When it comes to satisfying everyone, muenster cheese is as close as you get to a sure thing. Kids love its mild flavors and super meltability. Aficionados love its subtle, nutty-buttery flavor that develops more character as it ages, just like the rest of us. And pretty much everybody loves how muenster cheese makes any dish a little tastier, creamier, and oh-so delicious.
In Wisconsin, we're pretty proud of this mild flavored, creamy white, orange-rind cheese. And not just because it adds guaranteed goodness to any grilled cheese recipe. Our cheesemakers invented it, after all, inspired by the Munster cheese from France's Alsace region. We're all in on this Wisconsin cheese original because we know when there's a muenster in the room, everybody's just a wee bit afraid they won't get enough.
When serving muenster cheese, you can't go wrong – it'll be a hit no matter how you slice it, grate it, or melt it. We think muenster cheese makes one of the best mac and cheese recipe for a weeknight meal that will delight all generations. Or mix muenster cheese with cream cheese, crème fraiche, and horseradish to create some awesome cheese balls for a muenster-monster-movie night. Layer it in your scalloped potatoes, stuff it in your pasta shells, or pile it high on a triple-decker turkey sandwich – muenster cheese can do it all.
Muenster cheese is very carefree when it comes to pairings, too. Stouts, pilsners, pale ales, porters, brown ales, lagers, and Belgian ales are all made better by muenster. And for wine, how about a glass of chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot, red zinfandel, riesling, sauvignon blanc, Neaujolais, pinot gris or Grüner Veltliner?
Muenster cheese is a cow's milk cheese that originated in Wisconsin in the 1800s as French immigrants sought to imitate the Munster cheese from their homeland. American muenster is a semi-soft cheese with a creamy white color, an orange rind and a mild, slightly nutty/buttery flavor that develops more complexity with age. While muenster cheese has excellent melting properties, it can also be easily sliced or grated, making it a highly versatile table cheese.
French munster cheese originates from the Alsace region of France and is traditionally made with unpasteurized cow's milk from the Vosges region. It is a wash-rind cheese produced with the same techniques used to make strong-smelling cheeses like limburger. While not as pungent as traditional stinky cheeses, French Munster has a potent aroma and strong flavors. American muenster cheese is made from pasteurized milk and is not produced with washed-rind techniques, resulting in a much milder flavor.
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When you want to taste for yourself what makes muenster cheese such a crowd-pleaser, look for the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese™ badge on the label as you're prowling the grocery aisles. We say that, not just because muenster is a homegrown original, but because when you're holding a chunk of Wisconsin cheese, you can be sure you've got your fingers wrapped around the very best cheese in the world.
See, we been making cheese here for over 175 years, which is probably why we've won so many awards for it (5,552 to be exact. Not that we're keeping track.) About 90% of the milk our cows produce is turned into cheese, and our 1,200 cheesemakers produce more styles, varieties, and flavors of cheese than anywhere else in the world.
Our mission is nothing less than to make the tastiest, most award-winning, highest-quality cheese in the universe. For us, that means we take our cheese seriously. For you, that means some seriously delicious muenster cheese.
Craving award-winning aged cheddar, pining for parmesan, or searching for a new cheese to try? The world’s best cheese is just a click away! Explore our directory of Wisconsin cheesemakers and retailers who offer online cheese shopping and get cheese shipped right to your door. What are you waiting for?
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