Author Topic: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?  (Read 17071 times)

JeffHamm

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My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« on: February 08, 2014, 06:01:06 AM »
Hi,

I picked up some Munster from the local French cheese shop.  It was very nice, so I decided to give it a go.  In the 200 Easy Homemade book, she lists Muenster, but says it is from Alsace-Lorraine region of France.  I thought Muenster was an American cheese, and Munster was the French one?  Anyway, this is my plan for the make tomorrow.  If anyone has any suggestions before I get going, let me know.   I'll be using a 6.15" diameter tomme mould for this make.

- Jeff

Munster (misnamed Muenster in 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes)
2 Litres Silver Top (creamline 4% fat, 3.1% protein)
3 Litres Homebrand Standard (3.2% fat, 3.1% protein : gives 0.87:1 P:F Ratio – target 0.88:1)
1 ice cube buttermilk; 1 ice cube crème fraiche
1/40th tsp B. Linens
¼ tsp CaCl2 in egg cup water
Rennet (0.3 mls 750 ; 0.8 mls 280 Calf ; or 3.46 65 Renco)
Salt
brine for washing (6 g salt to 194g water)

1)   Add CaCl2 while setting up
2)   Add culture and b.linens to milk and warm to 32 C (7:35 32.2 C)
3)   Ripen 15 minutes (7:35 - 7:50 32.0 C)
4)   Add rennet (7:51:00 floc time 8:03:30 = 12m 30s 4x floc = 50m 00s cut time 8:41:00)
5)   Cut to 1.25 cm cubes (8:48 - 8:52) (so 4.6x floc used)
6)   Ensure temp is 32.0 C ( 28.5 C raised back to 32.2 C)
7)   stir genetly for 15 minutes (9:05- 9:20)
8)   Let curds settle, cover and rest 30 minutes (9:20 - 9:50)
9)   Drain whey to level of curds, then gentle transfer curds to cloth lined collendar
10)   Drain 30 minutes (9:57 - 10:27)
11)   Ladle soft curds into mould (but press them lightly to ensure they are spread evenly – used coffee cup ½ full of water) and drain 24 hours (flip several times over this period and remove any whey – keep cheese above the whey (10:27 – flipped 11:37, fusing nicely – again 12:40 - 1:20 – 3:25 and switched to large coffee mug of water – 4:55 – 6:00 – 7:30 pm switched weight back to small coffee cup with water for the overnight to minimize possible “tilting”- 6:00 am – 5:30 pm – 690g 15.7 x 3.1 = 600 = 1.15 g/cm3)
12)   If cheese still too soft to handle, continue to drain/flip for 6-7 hours more (??:?? - ??:??)
13)   Sprinkle each face with ¼ tsp salt up to 1 tsp for larger cheese (6.25” tomme mould, used ½ tsp each face? )
14)   Place cheese in ripening container and ripen at 13 C, 85% humidity
15)   Flip cheese daily, remove any whey until no more released (about 3 days; was dry after first day, no whey in the container)
16)   Start washing every 2nd day (or alternating faces each day) for 2 weeks (smaller cheeses) to 3 weeks (larger cheeses).  Orange smear should start to form after 10 days or so. (started brine washing Feb 11, 2014; pm)
17)   Can be eaten at this point, or continue to ripen up to 3 months (gets stronger the longer you continue to ripen it).
18)   Rind should be soft and moist, but not sticky.  Once the rind is where you want it, wrap in parchment paper and store in regular fridge to extend.

« Last Edit: February 11, 2014, 07:40:38 AM by JeffHamm »

Offline Boofer

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2014, 03:46:17 PM »
Well, alright, Jeff! A new cheese style...for you!

This is one style that I've wondered about and toyed with making many times, especially when doing any of my washed rinds. I am really curious how this progresses. At the time of this posting you are probably well into the make...and I'm vicariously stirring, waiting, etc. with you. Um, that's not creepy, huh? :P  Wait, I'll get my own milk. ;)

-Boofer-


Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

JeffHamm

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2014, 04:59:14 PM »
Hi Boofer,

Yah, new cheese for me.  I've done a few washed rinds, but more esrom (washed rind gouda), or tommes.  This is more like a washed rind camembert type.  Should be interesting.  I think it will require a bit more stirring of the curds, though.  My luck with just ladeling and draining in the moulds with past bries has not been entirely successful and the cheese has been too moisture filled.  And no, not too creepy, as long as you stand over ... THERE! :)

- Jeff

JeffHamm

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2014, 09:45:42 PM »
Well, this is a pretty quick make.  In the mould already.  I feel quite pleased with the curds going into the mould.  The excess whey, already expelled, seemed well drained, but the curds themselves were still soft.  So, as the curds are flipped every so often over the next 24-30 hours, the cheese should form up and expell more whey.  We'll see how it goes.  Photos won't be available until tomorrow, but hopefully this goes to plan.  I enjoyed the Munster I purchased, so I'm hoping I get something close to that texture wise. 

- Jeff

P.S. I flipped after an 70 minutes, and the curds are fusing nicely.  I've got them in a tomme mould, sitting on an inverted 1/2 brie mould (to keep above expelled whey), with a follower on top of the curds and a small coffee cup 1/2 filled with water on top to be something like stacking other cheeses on top.  Anyway, all of this is in a pot sitting in a sink with some hot water (and covered) to create a warm environment.  Curds are fusing nicely.  A few flips and this will be a nicely formed cheese.  After that, it's the aging that will matter.  That will tell if this procedure is going to work well.
« Last Edit: February 08, 2014, 10:45:09 PM by JeffHamm »

JeffHamm

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2014, 05:32:50 AM »
Snapped a quick photo during the 6 pm flip.  Coming together nicely.  A few large bits that I hope fill in by morning, but if not they are on the edge and will get smoothed during the washing. 

- Jeff

jwalker

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2014, 04:17:57 PM »
Hi,

I picked up some Munster from the local French cheese shop.  It was very nice, so I decided to give it a go.  In the 200 Easy Homemade book, she lists Muenster, but says it is from Alsace-Lorraine region of France.  I thought Muenster was an American cheese, and Munster was the French one?

Yes , Wiki has this to say:
"Muenster (English pronunciation: /ˈmʌnstər/ or /ˈmʊnstər/) or munster is a semi-soft cheese from the United States, not to be confused with the French variety, Munster."

I don't remember ever trying either one of them , is the one you bought fairly strong tasting , anything like a Limburger.?

I find I'm getting to like a lot of cheeses ripened with B. Linens , the last "Reblochon" type I did is almost gone , I since have made two Tomme style cheeses with washed rind with B. Linens added to the wash , they already smell great.

That must be a fairly small cheese with only a 5 liter make , weight ?

I'll be watching this thread for the results.

John@PC

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2014, 04:48:05 PM »
Wiki has this to say:
"Muenster (English pronunciation: /ˈmʌnstər/ or /ˈmʊnstər/) or munster is a semi-soft cheese from the United States, not to be confused with the French variety, Munster."
After reading Jeff's post I thought I would do my first munster.  Mary Carlin didn't have a recipe but Gianclias did; actually not a munster specifically but a recipe from Jos Vulto for his washed rind cheese he calls "ouleout".   I had not known about Jos's story but did some googling and saw some great looking cheeses.   Relating to US vs. French munster, Gianiclis makes this statement:
Quote from: Gianiclis Caldwell's Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking"
"French Munster .... is a washed rind AOC cheese with a flavor as strong as it's pedigree.  The US version on the other hand, is mild and colored, not by bacterial growth, but by paprika or another colorant  :P".
Note: tongue sticking out is an editorial comment.  Looking forward to making something more like the French version (very approximate, of course).


JeffHamm

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2014, 05:25:20 PM »
Hi,

Yes, this is the French washed rind version (Munster).  The piece I bought was quite mild, so I think it was quite young, so nothing like the Limburger of legend!  Munster is made in a couple of sizes, this being of the smaller variety.  Still draining, so not sure of it's final dimensions after draining.  Will update with all that information at the end of today, when it gets a salt coating and goes into the cave.  Notice, no air drying for this type.  However, one could make one around 20 cm in diameter with a 1/2 brie mould, for the larger version.  They can be aged out to 3 months for stronger flavour.  I'll probably keep this one young, so I can compare with the one we bought.  If that is a reasonable match, then I'll know this make produces something that seems to be in the right ballpark and aging it out might not be a bad idea. 

- Jeff

JeffHamm

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #8 on: February 10, 2014, 05:31:32 AM »
Ok, it's out of the mould and looks good.  Was 15.7 x 3.1 and 690g, for a density of 1.15 g/cm3.  Cheese pretty much looks identical to the above photo at this stage.  I've salted both faces with 1/2 tsp salt each, put the cheese on chopsticks over a plate, and put it in a ripening box in the cheese cave.  In 3 or 4 days will start washing the upper face (after flipping) with a weak brine with a bit of b.linens added (brine was 6 g salt added to 194g water; b.linens was just what came out of the tube when I tapped the side of it over the jar).  I'll flip the cheese and wash the new upper face each day.  This will progress for 2 or 3 weeks, by which time we should have some linens well established.  By 3 or 4 weeks it will be ready to try, as that is a young Munster.  It can, apparently, be aged out to 3 months, though I suspect a larger make would be better suited for that (8-10 Litre cheese, in a 1/2 brie mould).  Looking forward to seeing how this one goes.

- Jeff

Pete S

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2014, 06:39:19 PM »
Quote
Hi,

I picked up some Munster from the local French cheese shop.  It was very nice, so I decided to give it a go.  In the 200 Easy Homemade book, she lists Muenster, but says it is from Alsace-Lorraine region of France.  I thought Muenster was an American cheese, and Munster was the French one? 



 I believe the difference is in the spelling.  Munster is the American spelling,Muenster is the old world spelling.

All of the recipes that I have call it Muenster and are for the old world strong cheese. The cheese that they have in the supermarket is called Munster and is a mild cheese covered with paprika and has no resemblance to Muenster.
 I think they use paprika to make it look like the old world cheese.   Pete

JeffHamm

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2014, 07:21:04 PM »
Hi Pete S,

This seems to be a very confusing cheese! I've heard that one is washed rind (like what I'm making) and the other is a mild American cheese.  The two books I've looked at (Rikki's and 200 Easy) both call it Muenster as a washed rind, but my internet searches say that Munster is the washed rind and Muenster is the mild one (and point out they are different cheeses) i.e. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muenster_cheese vs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munster_(cheese) Unfortunately, I tossed the wrapper from the cheese I bought when we opened it, so I'm not sure how it was spelled, and I didn't take notice of it at the time.  I might pop in on my way home today and see though. 

Anyway, regardless of spelling, this one is based upon the French Washed Rind cheese.  If it turns out tasty, I won't worry about an e or its absence. :)

- Jeff

Pete S

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2014, 08:23:58 PM »
Quote
Hi Pete S,

This seems to be a very confusing cheese! I've heard that one is washed rind (like what I'm making) and the other is a mild American cheese.  The two books I've looked at (Rikki's and 200 Easy) both call it Muenster as a washed rind, but my internet searches say that Munster is the washed rind and Muenster is the mild one (and point out they are different cheeses) i.e. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muenster_cheese vs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munster_(cheese) Unfortunately, I tossed the wrapper from the cheese I bought when we opened it, so I'm not sure how it was spelled, and I didn't take notice of it at the time.  I might pop in on my way home today and see though. 



- Jeff


 I have read the Wiki descriptions and that lead me to do the research and post.
 
 Where was the cheese you bought made?

 Limburger and Muenster was what got me into cheese making , because I could not get them any other way.

                                                                                                                                            Pete

JeffHamm

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2014, 09:42:18 PM »
The one I bought was made in France.  The cheese shop imports French cheeses, but I didn't check the spelling. 

- Jeff

Pete S

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2014, 11:05:33 PM »
  Is Muenster or Munster a protected name in Europe ?   Pete

John@PC

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Re: My 1st Muenster - or is it Munster?
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2014, 11:10:40 PM »
Gianaclis Caldwell says the French Munster from the Alsace region of France is an AOC cheese.