Kraft Pimento Cheese Spread, 5 oz

A pimento is a mild, sweet red pepper, thicker-fleshed and more aromatic than a bell and sitting low enough on the heat scale to read as sweet rather than hot. Chopped fine and folded into cheese, it is the pepper behind the Southern classic, and this small Kraft jar is the ready-made version of that idea.

Homemade pimento cheese is a coarse, sharp thing built from hand-grated cheddar and mixed in a bowl. The jar is deliberately a different animal: soft, mild and smooth enough to spread straight onto a saltine without tearing it. Think of it as the sandwich-and-snack spread rather than the party bowl you set out with a knife.

The uses are the traditional ones. White bread finger sandwiches with the crusts trimmed, celery sticks filled for a lunchbox, a layer under scrambled eggs on toast, or a spoonful stirred through hot grits. Five ounces is a jar sized for one or two people working through it over a few days.