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The quality of the milk from the Vosges cow
Grazing in natural meadows and fed traditionally, the cows produce milk containing all the richness and taste of the pastures. Free from pathogenic germs, it locks in acid-producing lactic bacteria and aromatic bacteria which are favourable to the manufacture of cheese. It is natural, free from any chemical contaminants.
The micellae, globules suspended in the milk, give it it’s white colour and light-reflecting quality. Complex factors are behind the Munster taste such as winter or summer milk, quality of the milk, temperatures, cow fodder, even the type of prevailing winds. Small and hardy, this black and white cow is perfectly adapted to the mountains. Its milk is rich in fat and nitrogenous matter (casein) and therefore lends itself to the creation of a great cheese.
Raw milk is the most wholesome and balanced food.
Water:
900 g
Glucides in the form of lactose:
48 g
Fat:
36 g
Protein:
32 g
Mineral salts:
9 g
of which:
calcium (1250 mg)
phosphorus (900 mg)
magnesium
potassium
Micro-organisms:
lactic bacteria
Trace elements:
zinc, copper, iodine
Vitamins:
A, B, E, D
The production of raw milk
A cow can produce between 20 and 30 litres of milk a day. To produce this amount, it needs to drink between 60 and 75 litres of water a day and to chew the cud of 60 kg of fodder (hay, aftercrop). 8 litres of milk are needed to produce 1 kg of Munster.
Milking
This is the manual or automatic action which, in the same way as the sucking of a calf, stimulates the teat, enables secretion of the milk.

Delivery of raw milk
Once the milk has been collected from the local farms, the tanker lorry (which is divided into compartments) returns directly to La Graine au Lait. It parks on the decanting platform which is deliberately raised to enable the milk to flow by gravity, thus handling it carefully in its delicate state.
The cheesemaker opens the electropump hatch by remote control. The lorry’s compartments are emptied one by one and the decanted milk pours into the plate heat exchanger.
The raw milk is then reheated to 32°C, which is the optimum temperature for the development of bacteria. The milk is finally distributed into 120-litre-vats equipped with wheels, situated on a raised track. The milk in each producer is tested and monitored on a daily basis.
Fromagerie de Munster AOC - Jacques Haxaire - Affineur depuis 1929
68650 Lapoutroie - tel : +33(0)3 89 47 50 76 - fax : +33(0)3 89 47 26 37
e-mail : commercial@haxaire.com