Munster

Munster

A cheese with its own museum! This rather stinky cheese has been produced since the 7th Century, it was developed by Benedictine Monks living in the Alsace region of France in the Vosges Mountains bordering France and Germany. Originally produced as a means to store the excess milk rather than let it go to waste, many believe the strong qualities of Munster were developed by the monks as a substitute for meat, which they were forbidden to eat through their religious practice.

Munster is traditionally produced in the morning with the fresh warm milk from the morning milking added to the previous evening's milk and then the starter cultures* added. The milk is then heated to around 32c and transferred to a large copper cauldron called a Kessel where the rennet* is then added. Once the curd has reached the right stage of coagulation it is cut and starts to separate into curds and whey. The whey is then drawn off slowly and the curds are hand-scooped into moulds where they are allowed to settle before being turned multiple times and salted, they are then transferred to the maturing room often damp cellar-like rooms where they are washed regularly with brine to develop the pink rind seen on the surface of the cheese. The small cheeses spend 5 weeks maturing and the larger cheeses spend between 2-3 months maturing.

The brine washing process produces the perfect environment for brevibacterium linens (or B.Linens for short) this bacteria thrives in a moist environment, the enzymes work slowly from the outside in breaking down the microbial structure of the cheese and making the cheese become softer as it matures.

It takes 10 litres of milk to produce one individual 900g of cheese, they will each weigh a bit more than 900g at this stage in their production and will loose some weight during their maturation.

Although the rind smell can be very strong, giving off a rather pungent, earthy to farmyard aroma don’t be put off by it, as the taste doesn’t match the smell at all. Expect an interesting complexity of flavour, rich and savoury with buttery, meaty, brothy salts that gives way to a small nuttiness alongside a deep background tang. It has a soft texture that melts on the palate and leaves you feeling like you have had two experiences in one, from the strong smell to start with that gives way to the taste and texture. It sounds like a real journey and that is often how I think of Munster as it tastes nothing like it smells, it has this wild pink to orange rind and then the flavour can be anything from gently mild to intensely full, it’s a great journey and one I think everyone should try.

I must at this point offer a small piece of advice from personal experience: do not buy Munster in London and then think it’s a good idea to transport it on a warm train for a few hours unless of course, you want to apologise and explain the smell to every person that passes you for the entirety of your journey. It is however a good tactic if you don’t want anyone to sit near you.

Munster has been protected by AOC (Appellation D'origine Contrôlée) status since 1969, protecting the characteristics of the cheese and the area it is produced in. The AOC stipulates many factors of the cheese production such as it must be made using unpasteurised milk, the two sizes in which Munster is allowed to be made, small 7-12cm diameter and large 13-19cm diameter. It also covers regions where Munster can be produced among many other stipulations.

The best time of year to eat Munster is during the summer to autumn months typically May – October when the cattle are grazing the ‘high stubble’ a name given to the high mountain pastures that have been mowed for summer hay.

Munster is traditionally paired with Cumin seeds or can be served on baked potatoes or used in a punchy Tartiflette.

Starter Culture Rennet – Please see my article on these key cheese-making essentials