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Dry Jack is an authentic American original. Back in the day some shopkeeper bought too much Jack cheese, packed it in salt to try and preserve it, and then found out he'd made something cool - A Jack cheese that had taken a turn towards Parmesan. And since by chance World War I had interrupted shipments of Parmesan and Romano, he had a market hungry for something like that.

Interestingly, the rind of the cheese is rubbed with black pepper and unsweetened cocoa suspended in oil, although this doesn't seem to flavor the cheese at all.

Dry Jack is a bit like Parmesan, but with a milder and less salty taste. Perhaps a bit more rich. The cheese has lost most of it's Jack character, but some still comes through. So where Parmesan is great on Italian food, Dry Jack is great on Mexican.