jar pimentos
Sweet, mild red peppers, roasted and jarred in brine; used mainly for their color and gentle sweetness rather than any heat, classically diced into pimento cheese.
Buying guidance
Look for a firmly sealed jar with a good use-by date. They're already fully cooked and quite soft, so they're for stirring in rather than for anything that needs texture or bite; drain without rinsing to keep the brine's flavor unless a recipe specifically says to rinse them.
Substitutions
- Roasted red bell pepper, diced -- similar sweetness and color if roasted and peeled at home, with a slightly bigger flavor since it isn't brined.
- Sweet red bell pepper, raw and finely diced -- much firmer texture and less sweet, but works when a jar isn't on hand.
Tips & common mistakes
Jarred pimentos and jarred roasted red peppers are very similar and often interchangeable, though pimentos are a smaller, sweeter pepper variety -- if a recipe calls for one and the store only has the other, the swap rarely matters.
Storage
Once opened, keep any leftover pimentos in their brine rather than draining and storing them dry -- the thin strips dry out and toughen quickly if left uncovered by liquid in the fridge.