Monterey Jack Vs Colby Jack Cheese: Is There A Difference?

There is an almost incomprehensible number of different cheeses out there with differences so massive they barely register as the same product, and then there are some like Monterey Jack and Colby Jack cheese. These two cheeses are staples of grocery stores and kitchens in the United States, with their smooth flavor and great melting ability making them perfect for staples like grilled cheese or quesadillas. All in all, they don't seem too different from a mild cheddar and are even more similar to each other, making them basically interchangeable in recipes. But despite the crossovers, Monterey Jack and Colby Jack are made differently and have pretty different origins, with America itself being the big thing that unites them.

Colby Jack, as many people realize, is actually an amalgamation of two different cheeses, Monterey Jack and Colby. They both melt well, which makes them easy to combine, and in this sense, Colby Jack shares characteristics with its two parent cheeses, making it related but not identical to Monterey Jack. Both Colby and Monterey Jack also share the distinction of being two of the few unique cheeses that were actually invented in America, although Monterey Jack's origins in California date back to its time as a Spanish and then Mexican colony. The two eventually came together in the heartland of American cheese production, and both Monterey Jack and Colby Jack cater to the American taste for softer, milder cheeses.

Monterey Jack cheese is a semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk that usually has a pale yellow or white creamy color. Its name comes from the region in which it was created and a man who helped popularize it.

Monterey Jack originated in the Spanish mission system in California, including the second ever mission built in Monterey, where it was first created by the missionaries and colonists who brought cattle as a source of milk and cheese. This cheese was called "queso blanco país," or country-style white cheese, which had traditions dating back to Spain. 

A century later, after the United States took control of California, a man named David Jacks settled in Monterey. In alliance with a local attorney, he took advantage of an exorbitant debt the town and its former settlers had acquired to legitimize itself with the U.S. government and bought most of the land around Monterey, including 14 dairy ranches. Queso blanco país was already being produced and sold by locals, but Jacks' large operation allowed him to take over the business and scale it up, marketing it as Jacks' cheese, which became Monterey Jack.

That version is similar to what Monterey Jack is today. It's semi-firm with a creamy, squishy texture and a mild, buttery flavor. Because of its light taste and texture, it has become the basis for a number of other cheeses that add extra ingredients for more flavor, like Pepper Jack and Colby Jack.

Colby Jack combines the California-created Monterey Jack cheese with another American original, Colby, which was first made in Wisconsin. America's dairy land already had a robust cheesemaking culture when the new cheese, which was named after the town it was created in, arrived in 1885. The creator of Colby, Joseph Steinwand, took over his family cheese factory and put their knowledge to work experimenting with new cheeses. The result was Colby, which is a variation on the cheddar the family was already making.

The unique aspect of Colby was that the cheese curds were removed from the whey and washed in cold water. This gives Colby a sweeter, less tangy flavor than cheddar and a softer texture. The milder flavor, springy semi-firm texture, and meltability of Colby cheese also makes it very similar to Monterey Jack. The orange color of Colby comes from the cheese being dyed with annatto, and that is what creates Colby Jack's signature marbled appearance when Colby and Monterey Jack are combined.

Monterey Jack came from California, but the cheese producers of Wisconsin also started making it, and it was there that two American creations were first combined into Colby Jack. Retaining the texture and mild flavor of both, it also has a more complex taste because of the combination. It mixes the buttery richness of Monterey Jack with the sweetness and slight cheddar tang of Colby. With its lovely melting ability and extra flavor, it really is a best-of-both-worlds cheese.