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A California Original

California is the home of Monterey Jack and today produces more than any other state. Prized for its delicious taste, Monterey Jack is a descendant of a cheese produced in the California missions more than 200 years ago. Monterey Jack from California has won numerous awards in the U.S. and abroad. Ironically, Monterey Jack is no longer made in Monterey.

How Monterey Jack Got Its Name

This popular California original might not exist today as we know it if not for the birth of David Jacks, the colorful Monterey land baron and dairy owner credited with lending his name to what is known as the state's most famous native cheese. As the story goes, sometime in 1882 David Jacks began shipping from his dairies a cheese branded with his last name and the city of origin, Monterey, to San Francisco and other western markets. Eventually the "s" was dropped and people began asking for "Monterey Jack." While there are alternative explanations for the cheese's origins - such as that the cheese was first made using a "jack" (or press) - David Jacks is the one most often credited for its distinctive name.

Since it was introduced commercially more than a century ago, Monterey Jack cheese has evolved into a national hit. Monterey Jack is considered one of the most significant and popular cheese ever created in the U.S. It also occupies a unique niche in California history as perhaps the most definitive California cheese. The history of Jack cheese follows the history of the state from its earliest days.

More than one third of California's 50+ cheesemakers produce some variation of Jack cheese. In addition to the soft, mild cheese everyone knows, there are many spiced and flavored versions (such as Pepper, Pesto, Onion and Garlic). There is also an aged version, called Dry Jack, that is popular for both grating and as a table cheese. Today Jack is even available in an organic version.

The Legend of Monterey Jack

According to the legend, the Spanish missionaries who arrived in California in the 18th century made an early form of Jack cheese they called "queso del pais," or "country cheese." After the missionaries left, farmers continued this style of cheesemaking, which evolved sometime in the 1800s into the cheese we now know as Monterey Jack.

While it is unclear who exactly deserves credit for first making Monterey Jack, there are several 19th Century Monterey figures who compete for the honor. One name mentioned frequently is Senora Juana Cota de Boronda, a Monterey cheesemaker in the mid-1800s who sold her cheeses door-to-door to provide for her 15 children and crippled husband. She called her cheese by its traditional name, "queso del pais."

Enter David Jacks, a Scottish immigrant to New York City who boarded a ship that brought him to California in 1849, where he sold dry goods to gold miners. Jacks soon ended up in Monterey, where he quickly demonstrated his business prowess. By 1852, he was on his way to becoming one of Monterey County's largest landowners and one of its richest residents.

He also acquired some notoriety for his dealings with property owners whose land he acquired, especially for the lawsuits that frequently ensued. Jacks was quick to lend money, often to insolvent borrowers who secured loans with land, and was reputedly equally quick when it came to foreclosures. One favorite tale, perhaps more colorful than credible, has Jacks foreclosing on the city of Monterey via questionable methods, then being forced to return the city by its outraged citizens.

And while upon his death Jacks' obituary in one San Francisco newspaper called him "one of the most hated men in the Monterey County," others saw him as a benevolent contributor and benefactor. Jacks was deeply interested in higher education and donated land and money to various universities, including Stanford University and University of the Pacific. Toward the end of his days, he also took pride for being "the oldest Sunday-school teacher in continuous service in the state," claiming 50 years to his credit.