Munster
AOP📍 Grand Est · Haut-Rhin
Alsatian washed-rind cheese with a strong flavor.
The cheese
Born in the Vosges valleys around the Val Saint-Grégoire (Munster in Alsatian) in the 7th century under Benedictine monks, AOP Munster is one of France's oldest cheeses. Made from raw Vosgienne cow's milk, it is a soft-ripened, orange-red washed-rind cheese with powerful character but extraordinarily melting, creamy paste. Two to three months of ageing with regular brine washes develops a sticky rind and an intense, almost farmyard smell — yet a surprisingly balanced flavour: lactic, buttery, vegetal, with spicy notes. Traditionally served with jacket potatoes, onions and cumin, in Alsace it is eaten with Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives or a corpulent Pinot Gris d'Alsace.