Side Bets FAREWAYS
“Mastering” Pimento Cheese How to craft a winning version of golf’s iconic green-jacketed sandwich. By John Lehndorff I’M EMBARRASSED to say that until recently I was a pimento cheese virgin. Despite a 30-yearplus career as a dining critic and writer, I had somehow missed out on this Southern favorite. I could blame a sheltered Yankee youth in Massachusetts and a life in Colorado, but I actually was aware that pimento cheese existed. I just figured it was like queso or a Christmas cheese ball. I went looking for pimento cheese because it is at the heart of golf’s most famous (and least expensive lunch). In a sport that cherishes traditions and rituals, the Pimento Cheese Sandwich sold at the Masters Tournament is an absolute icon. What I also discovered is that pimento cheese is everywhere and on the shelf in almost every Colorado supermarket.
This spread is a curious cousin to tuna salad, egg salad and chicken salad. Shredded cheddar, mayo and sweet pimento peppers and cream cheese are combined with seasonings and can range from totally bland to fiery. HOW PIMENTO CHEESE ARRIVED AT THE MASTERS Alongside greens, biscuits, cornbread and grits, pimento cheese is a sacred part of Southern cuisine. However, if you go down the pimento cheese rabbit hole, you run into conflicting history, golf myths and recipe controversies. For one thing, the cherished “pate of the South” was actually invented by Yankees. The story goes that in the early 20th century New York cream cheese became popular and
canned sweet “pimiento” peppers arrived from Spain. (We dropped the “i” and started calling them “pimentos.” Cooks started combining the ingredients into simple, satisfying affordable tea sandwiches which became hugely popular in the South. The exact date is hazy but sometime in the mid-1950s, the cheese salad sandwich was first served to feed the crowds during the week of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. The cherished pimento cheese sandwich— simply pimento spread and mayo on squishy white bread with no toppings—still sells for $1.50. It’s jacketed in a green bag. The idea is that if the bag blows away it’ll blend in with the green grass and not distract the golfers.
PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN NOWLAND/RICH CLARKSON & ASSOCIATES
AN HONORED TRADITION: Whether it’s been Arnie, Jack, Tiger or Phil donning the green jacket, a pimento cheese sandwich at the Masters only costs $1.50.
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April 2021 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
