The South's Most Iconic Cheese Actually Comes From Up North

Ahh, cheese. Cheese is the type of food that's good as is or paired with something else. While I love a good brie or gouda, sometimes a good old pimento cheese hits the spot. It's a great option as a spread on crackers when serving a group or when you're just needing a snack at home. There's something about the mix of cheese, pimentos, and mayo that is so tasty and hard to resist. While the "Land of Cheese" is typically associated with the state of Wisconsin, pimento cheese has long been known as a Southern delicacy (alongside other Southern staples, like boiled peanuts). 

Despite its strong association with the South, pimento cheese doesn't originate from any Southern state. Instead, it's known to come from the Northeastern United States. That's right, folks, pimento cheese was first put on the map in the Big Apple, the Empire State, the Concrete Jungle -– yup, New York. So, how did a cheese dish take such a drastic turn and end up at potlucks in Alabama and Tennessee? It primarily has to do with Georgia being the primary manufacturer of the peppers used to make the dish.

Pimento cheese gained traction in the 1870s. This was around the same time New York farmers (weird ring to it, huh?) began making what we know as cream cheese today. During the same period, Spain started to import red  "pimiento" peppers to the U.S., which means "red sweet pepper" in Spanish. Somehow, people liked the sound of it, and "pimento" was born. However, the pimento cheese dish didn't become a well-known hit until 1908, when the original recipe was printed in Good Housekeeping. From there, Southerners took a liking to it, and it became a widespread phenomenon in the region.

Once pimento peppers became a mainstay, farmers in Georgia began growing their own and selling them to manufacturers. It wasn't until the World War II era that people began incorporating mayo and cheddar. Thus, today's pimento cheese dish was born. Today, you can find it anywhere you dine at in the south.