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Cheese from USA

Pepper Jack

Pepper Jack is Monterey Jack flavoured with spicy chili peppers, jalapeños being a common choice. The base cheese is made from pasteurised dairy ingredients soured with a lactic culture and set with rennet; the curd is cut, stirred and heated, part of the whey is replaced with water, and the curd is pressed lightly. The sources used here do not say at which stage the peppers go in.

Fully documentedCheeseUS standard of identity (21 CFR 133.153 with 133.193, spiced or flavoured standardised cheese)Family: Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe standard sets limits, not a recipe; the only dose it gives is for calcium chloride. No source used here gives an amount of peppers.
Milk, nonfat milk or cream, pasteurisedUsed alone or together, as in the Monterey cheese standard[cfr-133-153]
Lactic acid-producing bacterial culture[cfr-133-153]
Rennet or other animal, plant or microbial clotting enzymes[cfr-133-153]
Hot chili peppers; jalapeños are a common choice, and bell peppers and herbs also occurWikipedia names spicy chili peppers, bell peppers and herbs; Fiery Foods names jalapeños, habaneros and green chile[wp-jack][fiery-jack]
Calcium chloride (optional)At most 0.02% of the weight of the dairy ingredients[cfr-133-153]
Salt[cfr-133-153]
Starterlactic acid-producing culture
Start
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What changes: The milk is pasteurised before the cheese is made

Step 1 of 7
Pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The US Monterey standard requires pasteurised dairy ingredients; it gives no time or temperature.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Pepper Jack is Monterey Jack flavoured with spicy chili peppers, jalapeños being a common choice. The base cheese is made from pasteurised dairy ingredients soured with a lactic culture and set with rennet; the curd is cut, stirred and heated, part of the whey is replaced with water, and the curd is pressed lightly. The sources used here do not say at which stage the peppers go in.

What makes this one different

Monterey Jack with hot peppers added. Under US rules a spiced or flavoured cheese must meet the standard of the plain cheese and name the characterising flavour or spice.

Composition
Moisture at most 44% and milkfat at least 50% of the solids (Monterey cheese standard)
Base cheese, Monterey Jack
The Canadian Dairy Commission says Monterey Jack is washed with cold water to a final mixed temperature of 26 °C, aims at a minimum pH of 5.0–5.2, and is typically aged 3 to 6 weeks. These are figures for the plain cheese, not for Pepper Jack.
Naming
The name must say which flavour or spice characterises the cheese, beside "Monterey Jack"

Related ferments

Safety

The US standard requires pasteurised dairy ingredients. The Canadian Dairy Commission explains that Monterey Jack and Colby age too briefly, generally under 60 days, to make conditions unfavourable for pathogen growth, so pasteurised milk is used.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The US standard of identity for spiced and flavoured cheeses was issued in 1977 and the Monterey cheese standard in 1989. Fiery Foods says David Jacks began producing a semi-soft cheese in Monterey in 1882, and that during the 1980s and 1990s California cheese makers experimented with flavourings including jalapeños, turning Monterey Jack into Pepper Jack.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [cfr-133-153] US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 133.153, Monterey cheese and monterey jack cheese (standard of identity)spec
  2. [cfr-133-193] US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 133.193, Spiced, flavored standardized cheesesspec
  3. [cdc-jack] Canadian Dairy Commission, Monterey Jack and Colby (cheese technology page)gov
  4. [fiery-jack] DeWitt D. and Zoschke H. 2008, Pepper Jack and Other Chile Cheeses, Fiery Foods & Barbecue Centralweb
  5. [wp-jack] Wikipedia, Monterey Jack (supports only that Pepper Jack is a version flavoured with spicy chili peppers, bell peppers and herbs)wiki