[1]I owe my love of pimento cheese to a man named Lake by Kevin Pang:

    The side of our refrigerator is reserved for special mementos. I'm
    staring at it right now as I type: There's a Polaroid of my now-wife
    and myself in our early days of dating, a photograph with our
    two-year-old at the beach last summer, there are food-themed novelty
    magnets from cities we traveled to over the years. Oh, I also see my
    health insurance card that I need to put back in my wallet. But, for
    the most part, important mile markers from our lives, memorable and
    flat enough to attach onto a fridge.
    Curious enough, there's a 8 1/2-by-11 sheet of paper on our fridge
    since 2010. Looking at it conjures a warm memory-it comes from a man
    I met nine years ago for one afternoon. His name is [2]Lake E. High,
    a wonderful name of a wonderful man who met up with me in Columbia,
    South Carolina. At that time, High was president of the [3]South
    Carolina Barbecue Association (he stepped down from the position
    this past July and is now president emeritus), and he agreed to show
    this [4]Chicago newspaper reporter and barbecue neophyte the
    delicious foods of his home state.
    I was young then, inexperienced in the food traditions of the
    American South. I told High I had tried pimento cheese for the first
    time only days earlier in [5]Shelby, North Carolina at Bridges
    Barbecue Lodge. And with that cue, High launched into a 20-minute
    monologue about the particulars of pimento cheese. I sat listening
    to him, entranced that pimento cheese could yield 20 minutes of
    soliloquy.
    Weeks later, I returned from my barbecue road trip week and
    discovered an e-mail in my inbox. It was from Lake High. It included
    a Microsoft Word attachment titled: Pimento Cheese. It read, in
    part:
    > I gave this recipe to a friend who thought mine was the best he
    had ever had so he took the recipe and went out and bought some
    Piggly Wiggly sharp cheddar used the Hellmann's mayonnaise his wife
    likes and had in the fridge. He was dumbfounded that it didn't taste
    anything like mine and he said it was awful. I gave him a short
    lecture and had him re-read the recipe.
    High included a number of secrets. He insisted only Kraft Reserve
    Sharp cheddar cheese be used, and if not available, Kraft's Extra
    Sharp is also acceptable. He implored that only [6]Duke's mayonnaise
    be used (it has a higher egg yolk ratio, which gives it a "homemade"
    richness-plus it's also the officially sanctioned mayo of the
    South). He add lots of black pepper. He mashes the jarred pimentos
    with a fork. And he adds a half teaspoon of sugar to "take the edge
    off the sharp cheese while leaving the flavor." High says: "If you
    can taste the sugar, you've added too much sugar."
    I don't know if using a different mayonnaise, or withholding the
    sugar, would make a taste difference that my palate could discern.
    But I also haven't been consuming pimento cheese my entire life. And
    so I defer to the sage wisdom of Lake E. High, a gracious man who
    forever changed my worldview on pimento cheese. This is the only way
    I've made it, and the only way I'll make it going forward. It's
    absolutely delicious. That itself earns a place on our fridge
    forever.

Lake E. High's Pimento Cheese

    * 10 oz. Kraft Reserve Sharp cheddar cheese
    * 1/2 tsp. sugar
    * 1 small jar (4 oz.) chopped pimentos, mashed up with a fork
    * Lots of black pepper (and some red pepper flakes if you like it
      hot)
    * 3-4 heaping Tbsp. [7]Duke's mayonnaise
      Grate cheese into a bowl. Drain one small jar of pimentos and place
      onto plate. Mash with a fork into tiny pieces. Add cheese and
      pimentos into bowl, then add Duke's mayonnaise to desired
      consistency. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar and mix. Blacken the top of the
      cheese mixture with fresh ground black pepper, then stir it all up.
      Postscript: I e-mailed Lake E. High while writing this, asking for
      permission to reprint his recipe here. He graciously said yes, and
      added, "I tell people about your comment, 'Pimento cheese has
      changed my life' to much enjoyment." He's right.

  Outside of inside of olives, I don't know if I experienced pimentos
  much. Luckily I have two sisters, a brother, their families, and a mom
  to whom pimento cheese is a way of life.
  I can't say that I am a fan, but based off of this recipe I can see why
  I am not - that is a small amount of pepper (the pimentos, TIL) and
  black pepper to counter the sharpness of the cheddar. The sugar might
  not be best to cut the cheese sharpness - maybe lemon juice? The recipe
  misses the mayonnaise completely I presume at least 50% in volume to
  the total (UPDATE: They added it in and I reflected it above); I
  subscribe to the use of Duke's in lieu of [8]Japanese Kewpie
  mayonnaise.

  p.s. ※ to self: taste test Duke's and Kewpie
    __________________________________________________________________

  My original entry is here: [9]I owe my love of pimento cheese to a man
  named Lake. It posted Mon, 14 Jan 2019 07:29:26 +0000.
  Filed under: culture,

References

  1. https://thetakeout.com/recipe-pimento-cheese-dip-spread-1831689604
  2. https://www.southernliving.com/dukes-mayo-southern-food
  3. https://www.scbarbeque.com/
  4. http://bbqroadtrip.tumblr.com/post/1260977544/mile-1529-1540-maurices-piggie-park-and
  5. http://bbqroadtrip.tumblr.com/post/1239362743/mile-798-bridges-barbecue-lodge
  6. https://www.southernliving.com/dukes-mayo-southern-food
  7. https://www.dukesmayo.com/where-to-buy/
  8. https://www.kewpie.co.jp/english/
  9. https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=2541

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