Pepperjack Cheese is in essence cheese with peppers, as the name might indicate. The peppers add a nice spice to the cheese, and the base cheese is typically Monterey Jack.

For those who crave super-spicy peppers they do have pepperjack varieties specifically with hot peppers such as habanero and jalapeno, but most pepperjack cheese are "regular" hot peppers so they give a gentle flavor without a lot of spice.

Monterey Jack is a cheese developed back in the 1800s. It is simply a cheese from the Monterey region of California, created by a Franciscan friar named "Jack". It is a standard cheese from cow's milk. It is mild and white.

For those who like colby cheese, Monterey Jack is pretty much identical, but Monterey Jack is an uncolored version.

If you're a fan of cheddar cheese, that cheese was made famous by the town of Cheddar in England. They knead the curd with salt, then cube the cheese. Cheddar is also made with cow's milk.

Pepperjack cheese is frequently used in meat dishes as well as in quesadillas and as a topping on crackers or cucumbers.

For nutrition, some sites list Monterey jack as being completely without any carbs at all. However, that is wrong since the cheese has peppers in it, and peppers do have carbs.

The better way to judge the cheese is to count it as about 1g of carbs per 1/4 cup of cheese. Yes, that is more than zero. However, if you really like cheese, and like the extra "kick" of the Monterey jack cheese, it is quite worth it for you to eat this vs "forcing yourself" to eat another type of cheese. You get 20% of your calcium from the 1/4 cup serving, and of course being happy with what you eat is critical!

You get 120 calories, 9g of fat (5g saturate) and 30mg cholesterol from that same 1/4 cup of Monterey jack cheese. You also get 7g of protein.

I definitely suggest trying Monterey jack cheese and seeing how you like it. The more you can include healthy cheeses in your diet, the better your calcium intake and the more flavorful your meals become!


Lisa Shea's Library of Low Carb Books