Pepper Jack Cheese

Description

Pepper Jack Cheese is just one of our selection of many spicy pepper cheeses.  Pepper Jack Cheese is a cow’s milk cheese which blends the creamy, buttery flavor of jack cheese with the intensity of spicy peppers, most notably jalapeños, but also includes some serrano peppers and habañeros. Pepper Jack Cheese is used in a wide variety of recipes, and it is particularly popular in the American West, where people have an acquired taste for spicy peppers. Pepper Jack Cheese is made by adding spicy peppers to the buttery semi firm cheese known as Monterey Jack.  As the cheese ages, the peppery flavor intensifies, with some older pepper jacks being quite zesty. Generally, the cheese ages only for a few months, acquiring a creamy color and a semi-firm texture.    Pepper Jack Cheese melts very well, making it suitable for things like quesadillas and hot sandwiches. The moist texture also makes it suitable for grating, so people often sprinkle grated Pepper Jack Cheese on a variety of foods; it pairs especially well with barbecued meats such as beef, and it can be used on burgers, steaks, and various broiled dishes. Pepper jack may also be cubed or sliced and set out on a cheese platter with bread and crackers.

History of Pepper Jack Cheese

The Cheese, commonly known as Monterey Jack was made by the Mexican Franciscan friars of  Monterey, CA back the 19th century. A California businessman named David Jack first realized the market for the cheese could be developed. He produced the mild, white cheese, which came to be known as “Jack’s Cheese”, and eventually “Monterey Jack.” Later, sensing a market in the western US for a spicier version of the friars’ concoction,  producers began adding small pieces of spicy peppers to the curds of their jack cheese, adding a zing to buttery cheese. Thus, Pepper Jack Cheese was born.

Wine Pairing for Pepper Jack Cheese

Pepper Jack Cheese goes best with slightly sweet white wines like Chardonnay, Riesling, or dessert wines.