Well the muenster I made last week with diced jalepenos was opened last night to rave reviews.  I used 3 peppers for a 3 lb. batch, diced finely and boiled in vinegar.  Just a slight kick without being overwhelmingly hot.  I’m going to be making more of this one regularly.  Thanks Jeanne.

Congrats, glad to hear it turned out.

A pepper jack is on my list for the near future.

9mmruger - 30 October 2008 12:31 PM

A pepper jack is on my list for the near future.

The one jack cheese that I have made did not turn out very well; but the Muenster seems to come out great every time.  Moist, mild and quick.

GCM:

Glad to hear it turned out well for you.  It’s the easiest thing that I make, and my husband LOVES it.

Okay, I’m really wanting to give the jalepeno muenster a try…...
Do you think I could use store bought diced jalepeno peppers in this recipe? I have a jar of them in the fridge which are in a pickling type solution.
If so, would I still need to boil them in vinegar and do i need to dry them well before putting them into the curds?
The only “pepper” syle of cheese that I’ve made up to this point was with crushed red peppers and cracked peppercorns. It was made with a Jack syle cheese and quite honestly it sucked.
Please let me know what you think. This could possible become cheese number two for the weekend.
Thanks,
Dave

One other question for Rich…..
Would you say that your jalepeno muenster is similar to commercial made pepper jack? This is one of my favorites so I’d like to make something similar.
I’ve looked at the recipe you sent me and the pictures of the muenster do look a lot like commercial monterey jack. In my opinion commercial Monterey Jack has the perfect texture and “bite” to be used with peppers but the jack cheeses I’ve made just simply don’t cut it.
Thanks again,
Dave

hi
ive made a jalepeno cheese using store bought chillis in a jar and i boiled them in water, drained them and added the water to the cheese as you are cooking it and pat dry the chillis and mix them in the same as the pepper cheese. the chilli water adds the the flavour of the cheese it turned out with a deffinate bite to it very popular here

Dave,  the muenster is softer than Jack, and more moist with a milder flavor - probably because there is no starter culture used.  I would think that if you already have pickled Jalepenos, there should be no need to recook them.  Just drain off excess fluid and add them to the curd prior to pressing.  Besides, the muenster does not age for very long so there’s little chance of much bacterial growth.

Narelle and Rich….thanks for your replies.
As we speak I have a two gallon batch of muenster forming the curd. I also went ahead and boiled the jalepenos in the microwave and will try narelle’s suggestion of adding the water to the curd as well.
The commercial pepper jack is totally unlike homemade Monterey Jack in that it is a very soft and very moist cheese. I’d say the texture of this muenster will be perfect even if the flavor is not as sharp.
Thanks again for the replies.
Dave