A semi-soft washed-rind cow’s cheese from the Quebec village of Oka, pungent on the nose and mild and nutty on the palate. Trappist monks at the Abbaye Notre-Dame-du-Lac began making it in 1893 using a recipe carried from the Port-du-Salut abbey in Brittany.
A washed-rind cheese needs a ripening room held at a controlled temperature and high humidity, and repeated brine washing with a specific surface culture over weeks; it is a dairy process, not a kitchen one.
What goes into it
- cow’s milk
- rennet
- a washing brine carrying Brevibacterium linens
- salt
How it is made
The milk is set with rennet, the curd cut, drained and pressed into rounds. Through ripening the rounds are washed regularly with brine, which encourages Brevibacterium linens to colonise the surface — that bacterium is what makes the orange sticky rind and the smell. It ripens for at least a month in a humid cellar.
How long it takes: one to three months of washing and ripening
How it is eaten
Sliced on bread, melted into a croque or a poutine, or eaten with apples and cider.
History
Trappist monks at the Abbaye Notre-Dame-du-Lac in Oka began making it in 1893 using a recipe carried from Brittany’s Port-du-Salut abbey.
Frequently asked questions
What is Oka cheese?
Oka cheese is a cheese & dairy from Canada: semi-soft washed-rind cow’s cheese, pungent and nutty, from a Quebec village. Trappist monks at the Abbaye Notre-Dame-du-Lac in Oka began making it in 1893 using a recipe carried from Brittany’s Port-du-Salut abbey.
How is Oka cheese made?
The milk is set with rennet, the curd cut, drained and pressed into rounds. Through ripening the rounds are washed regularly with brine, which encourages Brevibacterium linens to colonise the surface — that bacterium is what makes the orange sticky rind and the smell. It ripens for at least a month in a humid cellar. It takes one to three months of washing and ripening.
Can I make Oka cheese at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. A washed-rind cheese needs a ripening room held at a controlled temperature and high humidity, and repeated brine washing with a specific surface culture over weeks; it is a dairy process, not a kitchen one.
What goes into Oka cheese?
Cow’s milk, rennet, a washing brine carrying Brevibacterium linens, salt.
How is Oka cheese eaten?
Sliced on bread, melted into a croque or a poutine, or eaten with apples and cider.
