Oka cheese was originally manufactured by the Trappist monks, who are located in Oka, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The cheese is named after the town. It has a distinct flavour and aroma, and is still manufactured in Oka, although now by a commercial company, the rights having been sold in 1996 by Les Peres Trappists. It is also manufactured in Holland, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, by Trappist Monks at their monastery, which is located 8 miles South East of Holland.

It originated in 1893. 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

Colby cheese

-History:Joseph F. Steinwand in 1874 developed a new type of cheese at his father's cheese factory near Colby, Wisconsin. The cheese was named after the village, which had been founded three years earlier....

 and cheddar

Cheddar cheese

Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....

, and does not go through a cheddaring process.

There are four types of Oka cheese, regular, classic, light and providence. 'Regular' Oka can be made from both pasteurized and raw cow's milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

. It is a pressed, semi-soft cheese that is surface ripened for some 30 days. The 'Classic' is ripened for an additional month. Aging is done in refrigerated aging cellars. The cheese rounds are placed on cypress

Cupressus

The genus Cupressus is one of several genera within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a polyphyletic group...

 slats and the cheeses are periodically turned and hand washed in a weak brine

Brine

Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...

 solution. 'Providence' Oka is of a much more creamy and soft texture then either 'Classic' or 'Regular', while 'Light' is similar to 'Regular', but with a lower percentage of fat.

History

Oka cheese was heavily influenced by the work of the monks of the Cistercian Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac

Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac (Oka, Quebec)

The Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac , known as the Oka Abbey , was a Trappist Cistercian monastery located in Oka, Quebec...

 (fr. Abbaye Cistercienne d'Oka). Within a few years, through an affiliation with the Université de Montréal

Université de Montréal

The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...

, the monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

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

Port-Salut cheese

S.A.F.R Port Salut is a semi-soft pasteurised cow's milk cheese from Mayenne, France, with a distinctive orange crust and a mild flavour. The cheese is produced in disks approximately 23 cm in diameter, weighing approximately 2 kg .Though Port Salut has a mild flavour, it sometimes has...

, made from a Breton

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

recipe brought with them from France.