Pepper Jack
Pepper Jack is a version of Monterey Jack, the white cow's milk cheese from Monterey, California, flavored with spicy chili peppers, bell peppers, and herbs. It melts cleanly, so it shows up in quesadillas, burritos, cheeseburgers, and grilled cheese.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Specific Origin | Monterey, California, the U.S. |
| Milk Type | Cow's milk |
| Milk Treatment | Pasteurized |
| Texture | Semi-soft |
| Flavor | Spicy, from chili peppers and herbs |
| Age | About 1 month |
What is Pepper Jack Cheese?
Pepper Jack starts as Monterey Jack, a Californian cheese first made by 18th-century Franciscan friars in Monterey, Alta California. In the 19th century Dona Juana Cota de Boronda made and sold Queso del Pais in Monterey to support her family, pressing the curds with a handmade jack that may have given the cheese its name. The land speculator David Jacks sold a mild white version commercially, known first as Jacks' Cheese and later as Monterey Jack. Other local ranchers made it too, including Andrew Molera, whose Big Sur dairy turned out a well regarded example.
The cheese is made with cow's milk. Pepper Jack is the variant flavored with spicy chili peppers, bell peppers, and herbs. Most of the softer Jack styles sold in American supermarkets are aged for only about a month, unlike Dry Jack, which is held up to 24 months and ends up hard enough to stand in for Parmesan.
The base cheese is white and semi-hard, mild with a slight sweetness, and the peppers supply the heat and bite. Monterey Jack is also low in tyramine, the compound linked to headaches, so it is often named as one of the few cheeses that migraine sufferers can eat.
Jack cheese melts well, which is how most of it gets eaten. It goes inside quesadillas, California-style burritos, and bean and cheese burritos, on cheeseburgers, and into grilled cheese sandwiches and some pasta dishes.
How Does Pepper Jack Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Pepper Jack against.
