Oka is a semi-soft washed rind cheese that was originally manufactured by Trappist monks located in

Oka Oka or OKA may refer to: Cars * Oka (automobile), a small car designed by AvtoVAZ and produced by ZMA and SeAZ * OKA 4wd, a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle made in Western Australia by OKA Military * 2B1 Oka, Soviet 420 mm self-propelled mor ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The cheese is named after the town. It has a distinct flavour and

aroma An odor (American English) or odour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their se ...

, and is still manufactured in Oka, although now by a commercial company. The recipe was sold in 1981 by Les Pères Trappistes to the

Agropur The Agropur Dairy Cooperative, usually shortened to Agropur, is headquartered in Saint-Hubert, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. Agropur Cooperative is a North American dairy cooperative founded in 1938. It is a supplier of products for the industri ...

cooperative. It was also manufactured by Trappist Monks at the Our Lady of the Prairies Monastery, located 8 miles southeast of

Holland, Manitoba Holland, Manitoba is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Victoria, in Manitoba. It is located at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 34, along the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. It ...

. A small Manitoba producer learned the process from Brother Albéric, but stopped making unpasteurized Trappist cheese in 2019 because of the cost of provincial regulations. Brother Alphonse Juin arrived at the Notre-Dame du Lac Monastery in Quebec in 1893 with a recipe for Port-du-Salut cheese. He "tweaked and adjusted" the recipe, and Oka was born. Since that time, Quebec has become a major producer of Canadian Cheese. Oka cheese has a pungent aroma and soft creamy flavour, sometimes described as nutty and fruity. The cheese, which is made from cow's milk, is covered with a copper-orange, hand-washed rind. Its distinct flavour sets it apart from more common cheeses such as colby and

cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and t ...

, and does not go through a cheddaring process. There are four types of Oka cheese: * ''Regular'' is pasteurized

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

. It is ripened for four weeks. * ''Classic'' is pasteurized and ripened for two months. * ''Providence'' is of a much more creamy and soft texture than either 'Classic' or 'Regular'. * ''Light'' is similar to 'Regular', but with a lower percentage of fat and always pasteurized.

History

Oka cheese was heavily influenced by the work of the monks of the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac (fr. ''Abbaye Cistercienne d'Oka''). Within a few years, through an affiliation with the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

, the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

created an agricultural school. Frequently called the ''Abbaye Notre-Dame-du-Lac'', the Trappist monastery became well known for its Port-Salut cheese, made from a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

recipe brought with them from France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oka Cheese Canadian cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses Cuisine of Quebec Smear-ripened cheeses Trappist Order Trappist cheeses

History

See also

References