Munster;
Munster-Géromé
Name of Group of Producers
1, place de la Gare, B.P. 7
68001 Colmar Cédex
51 rue d'Anjou 75008 PARIS
Tel: (33 1) 53 89 80 00
Fax: (33 1) 53 89 80 60
Soft cow's milk cheese with orange-coloured washed crust; cylindrical in form, 13 to 19 centimetres in diameter, from 2-4 to 8 centimetres thick and weighing a minimum of 450 grammes; the smaller version is 7 to 12 centimetres in diameter and weighs 120 grammes; minimum fat content 45%.
Geographical area : The slopes of the Vosges in Alsace and Lorraine within the départements of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Vosges, Meurthe et Moselle, Moselle, Haute-Saône and Territoire de Belfort.
The origin of Munster cheese is associated with the establishment in the sixth century of monks from Ireland, then the arrival of
Benedictine monks from Italy who founded an abbey around which various rural annexes developed, including a market town called
Munster, a name derived from the Latin Monasterium. The use of the bare mountainsides known as Les Chaumes encouraged livestock farming and cheesemaking. From the Middle Ages, the movement of cattle from summer to winter pastures became a means of passing on production techniques to the Lorraine side of the range. The marketing centre at Gérardmer added the name Géromé to denote the Munster from that area.
Made entirely of cow's milk with rennet added; the curds are finely broken up before being put into moulds, turned over, removed from the moulds, salted and dried again, then placed in the cellar to ripen for a minimum of 21 days (14 days for the small size) in an atmosphere specifically designed to promote the development of the fermenting agents which produce traces of red colouring, thereby giving the cheese its orange appearance; during this time the cheese is washed with salted water and turned over regularly.
