Camille Manansala
Some folks put Martha's Pimento cheese on crackers; others just spoon it directly from the tub.
It was a hard sell in Wisconsin, even while earning accolades and gaining some hardcore fans. So last year, Martha Davis Kipcak called it quits on Martha’s Pimento Cheese, her small-batch, spreadable cheese. But the recipe will now live on. The only catch is that you’ll have to go to Paoli to pick up a container of the peppery concoction.
Landmark Creamery is now making the cheese using Kipcak’s recipe, says co-owner Anna Thomas Bates. Thomas Bates says she met Kipcak while both were making their cheeses at Clock Shadow Creamery in Milwaukee. They became friends and would travel to cheese conferences together.
“I always loved her products,” says Thomas Bates, who co-owns Landmark Creamery with Anna Landmark. “Her pimento cheese is delicious.”
When Kipcak decided to close her business, Thomas Bates says she floated the idea of buying Kipcak’s recipe or at least borrowing it. They agreed on the latter: Landmark will make the cheese and sell it as “Martha’s Pimento Cheese” at its cafe in Paoli. If Kipcak decides at some point to resume cheesemaking, the recipe reverts back to her.
Anna Landmark (far left) and Anna Thomas Bates have adopted this southern tradition in Martha Kipcak’s Wisconsin style.
“We are honored she is entrusting us with it for now,” says Thomas Bates. “We feel like guardians.”
And Kipcak is similarly thrilled. “I’m tickled pink that Anna and Anna love it and want to continue it and think it will be a special feature in their Paoli shop,” says Kipcak. “I couldn’t be more tickled and honored.”
Thomas Bates says Landmark Creamery will initially make the pimento cheese with traditional, aged cheddar. Later, they’ll start making the spicier versions, made with chile de árbol and jalapeño. They might also try out a sheep’s milk version.
Pimento cheese is an obsession among some Southerners, says Kipcak, a third-generation Texan who now lives in Milwaukee. “Everyone does it slightly different,” she says. “I think that is one of the charming things about the long and abiding tradition of pimento cheese. It’s very personal for Southern people. Some people have even done their master’s thesis on it.”
The pimento cheese will only be available at Landmark’s cafe and store, which has been open since the fall. Business was booming one recent weekend when Paoli hosted a large flea market. But Thomas Bates is a little concerned now that the bridge over the Sugar River is down and visitors can’t drive directly through the small town. Their new joke: “Make sure you visit both east and west Paoli!”