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Munster (cheese)
Encyclopedia
Munster or Munster-géromé, is a strong tasting, soft cheese
made mainly from milk from the Vosges
, between Alsace
, Lorraine
and Franche-Comté
in France
.
The name munster may come from the little town of Munster
, where, among Vosgian abbeys and monasteries, the cheese was conserved and matured in monk's cellars. It may also refer to the Latin
word for monastery
, monasterium.
As early as 1371, and possibly before, these territories were occupied by cattle herds driven by men, called "marcaires", pasture
d there between May and September. When the herds returned to their valleys, the cattle herdsmen first paid the fees and tithes to the religious and political owners of the summer pastures or simply financiers of this transhumance. During feudal times these owners possessed all goods, living creatures, rights of pasture and cattle. Those who herded were known as serf
s.
This mountain population paid their debts with cheese and jars of butter
. The lords were the first religious establishments, women like chanoinesses from Remiremont
or from Andlau
, or men such as the chanoines or canons from Murbach
or Saint-Dié, Benedictines from Munster, Senones
, Moyenmoutier
, and other monastic areas. Political protectors, included the duke of Lorraine, count of Salm, count of Ribeaupierre, and other Alsatian noblemen.
During the seventh century, this tradition, though disappearing, was maintained in two special places, Gerardmer
in the western Lorraine part of the main range and Munster for the east and Alsatian part. Hence the two names of this cheese, gérômé and munster written with little type.
(AOC). This certification places under control the main steps of the cheese process. The producers are required to inspect rigorously :
It is made from unpasteurized
cow's milk
called crude milk, from the above-described zone d'appellation contrôlée. This soft white cheese is formed into flat cylinders, with two common dimensions: little munster gérômé has a 7–12 cm diameter; big munster gérômé (commonly just called munster) has a 13–19 cm diameter.
The cheese's crust must be washed regularly. It is matured in damp cellars for five weeks for the smaller formats (roughly 300 g) and up to 2 to 3 months for the larger ones (about 1500 g). During this period, the rind is periodically washed with brine
. The added moisture helps the development of bacteria that gives this cheese its particular taste and color.
Munster géromé is at its best in the summer and the autumn, when it is made from milk from the haute chaumes ("high stubble") of pastures that have already been mowed for midsummer hay in the Vosges mountains
. The best cheeses come from the haute vallée de Munster itself, but this cheese is also made in Lapoutroie
, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines
, Villé
, and other villages practically or in western Vosges, in Lorraine
. Now the tourism industry has supplanted farming near the lake's Valley near Gérardmer.
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
made mainly from milk from the Vosges
Vosges
Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...
, between Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
and Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The name munster may come from the little town of Munster
Munster, Haut-Rhin
Munster is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is located in a valley of the Vosges mountains about 15 kilometres west of Colmar on the D417 road to the Col de la Schlucht and Épinal....
, where, among Vosgian abbeys and monasteries, the cheese was conserved and matured in monk's cellars. It may also refer to the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word for monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, monasterium.
History of the cheese
This cheese originated in the Admodiation, an area on the top of the Vosgian mountains, named "Les Chaumes" or "Les grandes Chaumes" (comitatus Calvomontensis). Calvomontensis is the Latin word that describes mountaintops without woods.As early as 1371, and possibly before, these territories were occupied by cattle herds driven by men, called "marcaires", pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
d there between May and September. When the herds returned to their valleys, the cattle herdsmen first paid the fees and tithes to the religious and political owners of the summer pastures or simply financiers of this transhumance. During feudal times these owners possessed all goods, living creatures, rights of pasture and cattle. Those who herded were known as serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
s.
This mountain population paid their debts with cheese and jars of butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
. The lords were the first religious establishments, women like chanoinesses from Remiremont
Remiremont
Remiremont is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Inhabitants are called Romarimontains.-Geography:Remiremont is located on the Moselle, close to its confluence with the Moselotte, southeast of Épinal...
or from Andlau
Andlau
Andlau is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.The village owes its origin to Andlau Abbey which was founded in AD 880 by Richardis, the Empress of Charles the Fat...
, or men such as the chanoines or canons from Murbach
Murbach
Murbach is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.Murbach Abbey is located near Murbach.-References:*...
or Saint-Dié, Benedictines from Munster, Senones
Senones
The Senones were an ancient Gaulish tribe.In about 400 BC they crossed the Alps and, having driven out the Umbrians settled on the east coast of Italy from Forlì to Ancona, in the so-called ager Gallicus, and founded the town of Sena Gallica , which became their capital. In 391 BC they invaded...
, Moyenmoutier
Moyenmoutier
Moyenmoutier is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Inhabitants are called Médianimonastériens.-Geography:...
, and other monastic areas. Political protectors, included the duke of Lorraine, count of Salm, count of Ribeaupierre, and other Alsatian noblemen.
During the seventh century, this tradition, though disappearing, was maintained in two special places, Gerardmer
Gérardmer
Gérardmer is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-Culture:The Fantastic'Arts festival of horror and fantastic film has been held in Gérardmer each year since 1994.-External links:...
in the western Lorraine part of the main range and Munster for the east and Alsatian part. Hence the two names of this cheese, gérômé and munster written with little type.
Making and affinage
This cheese is protected by an Appellation d'Origine ContrôléeAppellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
(AOC). This certification places under control the main steps of the cheese process. The producers are required to inspect rigorously :
- a limited area of milk production, including a major part of Vosges, near the mountains of Alsace; the départements Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin; a few communes in département Haute-Saône; Belfort Territory; and the cantons of départements Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle.
- Precise characteristics of the transformation in cheese.
It is made from unpasteurized
Pasteurization
Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food...
cow's milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
called crude milk, from the above-described zone d'appellation contrôlée. This soft white cheese is formed into flat cylinders, with two common dimensions: little munster gérômé has a 7–12 cm diameter; big munster gérômé (commonly just called munster) has a 13–19 cm diameter.
- Cheese affinage
The cheese's crust must be washed regularly. It is matured in damp cellars for five weeks for the smaller formats (roughly 300 g) and up to 2 to 3 months for the larger ones (about 1500 g). During this period, the rind is periodically washed with brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
. The added moisture helps the development of bacteria that gives this cheese its particular taste and color.
- Quality control is maintained in storage, packaging and labeling (called etiquetage). The cheese, now round with a fat content of 45% in dry matter, has a diameter between 12 and 20 cm, and a thickness between 3 and 5 cm. Normally it is sold unwrapped on a straw bed, but for export it may be wrapped in cellophaneCellophaneCellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria and water makes it useful for food packaging...
or clear plastic. The cheese should have a slick shiny brick-colored or orange rind, with apparent moisture on it; a semi-soft body; a very strong and penetrating odor; and a very strong taste. Defects can be an unripened body (crumbly), a broken rind, too salty or too old and overdone.
Basic control
A commission organized by the syndicat interprofessionnel du fromage de Munster, a professional committee for munster cheese supervised all the preceding steps. In 1982, 8027 tonnes were produced, and only 10% was exported. 95% in weight was made in dairies with controlled process; only 5% comes from farms. The successive operations implicated 4727 milk producers, and only 16 endless process operators, or affineurs. These hegemonic actors could too take, if they bought, white cheeses from 252 farmers who were able to pursue the making at his end.Munster géromé is at its best in the summer and the autumn, when it is made from milk from the haute chaumes ("high stubble") of pastures that have already been mowed for midsummer hay in the Vosges mountains
Vosges mountains
For the department of France of the same name, see Vosges.The Vosges are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. They extend along the west side of the Rhine valley in a northnortheast direction, mainly from Belfort to Saverne...
. The best cheeses come from the haute vallée de Munster itself, but this cheese is also made in Lapoutroie
Lapoutroie
Lapoutroie is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-Geography:Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines nestles in the massif of the Vosges Mountains, where it occupies the beautiful V-shaped valley of the Lièpvrette...
, Villé
Villé
Villé is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, and other villages practically or in western Vosges, in Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
. Now the tourism industry has supplanted farming near the lake's Valley near Gérardmer.