Monterey Jack | |
---|---|
Country of origin | United States |
Region | California |
Town | Monterey |
Source of milk | Cows |
Pasteurised | Yes |
Texture | Semihard, creamy |
Aging time | 1-6 months |
Related media on Commons |
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. It has been called "an American original" and "as a vestige of Spanish rule in the early nineteenth century, derives from a Franciscan monastic style of farmer's cheese." [1] [2]
In addition to being eaten by itself, it is frequently marbled with Colby to produce Colby-Jack, [3] 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.
In its earliest form, Monterey Jack was made by 18th-century Franciscan friars of Monterey, Alta California. [4] California land speculator and businessman David Jacks sold the cheese commercially. [5] He produced a mild white cheese that came to be known eponymously as "Jacks' Cheese" and eventually "Monterey Jack". [6] 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. [7]
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 six months. [8]
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.
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. [9] [10]
Pepper Jack is a derivative of Monterey Jack flavored with spicy chili peppers, bell peppers, and herbs. [11]
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. [12]
Cheddar cheese is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting. It originates from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset.
Pinconning cheese is an aged semi-hard whole cow's milk, Colby-style cheese named after Pinconning, Michigan. It is made and distributed by a number of different companies including Pinconning Cheese Company and Wilson's (Horn) Cheese Shoppe in Pinconning, Michigan, and Williams Cheese in nearby Linwood, Michigan.
Colby is a semihard orange cheese made from cow's milk. It is named after the city of Colby, Wisconsin, USA, where it was first developed in 1885 and quickly became popular.
Cheez-It is a brand of cheese cracker manufactured by the Kellogg Company through its Sunshine Biscuits division. Approximately 26 by 24 millimetres, the rectangular crackers are made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, cheese, skim milk, salt, and spices.
The chile relleno is a dish in Mexican cuisine that originated in the city of Puebla. In 1858, it was described as a "green chile pepper stuffed with minced meat and coated with eggs".
Muenster or munster is a semi-soft cheese from the United States. It is thought to be an imitation of the Alsatian washed-rind Munster cheese, introduced by German immigrants. It is distinct from the processed dairy food Sweet Muenster Cheese. Its name is not related to the German cities of Münster in Westphalia or in Lower Saxony or the Irish province of Munster, but rather to the city of Munster in Alsace, which was part of Germany at the time the cheese was introduced in the US by German immigrants, but is now in France.
Colby-Jack, or Co-jack/Cojack, is an American cheese made from Colby and Monterey Jack. It is classified as semi-hard in texture and is mild due to its two-week aging process. It is generally sold in a full-moon or a half-moon shape when it is young. The flavor of Colby-Jack is mild to mellow. Colby-Jack cheese is mainly produced in the states of Wisconsin and California. It is used in various dishes or as a topping to be melted. These dishes include burgers, pasta bakes, macaroni and cheese, casseroles and so on. It is predominantly used in the United States, and is not readily available internationally.
Hilmar Cheese Company is a cheese and whey products manufacturer headquartered in Hilmar, California, United States. The privately owned company has over 1000 employees and specializes in the mass production of Monterey jack, pepper jack, colby, colby-jack, flavored jacks, mozzarella, Hispanic and cheddar cheese. As of 2011, Hilmar Cheese processes two million gallons of milk per day, producing over two million pounds of cheese per day. The company's Hilmar facility produces more cheese per year from a single site than any other cheese manufacturer in the world.
Cheese is a dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk. During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout.
Granular cheese, also known as stirred curd cheese and hard cheese, is a type of cheese produced by repeatedly stirring and draining a mixture of curd and whey. It can refer to a wide variety of cheeses, including the grana cheeses such as Parmigiano-Reggiano (pictured) and various others. Many types are commonly used in the production of processed cheese, especially American cheese, which by law must consist of Cheddar cheese, Colby cheese, cheese curd, or granular cheese.
There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most commonly and traditionally used is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods. The criteria may either be used singly or in combination, with no single method being universally used.
Marble cheese is a name given to cheeses with marbled patterns. These are produced by combining either two different colored curds, cheese curds or processed cheeses.
Cheeses in Mexico have a history that begins with the Spanish conquest, as dairy products were unknown in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The Spanish brought dairy animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as cheesemaking techniques. Over the colonial period, cheesemaking was modified to suit the mixed European and indigenous tastes of the inhabitants of New Spain, varying by region. This blending and variations have given rise to a number of varieties of Mexican cheeses. These are most popular in the country, although European cheeses are made, as well. Almost all cheese in Mexico is made with cows’ milk, with some made from goats’ milk. More recently, efforts have been made to promote sheep's milk cheeses. Most cheeses are made with raw (unpasteurized) milk. Cheeses are made in the home, on small farms or ranches, and by major dairy product firms. Between 20 and 40 different varieties of cheese are made in Mexico, depending on how one classifies them. Some, such as Oaxaca and panela, are made all over Mexico, but many are regional cheeses known only in certain sections on the country. Some of the least common are in danger of extinction.
Wainwright Dairy is a creamery established by Carl Wainwright in Live Oak, Florida. The dairy produces pasteurized but nonhomogenized cream-on-top milk and Colby cheese, pepper jack cheese, baby Swiss cheese, cheddar, and chipotle cheese. It was established in 2009. Their Baby Swiss, Marble Cheddar, Cheddar, Shard Cheddar, Chipotle Cheddar, Provolone, Mozzarella, Longhorn Cheddar and Muenster are available at the Tipple's Brews store in Gainesville.
The Sonoma Cheese Factory is a cheese producer and specialty food store with a wine shop and café in Sonoma, California in the United States.
Dairy is a major industry in the state of Wisconsin. Being known for its dairy production, the state is often called "America's Dairyland." The industry is prominent in official state symbols—being displayed on the state's license plates, state's slogan, and on the state quarter.
Enzyme-modified cheese (EMC) is a concentrated cheese flavour ingredient that is produced from cheese by treatment with enzymes such as proteases, lipases and esterases. An incubation period under controlled conditions is required for proper flavor development.These enzymes accelerate and intensify the ripening of cheese, which is normally done with enzymes released by an microbial culture. They may be added to during cheesemaking, after the cheese curds have been pressed, or even after the cheese has been naturally aged. EMCs were first made in the 1970s.
Commercial cheesemaking in Wisconsin dates back to the nineteenth century. Early cheesemaking operations began on farmsteads in the Michigan and Wisconsin territories, with large-scale production starting in the mid-1800s. Wisconsin became the largest producer of cheese in the United States in the early 1900s, and in 2019 produced over 3.36 billion pounds of cheese in more than 600 varieties, accounting for 26% of all cheese made in the country that year.
Monterey Jack is a stirred curd Cheddar without any annatto coloring. It is sweeter than most and milder when young.
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
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.