🧀 Munster
Also known as: Munster-Géromé, Munster cheese
Munster, or Munster-Géromé, is a French soft washed-rind PDO cheese made from cow's milk in the Vosges area.
Munster, or Munster-Géromé, is a French soft washed-rind cheese made from cow's milk. It has been an EU PDO since 1996 (eAmbrosia file PDO-FR-0125); the specification was amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/140. The production area covers parts of the departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Moselle, Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Haute-Saône, Vosges and Territoire de Belfort.
According to the single document, the origins go back to the abbeys founded in the Vosges massif in the 7th and 8th centuries; the Monasterium confluentis gave its name to the town of Munster. Cheese-making developed around Munster (for Alsace) and around Gérardmer (for Lorraine), which explains the two names, Munster and Géromé. From the 16th century farmers sold the cheese to wine-growing towns of Alsace.
The cheese is a thick or flat cylinder in three format categories: 120–340 g, 450–1,000 g and 1,000–1,750 g. Depending on the format, it ripens for at least 14 or 21 days counted from renneting. The rind is thin and slightly smeared, ivory orange to reddish orange, mainly due to red cultures (Brevibacterium linens). The paste is ivory to pale beige and may have a few holes; by the end of the minimum ripening a core forms. The aroma is pungent and slightly ammoniac. In the mouth the paste is slightly salty, fine, soft and melting, with a sweet taste with lactic, plant (hay, ripe fruit, nuts), woody and slightly yeasty notes. Fat is at least 20 g and dry matter at least 44 g per 100 g of cheese. Caraway seeds may be added to the paste.
Munster or any cheese called Münster? Only cheese from the defined area in the Vosges, parts of Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté, may carry the protected name, and it is also sold as Munster-Géromé. It is a soft washed-rind cow's milk cheese, ripened at least 14 or 21 days from renneting, with an orange rind and a pungent, slightly ammoniac aroma, yet a sweet, melting paste. The cows graze at least 150 days a year and most of their feed must come from the area, so the name points to a place as well as a recipe.
Look for the name Munster, or Munster-Géromé, in letters at least two thirds the size of the largest on the label, together with the EU PDO symbol (protected designation of origin). The cheeses are packaged individually in the production area as they leave the ripening cellar. Expect a thin, slightly smeared ivory-orange to reddish-orange rind and a thick or flat cylinder of 120–1,750 g. It is typically sold at a cheesemonger, a supermarket cheese counter or a delicatessen.
At least 95 % of the dry matter of the cows' basic ration must come from the production area, the cows graze at least 150 days a year, and concentrates are limited to 1.8 tonnes of dry matter per cow per year. The cheeses are packaged individually, in the production area, as they leave the ripening cellar. The label shows the name in characters at least two thirds the size of the largest ones, together with the EU PDO symbol; the Vosges breed may be mentioned only if more than 70 % of the cows belong to it.
Facts
| Raw material | Cow's milk |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Vosges area: parts of Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté |
| Minimum maturation | 14 or 21 days from renneting, depending on format |
| Legal basis | EU PDO since 1996, PDO-FR-0125 1 |
How it connects to Cheese
🧀 Munster → kind of → 🟠 Washed-rind cheeses → kind of → 🧀 Cheese
Links
- Made from which milk
- 🥛 Cow's milk
- Part of
- 🟠 Washed-rind cheeses, 🏷️ Protected cheese names, 🇫🇷 French cheeses
- Similar and different
- 🧀 Époisses
Frequently asked questions
Is Munster the same as the Muenster sold in supermarkets elsewhere?
The protected name belongs only to the French cheese from the defined area in the Vosges, parts of Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté; it is a soft washed-rind cow's milk cheese.
May a Munster label mention the Vosges breed of cow?
Only if more than 70% of the cows belong to it. The name must also appear in letters at least two thirds the size of the largest, with the EU PDO symbol.
Where does the history of Munster begin?
In abbeys founded in the mountains in the early Middle Ages; from the sixteenth century farmers sold the cheese to the wine-growing towns of Alsace.
How long is Munster ripened?
At least 14 or 21 days counted from renneting, depending on the format.
What sizes does Munster come in?
Three format categories: 120–340 g, 450–1,000 g and 1,000–1,750 g, as a thick or flat cylinder.
Similar
🧀 Livarot · 🧀 Maroilles · Soumaintrain · 🧀 Esrom · 🧀 Fromage de Herve · 🧀 Salva Cremasco
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.