Smoked Monterey Jack
American and Dutch immigrants brought the art of traditional cheese making to the United States of America during the 1700’s and factory produced cheeses became the norm in the 1850’s. Most American cheeses are manufactured but not all American cheeses deserve a rap. America now has almost every cheese variety imaginable and there are even superb domestic variations of Swiss and French cheeses. There are many cheeses, which have been discovered in America, and today, it looks like Americans are going back in time to old style cheese making techniques.
The history of Monterey Jack cheese has been debated for a long time now. It is said that Spanish missionaries who came to California in the 1700’s made a cheese that they called queso de pais more commonly known as country cheese. After the missionaries left the locals continued making the cheese and over the years it has evolved into what we know as Monterey Jack cheese today.
Another version claims that the credit for making this cheese goes to Domingo Pedrazzi who lived in Carmel Valley, Monterey County, California. Another legend states that a woman named Dona Juana Cota de Boronda began selling the cheese door to door after her husband was incapacitated in an accident. Legends apart, actual fact states that in 1882 a Scottish merchant began selling queso de pais from his dairies. He branded his cheeses with his last name and name of the city of its origin, Monterey. This man’s name was David Jacks and soon enough people dropped the ’s’ from his name and began asking for Monterey Jack cheese. This name was made official by the FDA in 1955. The California Milk Advisory Board states that Monterey Jack is the most popular cheese invented in the United States of Ameica.
Monterey jack is a semi-soft cheese with an ivory to pale yellow colour. Roughed by smokehouse char on the outside, Monterey Jack cheese is creamy on the inside and has a flavour similar to American Muenster cheese. A variation of this cheese is one that is harder and has a texture firm enough for grating with a charper flavour. Semi-soft Jack is also available. Other variations of Monterey Jack include those flavoured with habañero to chipotle to caraway. Others use garlic; some use hickory to smoke it and some even use smoked salmon.
There are many different ways that Monterey jack can be used. Its mild flavour lends itself well to sauces and even to the cheeseboard. It can be enjoyed as a nibble between meals. It works very well even with crackers, nachos or smoked meats. The smoked variety is smoked over hickory chips and that lends it a rich smoky flavour, which permeates through the entire cheese. The cheese can be sliced into sandwiches or melted into casseroles giving them an entirely new flavour.
Monterey jack cheese serves well with full, hearty red wines like the Sauvignon Blanc, the medium bodied Merlot and the fruity Zinfandel. The cheese also goes very well with plain and simple beer.
The versatility of Monterey Jack is what makes it the most popular and one of the most well known cheeses of the United States of America. The very fact that it can be used with chicken, pork or even venison is what makes it so unique. This is a cheese worth developing a taste for.
- Ayesha Sruti Ahmed
Tags: california, cheese, smoked monterey jack cheese
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