What is Muenster Cheese?

Nothing melts like Muenster. Slap it between two pieces of bread. Grilled cheese doesn’t get any better 🙂

This post is a part of my What is ____ Cheese Series? featuring | Muenster | Brick | Gouda | Colby

The cheese world is full of what seems like endless options.

Naturally because of that some can go without much fan fair.

One of those cheese is muenster. You know that white cheese with the orange rind.

Everyone has seen it and you find it everywhere. But have you really taken anytime to think about what muenster is and why it deserves a place in your fridge?

Now it your chance!

What Does Muenster Cheese Taste Like?

Muenster is a buttery, mild cheese that a taste that mildly reminds of a mild Monterrey Jack cheese. The cheese is typically made from whole milk.

What is the Orange/Red Part of Muenster? Can You Eat It?

Muenster is easily recognized by the orange/red coloring around the edges. This is either a vegetable based coloring or a very mild Paprika. It is pretty bland and completely edible.

Why have it there anyway? The reason is to resemble it’s cousin, the European Munster (notice the spelling difference). Not all American Muenster will have the orange coloring. I have some completely lacking the color. The only thing the coloring does is add to the visual appeal aka marketing.

Is Muenster a Good Melting Cheese?

Absolutely!

It melts wonderfully, maybe one of the best melters out there. It’s great for all of these things: grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, tuna melts, hamburgers, etc.

We use Muenster most for grilled cheese sammys, we got a recipe below 🙂

Did You Know?

• Little Caesars actually uses muenster cheese along with mozzarella cheese on their Hot’n’Ready pizzas. Isn’t that cool?
• Muenster cheese makes a great addition to mac & cheese. I would recommend mixing it with some stronger cheeses (like a 2 year old cheddar). I often do a 50/50 ratio.

Who Makes the Best Muenster?

Let me start by saying there is a lot of bad muenster cheeses out there. The cheap store brand stuff often has the texture of rubber and the taste to match. Take a look beyond the cheap stuff and see what else your grocery store has.

I have been doing some investigating with my tongue and so far the best muenster I have found is made by Alp & Dell. Their cheese can be found at Whole Foods Market as well as several other grocery stores. It has a nice texture, almost melts in your mouth as you it. The flavor is well balanced.

Sometimes I find that Muenster can be overly salty, but Alp & Dell seems to have gotten that just right. Try this one your next hamburger, you will wonder why you didn’t try it earlier!

Also if you have a Kroger store nearby that has a Murray’s cheese counter, get their muenster. My kids love the cubes they sell – they usually get eaten on the car ride home!

Is Muenster Made with Goat Milk?

Traditionally muenster is made with cow’s milk, there are some places that do make it with goat milk. This gives the mild cheese a little extra something without being too “goaty”. Click here to read more about mild goat cheeses.

So now that you have time to give muenster a second thought, why not give it a second thought next time you are at the grocery store. The melting possibilities are endless!

Now onto that grilled cheese recipes I promised

The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich

A grilled cheese sandwich doesn’t have to be anything complicated. The best grilled chese is when you have some good bread and you are using muenster.

Just scroll back above. Look at the cheese stretch, doesn’t it have make you want one right now? I am hoping you already got the bread and muenster in your house.

Go Low and Slow

I recognize you are hungry. You need this sandwich. But if you keep your heat down to a medium and slowly melt that cheese and brown that bread, your patience will be rewarded.

Trust me.