when the wind is howling and sleet mixed with snow pelts the window pane and I cannot bird hunt, I long for my “camp,” a thick pimento cheese sandwich, a fried apple pie, cold sweet milk and Tela.

Below is my mother’s pimento cheese recipe with a half dozen modifications to transform it into an Old South comfort food with a New South twist.

The Recipe

New South Jalapeño Pimento Cheese

1 pound extra sharp cheddar cheese (I like Tillamook)
1/2 pound mild cheddar cheese (Kraft is good)
1 eight ounce pack Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese
4 rounded tablespoons Duke’s Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
2 seven ounce jars Dromodery pimento pieces (drained)
2 seven ounce jars Cento roasted red peppers (drained)
1/2 twelve ounce jar Mt. Olive jalapeño slices (drained)

Grind through sausage grinder, hand grate or process with blender in grate mode the extra sharp cheddar cheese and mild cheddar cheese separately. Place sharp cheddar cheese and mild cheddar cheese in separate bowls. Into a large blender (I prefer Cuisinart) place half of the sharp cheddar cheese, half of the mild cheddar cheese, half of the mayonnaise, _ of the pimento pieces and 1/2 of the roasted red pepper pieces. Blend. Add half of the Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 of the cream cheese in small pieces so as not to jam the blender. Blend until you have a smooth creamy dip consistency (approximately 1 minute). You desire a dip consistency that will hold on a cracker or rigid chip. Next add 1 ounce jalapeño slices for a mild dip, 2 ounces for a heartier dip and 3 ounces for a spicy dip. Blend. This blending should take approximately 1 minute. Repeat the blending process with the remaining half of your ingredients. My Cuisinart blender will only hold 1/2 of this recipe at a time. Store in tightly sealed containers (preferably glass) in refrigerator. Note the taste of the jalapeños will intensify with overnight storage. To my taste the dip has a nice pimento cheese start and a jalapeño finish but not to lingering. I prefer the mild dip for a gathering with sweet iced tea, the heartier dip for a gathering with wine and the spicy dip for a gathering with longnecks. Total preparation time is approximately 5 minutes. Makes a bunch. Enjoy!

The Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award

Each fall, the SFA (with support from the Fertel Foundation) honors an unsung hero or heroine, a foodways tradition bearer of note, with the Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award.

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