Although it is most well-known for its vast array of cheese products, Oregon-based Tillamook also has a plethora of ice cream flavors and a highly-rated extra creamy butter. It’s even expanded its dairy dominance of the grocery store by introducing a line of frozen pizza and mac and cheese. While we may be fans of most of its products, they can’t all be favorites. In our ranking of 10 Tillamook cheeses, the Monterey Jack flavor was our taste tester’s least favorite Tillamook cheese, although they did still say that it’s better than most other brands of Monterey Jack available at the average grocery store, and that this block of Jack still would not disappoint.
Our taste tester’s main gripe with Tillamook’s Monterey Jack cheese was that the flavor was so mild compared to the other cheeses, which caused it to fall to the bottom of the Tillamook range. The Jack had a neutral flavor, however, it wasn’t so lacking in flavor that it was considered bland. With Tillamook offering such a wide variety of block cheeses, like Sharp Cheddar and Extra Sharp White Cheddar, which took first place in our ranking, it can be hard for such a mellow, moderately flavored block of Monterey Jack to compete with the bold tasting notes of sharp cheddars.
Tillamook’s Monterey Jack is mildly flavored but still deserves a place in the kitchen
In terms of texture, our taste tester reported that the firm texture of the block of Monterey Jack would be a nice filler for a cheese and charcuterie board, as long as it was full of other more flavorful ingredients. They noted that while we shouldn’t expect to be wowed by a kaleidoscope of flavors, there are still a few fruity notes and the beginning of tasting the cheese, followed by “a savory appeal at the end.” The taste tester summed up this mild cheese as a solid choice to use when you’re unsure of the best type of cheese to pair something with, as the subtle flavor of Tillamook’s Monterey Jack is fairly neutral and will go with just about anything on a table or menu.
Not all mild cheeses should be scorned though, especially a quality cheese like one from Tillamook, as Monterey Jack is the ideal cheese to pair with extra-flavorful burgers due to the fact that it’s subtle flavor notes won’t overpower any other aspect of a cheeseburger. Monterey Jack also melts well, so it’s perfect for shredding to use in soups and making quesadillas or nachos. The delicately flavored cheese is also perfect for using in a loaded grilled cheese or on a griddled sandwich like a patty melt.
