Dave's Cheese Notes: Queso Muenster
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Or "Muenster Enchilado".
This is very much your typical "U.S. grocery store Munster", by which I’m refering to the (probably offensive) generic use of the name:
Genericization of the term: Although first produced in France, production of Munster cheese has grown outside of the historic PDO region, which outside the European Union has led to the genericization of the term “munster”. The cheese is also known as “creamy muenster” in the United States.
I think my slightly blurry picture is perfect for this blurry cheese. I do like the textured and colored exterior, though. It’s fun - and apparently sometimes flavored with paprika? Not sure if this one was.
A big block of "Munster" from Mexico. Did have a slightly more interesting taste that a lot of the super-cheap blocks of "munster" you’re likely to find near the "string cheese" and "american cheese". This is the first time I’ve seen it.
Apparently, it’s very popular in some regions for Mexican dishes calling for soft, melting cheeses:
During my discussions, affordability and size came up repeatedly. The supermarket cheese was and remains more economical than locally made or imported Mexican cheeses, such as asadero and queso enchilado, typical of the Chihuahuan Desert region where El Paso is located. Muenster has similar melting qualities to the aforementioned cheeses, with a mild, buttery flavor. Muenster is the people’s cheese. More specifically, Muenster is the cheese of the people of El Paso–Juárez. […] Transplants from the Upper Midwest, alongside German immigrants to the Lone Star State, brought the new cheese to the El Paso–Juárez area. One of the earliest known mentions in Texas appeared in 1879, in a grocery store advertisement in The Galveston Daily News. Arguably, it’s unlikely those European Americans ever thought Muenster would be Mexicanized.
Kind of reminds me of the origins of Norteño:
Emperor Maximilian I brought Central European music to México during his reign (beginning 1863) in the Second Mexican Empire. By 1864, he had accumulated marching bands and musicians to entertain him. In 1867, the Mexican Republic executed Maximilian, thereby ending the Austrian empire in Mexico. Many of Maximilian’s former soldiers and fellow countrymen fled north and dispersed into what is now the southwestern United States. Norteño music developed from a blending of Mexican and Spanish oral and musical traditions, military brass band instrumentation, and European musical styles such as polka and waltz.