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Are you a cheese lover with a special place in your heart for the Monterey jack cheese? Have you lately been struggling to find the Monterey jack cheese in the UK and are now looking for some suitable substitutes for it? If your answer to all these questions was a big yes, you are in the right place.
Cheddar cheese, both vegan and the usual one, Comté, Co-Jack, Colby, Havarti, Edam, Gouda, Parmesan, Emmental, Muenster, Mozzarella, Gruyere, Pepper Jack, and Provolone are some of the Monterey Jack Cheese substitutes you can easily get your hands on in the UK.
We have come up with a list of some of the best cheese options you can find in the UK that can easily replace the Monterey Jack cheese without compromising much on the food quality and taste.
But before moving toward the list, we will introduce you to the Monterey Jack cheese. We will briefly differentiate between different types of jack cheese, including cheddar jack, dry jack, and pepper jack.
What Is Monterey Jack Cheese?
The Monterey Jack Cheese is named after its place of origin. If you don’t know already, the Monterey Jack Cheese was seen and used for the first time in Monterey, California. Numerous legends about this cheese say that the man who used this cheese for the first time was Jack.
All these things together gave this cheese its name, and now it’s popularly known as Monterey Jack. Though numerous cheese types are prevalent and famous in the UK, Monetary Jack tops the list due to its light and creamy texture.
Although the texture and buttery feel of this cheese are the few things that make it different from the lot, one thing that has helped it secure the top place in all other cheese types is its mild flavor. The taste of Monterey Jack cheese is so mild and negligible that adding it to your sandwiches and burgers won’t add a weird or sweet taste.
The best part about Monterey Jack is that you can even make it at home. Check out this YouTube tutorial for the recipe for making this cheese at home.
Different Types of Monterey Jack Cheese
Another exciting aspect of the Monterey Jack Cheese is its different types and variants. Here is a breakdown of all its types for you:
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Aged Jack Cheese
The aged jack cheese, as the name suggests, is a cheese that has matured over a long time. Regarding texture, this one is firmer compared to all other Monterey jack cheese types. Its taste is more on the nutty side, and the aged jack cheese looks and tastes a lot like Cheddar cheese.
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Dry Jack
Dry jack is the maturest form of the Monterey Jack Cheese, which stays out for 6 to 7 months. This is the best form of Monterey Jack Cheese for people who love grating cheese and adding it to different recipes, and a treat for those who want to eat it on its own.
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Pepper Jack
Pepper Jack cheese is a type of Monterey Jack Cheese with mixed black and hot chili pepper. This is perfect for pizzas and other spicy or savory recipes. This one isn’t firm, unlike the Aged Jack cheese and Dry Jack cheese.
10 Monterey Jack Cheese Substitutes in the UK
Now that you have looked at the introduction of the Monterey Jack Cheese and its various types let us take you through some exciting Monterey Jack Cheese substitutes you will find in the UK. Don’t worry, all the substitutes we have included in our list taste delicious, and you won’t regret switching to them.
1. Cheddar Cheese
If you are more of a baker than a cook, Cheddar Cheese is got to be your favorite Monterey Jack cheese alternative. On melting, this cheese smells almost the same as the Monterey Jack but with a slightly creamier texture.
Considering that you know of the Monterey Jack Cheese, which is not too famous worldwide, we pre-take that you already know of cheddar cheese as it is pretty popular all around the globe and is especially loved for its extensive use in pizzas and cheeseburgers.
As far as the taste is concerned, Cheddar cheese’s taste can vary greatly depending on its aging time as it gets firmer and dries out as time passes. You can get both Yellow and White Cheddar, as they only vary in color and taste the same.
Though Cheddar cheese is known for its excellent taste, it is an excellent Monterey Jack Cheese substitute only for baked recipes. With red peppers added, cheddar cheese can be an excellent substitute for Pepper Jack Cheese.
2. Comté
Comté is one of the many cheese types made from cow milk. However, it differs from the Monterey Jack Cheese regarding the nature of the cow milk to make Comté; the milk needs to come from a specific region.
Comté can potentially replace Monterey Jack in most recipes, thanks to its creamy and soft texture. It is often regarded as one of the most flavourful cheeses out there. Not only is this cheese’s name unique and sophisticated, but its appearance is also less than none.
Being a resident of the UK, you might have never heard of the Comté cheese as it’s readily found in France, and the locals love including it on their cheese platters and savory pastries. But its melting capability and softness make it a reliable option to replace Monterey Jack Cheese; due to this, some people also love to call it the French Monterey Jack.
3. Co-Jack
As evident from its name, this cheese perfectly combines the Monterey Jack Cheese and the Colby Cheese, which we will discuss later. Considering that it already comes with 50% Jack Cheese content, you can’t ask for anything better.
The Colby Cheese is known to give it a stringy finish which provides you that cheese pull most cheese lovers can die for. Similarly, the jack cheese content in the Co-Jack cheese gives it the melting capability and adds to its super-soft texture.
To top it all off, the Co-Jack cheese is highly affordable, so it won’t be a bent on your wallet either, which means that if you are on a tight budget but don’t want to compromise on the softness of the Monterey Jack cheese, this is the best substitute for you.
4. Colby
Colby is another excellent Monterey Jack Cheese substitute made from pasteurized cow milk. A wide range of people loves it due to its soft and creamy texture and sweet and negligible taste. Owing to all these features, i.e., color, texture, and taste, it is one of the most closely resembling cheese to Monterey Jack.
Considering that a blend of Colby cheese with Jack cheese is a reliable alternative to Monterey Jack, there can be nothing wrong with saying that this cheese tops all charts on being the most similar to Monterey Jack. Although it’s semi-hard in texture, it melts just like Jack, making it a perfect option to use in recipes in place of Jack.
5. Havarti
No, this cheese has nothing to do with Hawaii. (Hahaha… We got you there). This cheese originated in Denmark, and guess what? There is a famous surf spot that goes by the name Cold Hawaii there. The texture of Havarti resembles that of Colby, i.e., it is semi-hard.
If you love the cheese pull on different food items like pizza, sandwiches, cheese pockets, etc., this stringy cheese is something you should consider. Its mild and slightly sweet taste makes it an incredible substitute for Monterey Jack.
Havarti is almost equally creamy as Monterey Jack and gives a delicious cheesious flavor to all the dishes it’s added to. However, it’s best used in grilled recipes.
6. Gouda Cheese
The Gouda Cheese is one of the few cheese options made from goat milk instead of cow milk. Though the texture of this cheese is also creamy and it has an exceptional melting capability, it is more on the firm side and features a tangy flavor.
When aged, this cheese might taste a little pungent, and the tangy side of the cheese can over dominate the entire taste. However, younger gouda greatly resembled Monterey Jack in being mild and a little sweet. Also, since its taste changes as the maturation time increases, it is a perfect substitute for Monterey Jack.
If you wish to go for the Gouda cheese as the Jack alternative, there are a few things you need to be careful about. For instance, if you want the mild and soft texture of cheese for your recipes, always go for a younger Gouda, whereas an aged Gouda cheese works best for rusty and robust flavor in food items.
7. Edam Cheese
This cheese is famous worldwide, especially in the UK, for its raw red outer layer, which makes it look like an apple. Gouda is also a semi-hard cheese option and comes in a sphere shape that is rare in cheeses.
As far as the flavor is concerned, it’s more on the nutty side and features a mild flavor, making it a perfect Monterey Jack substitute. Even seeing this cheese, you can infer that it’s fresh option and soft. The best thing about Edam cheese is its low-fat content, which makes it the favorite cheese type for health and fitness freaks.
So, if you want a Monterey Jack cheese but are looking for an option with much more to offer other than the soft and melting texture of Monterey Jack, you wouldn’t want to skip on Edam Cheese.
8. Muenster Cheese
The Muenster Cheese is America’s most loved cheese option due to its soft yet semi-hard texture. Unlike what the name suggests, i.e., it sounds like Monster, it is very mild in taste and lacks overpowering flavor.
Like most of the cheese substitutes we have listed here, this also comes from pasteurized cow milk. However, the texture of this cheese is almost like freshly made Jack cheese which is hard to find.
Considering that this cheese has incredible melting capabilities and can melt quickly, it’s best used in pizzas, burgers, and other fast food options. Regarding Muenster cheese, you need to be careful about getting your hands on the right one while buying the right one.
We are stressing about this because on exploring the market, you will see two versions of Muenster cheese. One is the American version we are talking about here, and the other is the French version which can’t serve as a Monterey Jack alternative due to its smoky texture.
9. Swiss Cheese
This is one of the most premium Monterey Jack Cheese alternatives you will find in the market, as the name suggests. Not only is this cheese option’s texture very much like Montery Jack, i.e., semi-hard, soft, and melting, its flavor is precisely like Montery Jack.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that if you are not told that the recipe you are having has Swiss or Emmental cheese, you might never find out, confusing it with Monterey Jack. (A cue for you to feed your cheese recipes to your friends who don’t go for any Monterey Jack substitute…)
As this cheese melts quickly, adding it to your cheesy recipes or consuming it while it’s still cold is best. You can even eat it on its own. One recommendation for you here is to always go for the young swiss cheese as the aged one might taste a little peppery and rusty, which is not ideal for Monterey Jack cheese lovers most of the time.
10. Parmesan Cheese
If you are extremely particular about the kind of Monterey Jack cheese you consume and you never go for any other option but the aged jack cheese, parmesan cheese could be the substitute you are looking for.
Though this cheese is a little dry, its firmness and flavor resemble aged jack cheese. However, when replacing the Aged Jack in your recipes with parmesan, ensure to go only for younger cheese yet to mature.
It’s because when the parmesan cheese ages, its taste starts getting a little nutty and granular, which might not be the ideal replacement you are looking for.
Conclusion – Substitute for Monterey Jack Cheese UK!
In this guide, we have enlisted the top 10 Substitutes for Monterey Jack Cheese you can find in the UK. As Monterey Jack is too soft and creamy, it was hard to find similar options in cheeses, but we tried to put our best foot forward and come up with options you won’t regret trying.
Hopefully, you will get some reliable Monterey Jack alternatives from this guide, and being unable to find Monterey Jack won’t be too disappointing for you. Enjoy the cheesy pull in your food items, and keep coming back for more food substitutes in the future!
