Shredded pepper jack

This article is shredded pepper jack Monterey Jack cheese. Monterey Jack, sometimes shortened to Jack, is a US 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. In addition to being eaten by itself, it is frequently marbled with Colby to produce Colby-Jack, or with yellow cheddar to produce cheddar-Jack. In its earliest form, Monterey Jack was made by 18th-century Franciscan friars of Monterey, Alta California. 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. 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. Pepper Jack is a derivative of Monterey Jack flavored with spicy chili peppers, bell peppers, and herbs. 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 cheeses that is safe to eat for migraine sufferers. Monterey Jack is a stirred curd Cheddar without any annatto coloring. It is sweeter than most and milder when young.