Is pimiento cheese ‘the paste of the South’ or ‘the caviar of the South’?

Pimiento cheese / Duke’s Kitchen

It depends on whom you ask. Historians call homemade pimiento cheese — a mayonnaise-based sharp cheddar spread or dip — “the paste of the South,” perhaps because its low cost has helped to sustain residents in hard times. People who know how delicious it can be on a grilled cheese sandwich often describe it as “the caviar (or pâté) of the South.”