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The Best Homemade Jack Cheese Recipe

This Jack Cheese recipe is a delicious mild cheese that is a good melting cheese.  Jack Cheese also known as Monterey cheese, Monterey Jack, and California Jack cheese is great for use on grilled cheese sandwiches, paninis, tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.  Jack Cheese recipe is delicious hot and melty or cold, shredded, sliced, or in chunks for an appetizer.
 
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Making Homemade Jack Cheese 

This Jack Cheese Recipe is a pretty easy recipe to make at home. We have made it with both the traditional cow’s milk and with goat’s milk which changed the texture a little bit but still made a delicious cheese. The goat milk version is a little more firm and has a bit less fat compared to the cow milk version. 
 
We have also made a delicious pepper jack recipe. With both of these recipes you can also make ricotta cheese so don’t throw away the whey at the end of the cheese process it is a very simple step to make a batch of ricotta and you won’t be sorry. With that, you can make lasagne, ravioli, tortellini, and so much more! It won’t cost you a thing more to make.
 

What Makes Cheese A Jack?

 
Jack cheese is one of the first American cheeses introduced and marketed by David Jacks under the name Jack’s Cheese.  It is made traditionally with cow’s milk as a hard or semi-hard cheese.  You see this cheese at your grocery store mixed with Colby Cheese with the traditional orange and white color.  This is just Jack Cheese without the other curds mixed in. 
 

What Is Jack Cheese Used For?

 
The cheese is commonly used as an interior melting cheese for burritos, it can also be used on sandwiches, hamburgers, and even in pasta dishes (including mac & cheese). Its mild flavor and great melting make it a wonderful cheese for a multitude of dishes.
 

What Is The Difference Between Colby Jack and Monterey Jack Cheese?

 
Monterey Jack and Colby cheeses are semi-firm washed cheeses that undergo similar preparation procedures. But that is where the similarity ends, Monterey Jack is a softer, creamier, and whiter cheese than Colby, and has a slightly nutty and tangy flavor. 
 
Colby cheese originates in Colby Wisconsin, it’s an orange cheese with a more open texture than Cheddar and has a lightly sweet to sharp and tangy flavor depending on how long it is aged.
 

Is Monterey Jack Cheese Bad For You?

Monterey Jack also contains a large number of essential nutrients including phosphorous, zinc, riboflavin, vitamin B12, and vitamin A. It is also a dense source of high-quality protein.

 

What You Will Need To Make Jack Cheese

To make jack cheese at home you are going to need:

 

Farmhouse Kitchen Cooking

 

Jack Cheese Recipe

 

Ingredients

3 Gallons of whole milk, not ultra-pasteurized because it won’t properly turn into curds.
3 Teaspoons of 30% Calcium Chloride in 2 tablespoons distilled water
1/2 a rennet tablet dissolved in 1/4 cup distilled water
1 teaspoon + 3 Tablespoons flaked salt
 
Directions


Combine milk and calcium chloride in a stockpot and heat to 88 degrees. Add Mesophilic-A culture and stir thoroughly. Allow the milk to ‘ripen’ for 45 minutes (while this is happening dissolve rennet in distilled water).

Increase the temperature of the milk to 90 degrees. Stir 1 teaspoon salt into the dissolved rennet mixture, then gently stir it into the milk. Allow the milk to set covered at 90 degrees for 60 minutes.

Using a long-bladed stainless steel knife cut the curds into 1/2 inch cubes. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Place the pot of cheese in the sink and pour 100-degree water around it. Indirectly heat curds to 100 degrees by increasing the temperature no faster than 2 degrees every 5 minutes. It should take 30 minutes to reach 100 degrees. Stir the curds frequently but gently during this 30 minutes period.

Maintain the curds at 100 degrees for an additional 30 minutes stirring every couple of minutes.

 Allow curds to settle for 5 minutes.

Place a large colander in a sink and pour the curds and whey into the colander so they can drain. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of salt. Gently mix it in with your hands.

Pour cheese into a clean 300 count pillow slip and place in the mold. Pull up on the cloth to prevent bunching. Spread the remaining cloth over the curds. Place the follower on top and set with a 4-pound weight (you can use cans from the pantry or a 1/2 gallon of water for this. Press cheese for 15 minutes.

Remove the cheese from the press and pillowcase, flip it, put it back into a pillowcase and return to mold. Press this side with 8-10 pounds (1 gallon of water will do it) for 12 hours.

Remove the cheese from the mold and pillowslip. Mix 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 cup water. Use a corner of the pillowslip to brush on the saltwater. Place on a bamboo mat to air dry for 1-3 days, turning twice daily. When a yellowish rind appears and it is dry to the touch it is ready to wax for storage.

Wax the cheese and store for aging 1-4 months. Turn the cheese daily for the first month and several times weekly for the rest of the time.

Print Jack Cheese Recipe For Later

Jack Cheese Recipe

photo of the Rosevine Cottage Girls with their animals goats,

This Jack Cheese recipe is a beautiful mild cheese. It is delicious sliced for sandwiches, used on your tacos or enchiladas or shredded on your eggs in the morning.

Ingredients

  • 3 Gallons whole milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic-A Culture
  • 3 Teaspoons of 30% Calcium Chloride in 2 tablespoons distilled water
  • 1/2 a rennet tablet dissolved in 1/4 cup distilled water
  • 1 teaspoon + 3 Tablespoons flaked salt

Instructions

Combine milk and calcium chloride in a stockpot and heat to 88 degrees. Add Mesophilic-A culture and stir thoroughly. Allow the milk to 'ripen' for 45 minutes (while this is happening dissolve rennet in distilled water).

Increase the temperature of the milk to 90 degrees. Stir 1 teaspoon salt into the dissolved rennet mixture, then gently stir it into the milk. Allow the milk to set covered at 90 degrees for 60 minutes.

Using a long-bladed stainless steel knife cut the curds into 1/2 inch cubes. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Place the pot of cheese in the sink and pour 100-degree water around it. Indirectly heat curds to 100 degrees by increasing the temperature no faster than 2 degrees every 5 minutes. It should take 30 minutes to reach 100 degrees. Stir the curds frequently but gently during this 30 minutes period.

Maintain the curds at 100 degrees for an additional 30 minutes stirring every couple of minutes.

 Allow curds to settle for 5 minutes.

Place a large colander in a sink and pour the curds and whey into the colander so they can drain. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of salt. Gently mix it in with your hands.

Pour cheese into a clean 300 count pillow slip and place in the mold. Pull up on the cloth to prevent bunching. Spread the remaining cloth over the curds. Place the follower on top and set with a 4-pound weight (you can use cans from the pantry or a 1/2 gallon of water for this. Press cheese for 15 minutes.

Remove the cheese from the press and pillowcase, flip it, put it back into a pillowcase and return to mold. Press this side with 8-10 pounds (1 gallon of water will do it) for 12 hours.

Remove the cheese from the mold and pillowslip. Mix 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 cup water. Use a corner of the pillowslip to brush on the saltwater. Place on a bamboo mat to air dry for 1-3 days, turning twice daily. When a yellowish rind appears and it is dry to the touch it is ready to wax for storage.

Wax the cheese and store for aging 1-4 months. Turn the cheese daily for the first month and several times weekly for the rest of the time.


 

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