Maredsous (cheese)
Maredsous is a semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk with a fat content of 45%.
The name of the Maredsous comes from the eponymous Benedictine monastery Maredsous in Anhée near Namur ( Belgium ). The monastery was founded in 1872 by monks from the Beuron Archabbey near Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg.
history
The cheese has been made since 1953. The monks were inspired by the French cheese Port-Salut from the Entrammes monastery , France. Production was left to a milk cooperative under the management of the monastery in 1959, as the sales volume exceeded the production capacity of the monks. The French group BEL took over the cooperative in 1990 .
Manufacturing
A pre-pressed cheese wheel weighing 1 kg is made from 10 liters of cow's milk. This blank is stored in the abbey basement. The ambient conditions in the basement are a constant 12 ° C with a humidity of 95%. The cellar flora created under these conditions causes the cheese to mature in 22 days. The cheese wheels are washed every two days. One employee creates around 3500 loaves per day.