Monterey Jack
{{Short description|Kind of cheese}}
{{About|Monterey Jack cheese}}
{{Infobox Cheese
| name = Monterey Jack
| image = File:Vella Cheese Young Jack (cropped).jpg
| caption =
| othernames =
| country = United States
| regiontown =
| region = California
| town = Monterey
| source = Cows
| pasteurised = Yes
| texture = Semihard, creamy
| fat =
| protein =
| dimensions =
| weight =
| aging = 1-6 months
}}
Monterey Jack, sometimes shortened to Jack, is a Californian white, semi-hard cheese made using cow's milk, with a mild flavor and slight sweetness. Originating in Monterey, on the Central Coast of California, the cheese has been called "a vestige of Spanish rule in the early nineteenth century, deriving from a Franciscan monastic style of farmer's cheese."{{cite book
|chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14293/14293-h/14293-h.htm#Page_37 |title=The Complete Book of Cheese |chapter=4: American Cheddars |last1=Brown | first1 =Robert Carlton |publisher=Gramercy Publishing Company |location=New York |date=1955 | quote=Monterey Jack is a stirred curd Cheddar without any annatto coloring. It is sweeter than most and milder when young.}}{{cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Cheese |chapter=California |last=Jones |first=Bradley J. |page=107 |editor1-first=Catherine |editor1-last=Donnelly |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2016 |isbn=9780199330911 |oclc=968303209 }}
In addition to being eaten by itself, it is frequently marbled with Colby to produce Colby-Jack,[http://www.eatwisconsincheese.com/cheeses/16/colby-monterey-jack Wisconsin Cheese: Colby-Monterey Jack] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526185828/http://www.eatwisconsincheese.com/cheeses/16/colby-monterey-jack |date=2018-05-26 }}. Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. or with yellow cheddar to produce cheddar-Jack. Pepper Jack is a version flavored with chili peppers and herbs. Dry Jack is a harder cheese with a longer aging time.
Origins
In its earliest form, Monterey Jack was made by 18th-century Franciscan friars of Monterey, Alta California.{{cite web | url =http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/tragic-way-monterey-jack-cheese-got-its-name| title=The Tragic Way Monterey Jack Cheese Got Its Name| editor=FWx| publisher=Food & Wine| quote=In 1769, Spanish Franciscan Father Junipero Serra ... founded the first California Catholic mission in present-day San Diego. A year later, the second mission was founded at Monterey Bay}} California land speculator and businessman David Jacks sold the cheese commercially.{{Cite book|last1=Bakken|first1=Gordon Morris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I6Q5DQAAQBAJ&dq=david+jacks+sold+cheese+commercially&pg=PT376|title=Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West|last2=Kindell|first2=Alexandra|date=2006-02-24|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-1-4129-0550-3|language=en}} He produced a mild white cheese that came to be known eponymously as "Jacks' Cheese" and eventually "Monterey Jack".{{cite book|title= Why do Pirates Love Parrots? An Imponderables Books|last= Feldman|first= David|author-link= David Feldman (author)|year= 2006|publisher= Collins|location= New York|isbn= 0-06-088842-3|pages= [https://archive.org/details/whydopirateslove0000feld/page/53 53–55]|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/whydopirateslove0000feld/page/53}} Other ranchers in the area likewise produced the cheese, among them Andrew Molera, who built a successful dairy operation in Big Sur and whose Monterey Jack was especially well regarded.{{cite web|last1=McKinney|first1=John|title=History Meets Nature Along This Big Sur Walk|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-01-tr-668-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=12 May 2018|date=1 July 1990}}
Aging
Although most of the softer varieties found in American supermarkets are aged for only one month, "Dry Jack" is a harder variety aged for up to 24 months.{{cite web
| url =https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/10/dining/the-riches-of-spain-its-cheese-a-new-appetite-in-america.html?pagewanted=all
| title=The Riches of Spain: Its Cheese; A New Appetite In America| last1=Fabricant| first1 =Florence| website=The New York Times| date =May 10, 2000
| quote=Mahon, a cow's milk cheese from the island of Menorca, with an orange rind, has the kind of nuttiness with buttery overtones you might associate with aged Monterey Jack and is good used just the same way.}}
Uses
The cheese is commonly used as an interior melting cheese for quesadillas, California-style burritos, and also some Mexican-style burritos ("bean and cheese"). It can also be used on cheeseburgers or for grilled cheese sandwiches. It has a mild flavor and good melting quality for some pasta dishes.
Variants
= Dry Jack =
Dry Jack was created by accident in 1915, when a San Francisco wholesaler forgot about a number of wheels of fresh Jack he had stored. As World War I intensified and shipments of hard cheese from Europe were interrupted, he rediscovered the wheels, which had aged into a product his customers found to be a good substitute for classic hard cheeses like Parmesan.{{cite news |first=Sarah Koops |last=Vanderveen |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Dry-Monterey-Jack-Cheese-What-s-Old-Is-New-Again-3023526.php |title=Special to the Chronicle: Dry Monterey Jack Cheese: What's Old Is New Again |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=July 9, 1995 |access-date=2021-04-13}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cheese.com/dry-jack/ |title=Dry Jack |publisher=World News |access-date=2021-04-13}}
= Pepper Jack =
Pepper Jack is a derivative of Monterey Jack flavored with spicy chili peppers, bell peppers, and herbs.{{cite web|title=Pepper Jack|url=http://www.cheese.com/pepper-jack/|website=cheese.com|access-date=24 December 2016}}
Headache safety
Because of its low content of tyramine, an organic compound thought to be associated with headaches, Monterey Jack is frequently recommended as one of the few kinds of cheese that is safe to eat for migraine sufferers.{{cite web|url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56109 |title=Headaches from Food: The Connection |publisher=Medicinenet.com |date=2005-03-29 |access-date=2015-02-26}}
See also
{{Portal|Food}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{Cookbook|Monterey Jack Cheese}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.mchsmuseum.com/cheese.html |publisher=Monterey County Historical Society |title=The "True" Story of Monterey Jack Cheese |last=Moss |first=Wendy |date=1996 }}
- {{cite web| url =http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/dfoods7_new.htm| title =The Legend of Monterey Jack Cheese| editor =Dairy Research & Information Center| publisher =UC Davis| access-date =2016-03-19| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20161211135858/http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/dfoods7_new.htm| archive-date =2016-12-11| url-status =dead}}
- {{cite web| url=http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/dfoods4_new.htm| title=The True Story of Monterey Jack Cheese| editor=Dairy Research & Information Center| publisher=UC Davis| access-date=2016-03-19| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211135843/http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/dfoods4_new.htm| archive-date=2016-12-11| url-status=dead}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140825085018/http://dairymuseum.org/bib.pdf Bibliography of Dairying in California 1770 to 1945]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140825081626/http://dairymuseum.org/archives.pdf Archival Materials - Dairying In California 1770 to 1945]
{{American cheeses}}
{{Cheese}}
{{Authority control}}