Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Cheese quiz: Who eats the most pimento cheese?


Which two cities are the leaders in pimento cheese consumption?


Apparently, they are . . . Charlotte and Raleigh (well, Raleigh-Durham, the Tarheel twin cities).


That's according to writer Emily Wallace, who did a report on 'minner cheese in the latest edition of Gravy, the newsletter of the Southern Foodways Alliance. Wallace interviewed Ed Simmerly, vice president of Moody Dunbar in Johnston City, Tenn., the nation's leading canner of pimentos.


Simmerly said that 80 percent of pimento cheese spreads are sold in 11 Southeastern markets, with Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte claiming the prize as the two biggest consumers of pimento cheese.


As far as which pimento cheese is best . . . let's not start that again, shall we?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Palmetto pimento cheese!! Best by far!

Julie @ Willow Bird Baking said...

Hurray! I DEFINITELY contributed to Charlotte eating the most pimento cheese!!

Robert said...

From the way I read it, it sounds like Charlotte and Raleigh lead in the consumption of pre-made pimento cheese spreads (like Ruth's). But is that the same thing as leading in consumption of pimento cheese as a whole, if you count homemade?

"Pimento" Patty said...

The best pimento cheese is homemade! However, if you can get hold of Miss Bonnie's or Trader Joe's, they'll do very nicely. Palmetto brand is full of preservatives and additives that we try to avoid.

Anonymous said...

Make mine with jalapeno!