Skip to content
Main Street Plaza

A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism.

Main Street Plaza

A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism.

Enjoying Some Jack-Mormon Cheese

chanson, November 14, 2009November 9, 2011

It’s an open secret that Salt Lake City, the seat of Mormondom, is such a (comparatively) liberal city (see Craig’s old post). Though Holly reported (earlier this year) that word is starting to get out, but slowly.

mormonjack_cheese That’s why — when I found this cheese at my local snooty French cheese shop — the label said “from Utah!” with an exclamation point. (Clearly the shop’s cheese expert was surprised.) Naturally, I had to try it! You folks know how big a fan I am of artisanal, local, seasonal foods, and — while I don’t live in Utah myself — I know that many of you do!

My verdict: these Jack Mormons know their stuff!

Now you may think I’m being presumptuous to just assume that these cheese-makers are jackmos, but here’s my evidence: On the one hand, they named their company the “Beehive Cheese Co.” On the other hand, they make fancy cheeses — which, frankly, lose half their pleasure if you don’t serve them with wine. Plus they included both coffee grounds and beer with the cheese in their publicity shot. Yet — and here’s the clincher — they were careful to include a plausible excuse for the coffee (“my brother owns a coffee company!”).

I can’t tell you how well it goes with beer, but I can confirm it’s tasty with wine. They should make a cheese called “Mormon Jack” though… 😉

Culture Utah

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Gay Trees and Gadianton Robbers

September 4, 2012

As I have been wandering around the internet, looking for something interesting, there is an election going on. Did you know that? Well most of what is out there is not very interesting, just a lot of people with opinion that they want someone else to have, with an occasional…

Read More

America’s Greatest Mystery Novel

April 27, 2019April 27, 2022

Once you strip away all the Book of Mormon’s pretenses of scriptural import, what you have is nothing more nor less than a lusty tale of America’s favorite subject: families and murder…. Murder and ruin are written across the breadth of Joseph Smith’s pre-American panorama, and because violence always demands…

Read More

Battlestar Galactica and the Lost Ten Tribes

November 24, 2009June 21, 2011

The re-imagined Battlestar series ended last year, and the DVD came out this past summer. But I was thinking of it the other day when someone mentioned the lost ten tribes of Israel. How did I get from Battlestar Galatica (BSG) to the lost ten tribes?

Read More

Comments (15)

  1. Holly says:
    November 14, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    I want to start a cheese company just so I can make that Mormon jack cheese you suggest. That’s brilliant.

  2. chanson says:
    November 14, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    I’ll bet it would be very tasty paired with some “Polygamy Porter.” 😉

  3. Madame Curie says:
    November 14, 2009 at 4:40 pm

    Yet, no excuse for the beer is given. Perhaps they are trying to give the assumption that its near-beer?

    I’m sill trying to figure out what they were trying to say – were they using their Mormon-ness to sell the cheese, or were they trying to distance themselves from Mormonism with the picture? Its all so baffling. Clearly the theme of “Mormonism” had something to do with it. I mean, “Beeehive Cheese Co.,” for Joe’s sake!

    And I can’t say as I’ve ever had a fine cheese with beer – wine, of course, beer no – and certainly not with unground coffee beans. So, the image is quite baffling to me as well.

  4. chanson says:
    November 14, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    Madame Curie — With this particular cheese, they flavor it by rubbing the rind with coffee beans. That’s why there are coffee beans in the picture. (Sounds crazy, but actually it’s pretty tasty!)

    I think the reason for putting beer in the picture is obvious. They would have put wine, but wine is against the Word of Wisdom. Beer isn’t. 😉

  5. Christopher Smith says:
    November 14, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    LOL. This post cracked me up. Thanks, chanson.

    (Incidentally, Joseph claimed that wine is OK at weddings, because of the Savior’s water-to-wine precedent. They had wine at all the 1836 Kirtland weddings.)

  6. chanson says:
    November 15, 2009 at 6:29 am

    Glad you liked it! JS would have made a great Jack-Mormon.

  7. twelsh says:
    November 15, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    Utah is the Beehive State. We are branding our cheese with our place for all people from all religions to enjoy as they please. Here is a funny tidbit that I heard recently. Do you call a Jewish person who enjoys Salami a JackJew.

  8. chanson says:
    November 15, 2009 at 4:36 pm

    twelsh — Glad to hear from you! Don’t get the wrong idea — we’re not making fun of your website or your cheese. Calling someone a “Jack-Mormon” is a compliment around these parts. And we’re happy to see Utah developing a little culture, so to speak. 😉

    And I think the Bloggernacle + Outer Blogness have practically written an epic novel about the parallels between the Mormons and the Jews! See this post as a starter.

    Keep up the good work! 😀

  9. chanson says:
    November 15, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    p.s. in case you’re wondering: I found your cheese at Bon Appetit Fine Foods of Princeton — which is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a real French fromagerie in the US. I asked them this morning if they have any more of that “Barely Buzzed” and they said they’re expecting another shipment soon.

  10. Craig says:
    November 17, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    This is actually one of my favourite local cheeses. I believe they also put lavender in the coating as well. And it goes great with Polygamy Porter. What wine did you pair with it Carol?

  11. chanson says:
    November 17, 2009 at 2:31 pm

    Craig — yes, that’s what it says: rubbed with coffee and lavender. That’s cool that you already knew about it!

    I don’t remember which wine I paired it with, but it was probably a Bordeaux.

  12. Madame Curie says:
    November 21, 2009 at 2:00 am

    Mmm, coffee and lavender – two of my favorite scents. I think I need to scope this stuff out. Hopefully it will not involve a trek up to Princeton, but I may just have to consider making the trip!

  13. chanson says:
    November 22, 2009 at 6:00 pm

    Well, I know it’s also available in Utah, if that’s closer for you. 😀

  14. Madam Curie says:
    November 23, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    Nope, Princeton is infinitely closer – I’m in Philly.

  15. chanson says:
    November 23, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    Oh, I wish I’d known! I went to a mini exmo gathering in Philly a couple of weeks ago — it would have been great to have you among us!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Mormon Alumni Association Books

Latest Comments:

  1. Cara B. Klein on My conspiracy theory #2April 26, 2025

    Wow, I had never thought about it in that way before You have really opened my eyes to a new…

  2. chanson on LDS vs LGBTQ:  Nathan Kitchen sheds false binariesApril 16, 2025

    The haiku at the end is lovely. Sounds like a great book!

  3. Donna Banta on LDS vs LGBTQ:  Nathan Kitchen sheds false binariesApril 14, 2025

    I imagine anyone who has tried to change the church from within will identify with Kitchen's story. I especially like…

  4. Johnny Townsend on LDS vs LGBTQ:  Nathan Kitchen sheds false binariesApril 14, 2025

    This was a painful review to read. For many years, I held the same hope, that the LDS church would…

  5. LDS vs LGBTQ:  Nathan Kitchen sheds false binaries – Main Street Plaza on It’s Time to Vote for the 2024 Brodie Awards!!!April 14, 2025

    […] sincere acceptance is not a priority. Fortunately, this is what he exemplifies in his memoir, the Brodie-nominated Boughs of…

8: The Mormon Proposition Acceptance of Gays Add new tag Affirmation angry exmormon awards Book Reviews BYU comments Conformity Dallin H. Oaks DAMU disaffected mormon underground Dustin Lance Black Ex-Mormon Exclusion policy Excommunicated exmormon faith Family feminism Gay Gay Love Gay Marriage Gay Relationships General Conference Happiness Homosexual Homosexuality LDS LGBT LGBTQ Link Bomb missionaries Modesty Mormon Mormon Alumni Association Mormonism motherhood peace politics Polygamy priesthood ban Sunstone temple

Awards

William Law X-Mormon of the Year:

  • 2023: Adam Steed
  • 2022: David Archuleta
  • 2021: Jeff T. Green
  • 2020: Jacinda Ardern
  • 2019: David Nielsen
  • 2018: Sam Young
  • 2017: Savannah
  • 2016: Jeremy Runnells
  • 2015: John Dehlin
  • 2014: Kate Kelly
  • 2013: J. Seth Anderson and Michael Ferguson
  • 2012: David Tweede
  • 2011: Joanna Brooks
  • 2010: Monica Bielanko
  • 2009: Walter Kirn

Other Cool Sites!

WasMormon.org
©2025 Main Street Plaza | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes