I can't be the only one.
Every day, the crew at my (other) job is provided with a mid-afternoon snack. A couple of times a week, it's a cheese platter: always the same, pretty unexciting collection of chunked and cubed cheddar, brie, dill havarti, and a peculiar marbled orange and white cheese. And in one corner, atop a leaf or two of curly kale garnish, is the Pepper Jack. Even presented in this totally unclassy way, I can never seem to resist it.
And there may be no better time to sing the praises of this cheese than before a weekend of sports-watching and beer drinking. (At least that's what my days off are starting to look like.)
Pepper Jack is what I like to call a "good-bad" cheese, meaning that though its quality or make-process may not be too refined, it's still delicious at the appropriate time and in the right place. Sometimes, it's just what you want. (And to clarify, in my language there is also such a thing as a "bad-bad" cheese.)
Simply put, Pepper Jack is Monterey Jack studded with chile peppers. Monterey Jack is one of the best melters around, and sometimes there's really no substitute for its buttery, mild flavor. Hey, plain Monterey Jack is kind of a guilty pleasure, come to think of it, too!
And so, a bit of history: In the 1890's, a Scotsman named David Jacks created Monterey Jack, near Monterey, California. It ages for only about a week. You may have also heard of Dry Jack, which is a version aged seven to ten months. Pepper Jack has jalepeños or habeneros mixed into the curd during its make. Not surprisingly, these peppery bits infuse throughout the cheese, intensifying one's cravings for icy beer or pub fare. Or both.
This weekend, or anytime, vary your usual repertoire and use Pepper Jack in place of Jack or cheddar in:
or even...
And in the meantime, don't feel bad about your guilty pleasures when it comes to food... more often than not, they're a confession worth making. (Or cooking.)
Nora Singley is an avid lover of cheese, and for some time she was a cheesemonger and the Director of Education at Murray's Cheese Shop in New York City, where she continues to teach cheese classes for the public. She is currently an assistant TV chef on The Martha Stewart Show.
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My wife and I have perfected a homemade mac n' cheese recipe cannibalized from a few other recipes. One of the major cheeses in it is pepper jack. Adds a nice spicyness to it.
Yancey's Fancy makes a cheese similar to pepper jack that uses white cheddar and peppadew peppers--really tasty!
"A peculiar marbled orange and white cheese..."
Surely it's cojack?
A slice of pepper jack is the best egg-and-cheese on a roll cheese. With the little packet of ketchup, of course.
I love pepper jack cheese. A couple slices on a ryvita cracker yum. I like the tillamook brand cheese.
I, too, like the occasional pepper jack snack.
but, just to clarify, what's so 'bad' about it? is this some mild cheese-snobbery? what makes it inherently a lesser cheese? is it just the commercially available brands that are commonly eaten? is there 'good' pepper jack made with as much artistry as a good brie or chevre?
and also, my curiosity led me to a quick google search which showed that David Jack only promoted and manufactured the sale of the cheese on a larger scale. it had ben around a good hundred years before that, being crafted by monks. (does that make it more legit?)
I envy your ability to buy pepper jack cheese - it's a "speciality" cheese over here in the UK, something which is hard to find at the best of times and non-existent north of Oxford.
Round here, the height of cheese snobbery is knowing the difference between cheddar and red leicester :(
Ah, I love pepper jack. A big slice of it with a crunchy apple . . . bliss.
A hunk of pepper jack never lasts long in my cheese drawer.
The "peculiar marbled orange and white cheese" is probably colby jack, which is also pretty tasty for snacking.
I don't buy it very often only because I don't think about it but I love eating it on the right dish.
I have to shout out to Cabot's Hot Habenero Cheddar cheese.... absolutely delicious on it's own, with crackers, in scrambled eggs....
A local fave is a "Shrimp Kiss":
Peel and devein a large shrimp, leaving the shell on the tail.
Cut the shrimp in half, from head to tail. (Do not cut tail off, or allow the shrimp to become two pieces.)
Take a dab of pepper jack cheese and put it between the two sides of the shrimp.
Wrap in bacon and secure with a toothpick.
Either fry or grill. If you fry them, they take about 4 minutes to completely cook through.
Sounds like you're getting catering from Whole Foods - those cheese platters are awful!
I would also like to know what makes pepper jack cheese a "guilty pleasure."