Is There A Difference Between Pimentos And Roasted Red Peppers?

Pimentos (alternative spelling "pimientos") are red peppers you probably associate with one of the greatest cheese spreads known to mankind, pimento cheese. Pimento cheese not only makes a great dip, but can also serve as a really solid filling for a sandwich, or as a topping for a burger or a fried chicken sandwich. It makes a good base for an unconventional pizza too, I might add, from personal experimentation. When you make pimento cheese, which couldn't be any easier, you'll usually be using the canned or jarred kind, that's pre-diced for your convenience.

But it does beg the question: Are pimentos and roasted red bell peppers the same thing? They do look as if they could be; if you roast a red bell pepper, peel off its skin, and dice it up the same way, it's hard to tell the difference. But they aren't one and the same. In fact, pimentos are their own kind of pepper altogether, so you pimento conspiracy theorists can put down your magnifying glasses now. Pimento peppers, sometimes identified as cherry peppers, are a mild variety of heart-shaped peppers that are prized for their sweetness. They're used in other things that aren't just pimento cheese too. 

The first item you'll probably think of other than pimento cheese when it comes to pimentos is green olives, since many of the jarred kind come stuffed with a sliver of pimento. Or so you'd think. You're mostly correct; the little slice in the middle of a green olive is made of pimento, but isn't a pimento in its natural form. It's actually more likely to be pimentos that have been pureed then thickened and set and cut into tiny strips before being stuffed into each olive. It's thought that green olives were initially filled with the sweet pepper to offset their bitterness, but doing so with actual pieces of pepper is an arduous and manual process, which is why it's now been replaced with the modernized gelled puree.

Then there's pimento loaf, which is a luncheon meat that's not unlike bologna, except it has bits of chopped pimento and pickle in it. Similarly, olive loaf has slices of green olive in it along with accompanying bits of pimento. I've noticed both types of sandwich meat can be a bit polarizing, but personally, I think they're more interesting than plain bologna.

If you're having a hard time finding jars of pimento pepper at your local grocery store (it's happened to me before), you can certainly roast red bell peppers and use them in place of pimentos in recipes, including in pimento cheese. In fact, if you want to add extra flavor, you can go the extra mile and fire-roast some red bell peppers to add an extra touch of char to them. This'll add another layer of flavor that jarred pimentos wouldn't ordinarily add to your pimento cheese. Traditionalists might get angry at you, but you don't have to fess up when you bring your homemade pimento cheese to the party.

Otherwise, jarred pimentos should be fairly easy to obtain at major supermarkets in various container sizes, usually by the other jarred items like olives. It's highly unlikely you'll find them in their raw form, but if you do, you can cook with them in a similar fashion as you would red bell peppers, by stuffing them, using them as an ingredient in a sauté, or by pickling them. However you enjoy your red bell peppers should translate well for pimentos, though do be aware that pimentos have a noticeably sweeter flavor profile, but that's one of the reasons why people love them. So no — pimentos and roasted red bell peppers aren't the same thing, but they can be easily be swapped with each other in a pinch, and most people might not spot the difference.