The pâté of the South: sharp orange cheddar, mayonnaise, diced piquillo peppers, cream cheese and a hit of cayenne, whipped to a fluffy spread. Eaten on crackers, in tomato sandwiches or as a burger topping.

Pimento cheese has roots in early-20th-century American food magazines: a 1908 Good Housekeeping recipe called for cream cheese and minced pimentos, and the 1909 'Up-to-Date Sandwich Book' put it in print as a sandwich filling. It migrated south through the 1920s and became the unofficial Charleston tea-table staple by the 1950s, codified through Duke's Mayonnaise marketing across the South. Husk's bourbon-and-bacon variant, Magnolias' classic and FIG's house version anchor the contemporary city interpretation.

4 editor picks for Pimento Cheese in Charleston, ranked by editorial score. All Charleston signature dishes · Pimento Cheese across every city.