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Q:
Hi
John, I'm originally from
Sonoma County, and would regularly visit the Vella Cheese shop in
Sonoma, where I had the best Monterey Jack Cheese. Why is Monterey Jack
cheese made there instead of here? How did Monterey Jack cheese get its
name?
I called the Carmel Plaza cheese
shop and they seem quite certain that it was named after David Jacks who
sold the recipe to the Vella family, which runs the cheese shop in
Sonoma (and they are the only ones with the original recipe now, the
rest being mass produced). The Carmel Plaza does sell Vella Monterey
Jack, apparently. (The Vella Cheese Factory also does the dry Monterey
Jack, which I love!)
Karen Nordstrand,
e-mail
A:
The original Monterey Jack cheese was made in Carmel
Valley. The name Jack came from a press that they used to squeeze
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and form the cheese
(A-jack). David Jacks was a prominent figure in the
Monterey area and a major landowner. One of his endeavors was making
cheese. Put the two together and you come up with Jack cheese. Mr. Jacks
never sold the recipe because there wasn’t one, plus the time frame was
not right. I called the Vella Cheese Co. and they told me that it was a
common cheese at the time and mostly sold in soft form. The two
companies that took Jack cheese to its fame are Vella Cheese Co. and
Sonoma Cheese Factory in Sonoma and these guys used to be partners way
back. Their real claim to fame was producing the cheese in the dry form.
This was used by the Italian’s for their pasta (I remember my uncle
bringing back wheels of the dry Jack in the 1940’s and 1950’s). This
cheese is regarded as a national treasure by cheese lovers. Dry Jack is
rock hard, unpasturized cow’s milk that rivals Reggiano Parmisano both
in flavor and visual appeal. Try it over pasta, I am. The Cheese Shop,
in Carmel Plaza, carries the Vella’s dry Jack (625-2272). |
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Readers:
Another great recipe for over ripe summer heirloom
tomatoes.
Heirloom Tomatoes
Recipe
For four people as main course or 6
people as appetizers. 1 pound of spaghetti or linguine, 4 pound of extra
ripe tomatoes, cored and lightly squeezed over the sink to rinse off
some of the liquid and seeds. Cut into quarters. In a large frying pan
(not cast iron) sauté 1 large chopped onion, 6 chopped garlic cloves, a
pinch of crushed red pepper, salt and pepper, and a handful of chopped
flat Italian parsley in about 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil. When
light brown, add tomatoes. Now using a potato masher, mash the tomatoes
well, no chunks. Then reduce until all thin liquid is gone, about 15 to
20 minutes, on medium to medium high heat. Add 1/2 a tube tomato paste.
When it’s thickened (no water in th pan), add 1 cup chopped fresh basil.
Boil pasta, drain, add to sauce and toss well. Serve with fresh grated
Romano cheese - Unbelievable! Note: Using several different colors of
tomatoes makes the sauce look great. |
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