Marco Polo is a peppercorn cheese made by Beecher's Handmade Cheese.
The producer mixes lightly milled and cracked green and black peppercorns through a creamy firm paste, creating savory butter and umami notes with changing pockets of pepper aroma.
It is peppery rather than chile-hot. A slice with a large cracked peppercorn can feel sharper than the next, so the speckled interior is part of how the cheese delivers flavor, not a cosmetic garnish.
In This Article
Who Makes Marco Polo and Which Format Are You Buying?
Beecher's Handmade Cheese currently identifies Marco Polo as part of its artisan range. The listed ingredients are pasteurized milk, salt, pepper, culture, and enzymes, which makes the pepper an inclusion in a cultured natural cheese rather than a sauce or external coating.
The name refers to the medieval traveler Marco Polo and the producer's story about pepper reaching Europe.
That story supplies the product name, while the useful identity check remains the Beecher's maker name and the green-black peppercorn paste.
Current wholesale information shows Marco Polo in more than one format, including sticks and slices. A deli cut, retail wedge, and foodservice slice can therefore look different while carrying the same core peppercorn idea.
Beecher's also has historical and current award evidence for the cheese, including flavored-cheese categories. Awards confirm that the product has an established competition identity, but the ingredient list and maker still matter more when identifying a piece at retail.
The standard product and Marco Polo Reserve should not be collapsed into one specification. Beecher's award history lists them separately, so a Reserve reference can support the family identity without proving the age, format, or texture of the regular retail wedge.
Which Format Fits the Way You Will Use It?
A retail wedge gives you a visible cut face for judging peppercorn distribution and works for boards or grating. Slices and sticks trade that inspection area for predictable portions, which can be more useful for sandwiches, snacks, or foodservice.
Choose slices when even coverage matters and a wedge when you want to control pepper density yourself.
Sticks give a portable portion, but their narrow cut face reveals less about how evenly the inclusions run through the original block.
Check the ingredient line again when the format changes. The name and peppercorn identity should remain clear, while pack size or a Reserve label alone does not prove that two products share the same age or intended use.
How Do the Peppercorns Change Each Bite?
Green peppercorns tend to contribute a fresher, rounder pepper aroma, while black peppercorns give a darker and more familiar pungency. Cracking exposes their aromatic interior, so even small pieces can be noticeable against the creamy paste.
The producer describes the peppercorns as lightly milled and cracked rather than ground into an even powder. This preserves visible pieces and explains why one bite can have a direct pepper burst while another emphasizes butter and umami.
Cutting direction changes that distribution.
A thin broad slice crosses more of the paste and is likely to include several small flecks, while a tiny cube can capture one intense peppercorn or almost none.
For a first taste, cut a medium slice from a representative area of the wedge. Eating only a pepper-dense corner can exaggerate the product's normal heat, while trimming every visible piece removes its defining feature.
The heat should arrive as pepper pungency in the nose and finish rather than a sustained chile burn. Personal sensitivity and peppercorn density make a precise heat number less useful than looking at the actual cut face.
Chewing a whole cracked piece creates a sharper peak than eating several fine fragments spread through a slice. If the first bite feels too forceful, cut across a wider area instead of removing all visible pepper and turning the cheese into an incomplete version of itself.
Is Marco Polo the Same as Pepper Jack?
No.
Both are flavored cow's milk cheeses, but Marco Polo uses cracked green and black peppercorns, while Pepper Jack normally adds chile peppers and sometimes sweet pepper to Monterey Jack.
| Question | Marco Polo | Pepper Jack |
|---|---|---|
| What creates the heat? | Green and black peppercorns | Chile peppers |
| What does the paste show? | Dark and green round flecks | Red, green, or jalapeño pieces |
| How does the heat feel? | Aromatic pepper bite and short pungency | Chile warmth that may linger longer |
| Best label check | Beecher's maker name and pepper ingredient | Monterey Jack and named chile ingredients |
Marco Polo should not be called a generic Pepper Jack substitute without considering the dish. Black pepper suits steak, potatoes, and creamy vegetables, while jalapeño character points toward tacos, nachos, and chile-led food.
The underlying cheese also matters. Beecher's describes Marco Polo through its own creamy cheese, so shoppers should not assume it has the same moist elasticity as Jack or the same profile as every Cheddar.
If a recipe asks for chile heat, Marco Polo may taste peppery but still miss the vegetal and capsicum notes. If the goal is black-pepper aroma, it can provide that flavor without adding loose ground pepper throughout the dish.
What Happens When You Melt Marco Polo?
Heat softens the cheese and releases pepper aroma.
The peppercorn pieces remain solid, so a fine grate distributes them more evenly than one thick slab.
Beecher's recommends melting Marco Polo on a burger or steak and grating it into a baked potato. Those foods supply enough fat, starch, or meat flavor to carry the pepper without making the cheese seem harsh.
The producer also tested it in a cabbage and cauliflower bake, where the green and black peppercorns remained a meaningful part of the dish. A creamy vegetable base softens the pungency while the cheese browns at the surface.
| Use | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Baked potato | Use fine shreds so pepper distributes across the starch |
| Burger or steak | Melt a modest layer because the meat already has a strong savory base |
| Cauliflower bake | Fold some into the sauce and reserve a little for browning |
| Cheese toast | Use a broad thin slice for even pepper coverage |
Keep the heat moderate. High heat can separate fat before a firm slice relaxes, and scorched peppercorns become more bitter than aromatic.
When replacing plain cheese, reduce added black pepper in the recipe first. You can add more at the table, while removing a doubled pepper load from a finished sauce is difficult.
What Pairs with Marco Polo?
The pairing job is to support pepper without stacking more aggressive spice on top.
Beecher's names Merlot for the regular cheese, and its cheese-plate guidance pairs Marco Polo Reserve with mild Castelvetrano olives and rustic bread.
| Pairing | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Wine | Merlot or another supple red with moderate tannin |
| Beer | Brown ale or amber lager |
| Fruit | Pear or crisp apple |
| Savoury | Castelvetrano olives, rustic bread, potatoes, and roast beef |
Very bitter olives or a heavily peppered salami can make the plate feel repetitive. Choose one supporting salty item and let bread or fruit give the palate a quieter bite between peppercorns.
Serve smaller pieces than you would of a plain mild cheese. The concentrated pepper pockets keep each portion interesting, and guests can return for more without committing to a pepper-heavy mouthful.
A crisp pear or apple can supply water and sweetness between bites without adding another pungent aroma. Keep the fruit firm so it contrasts with the dense paste rather than becoming a soft sweet layer against it.
If you add cured meat, choose one that is not already coated in black pepper. Mild ham gives salt and fat, while pepper-crusted salami repeats the same sensation and makes it harder to taste the difference between green and black peppercorns in the cheese.
Merlot works best here as a fruit-and-tannin counterweight, not as a rule that every bottle will fit. Avoid a heavily alcoholic example when the cut face is pepper-dense because alcohol can make pungency feel hotter.
How Do You Keep the Peppercorn Aroma After Opening?
Wrap the cut face in cheese paper or parchment and place the wedge in a loosely closed box. Keep it away from delicate cheeses because exposed pepper aroma can move through a shared container.
Cut only the portion you plan to serve and return the main wedge to the refrigerator promptly. Repeated warming opens more of the rindless surface and lets the most volatile pepper aroma fade before the paste itself looks dry.
Green and black inclusions are expected.
New fuzzy growth, wet tunnels around a peppercorn, or a sticky sour surface is different and should not be excused as seasoning.
Replace damp wrapping instead of sealing moisture against the cut face. A dry clean paper surface protects aroma better than plastic pressed tightly over warm cheese and condensation.
Re-cut a thin dry face before serving when the stored wedge smells muted. The newly exposed paste often releases more pepper aroma, while cutting deeper will not correct sour liquid or growth extending into the cheese.
