Oka (cheese)

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Oka cheese

Oka is a Canadian cheese named after the small village of Oka in Québec (near Montréal ), where it has been made since 1893.

Oka cheese has a smooth, creamy taste and a pungent aroma that is sometimes described as nutty and fruity. Oka is an excellent substitute for many semi-soft aged cheeses in all kinds of dishes.

There are two types of Oka cheese, Regular and Classic . Oka can be made from pasteurized or raw milk . Regular is a pressed, semi-soft cheese that matures on the surface for around 30 days. Classic matures for another month. The maturation takes place in chilled cellars. The cheeses are stored on boards made of cypress wood and regularly turned and washed in a weak brine.

Oka was originally made by French Trappist monks who produced the monastery cheese Port Salut . When these monks settled in La Trappe, near Oka, they brought their cheese recipe for Port Salut from Brittany ( France ) and made the Oka cheese. Their cheese had become popular in Paris by 1875 and they still oversee its production today.

literature

  • Martin Aspinwall u. a .: Cheese of the World (World Cheese Book, 2009). Dorling Kindersley, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-8310-1733-1 .