Cheeses of Oka
A Quebec village on the Lake of Two Mountains where Trappist monks created Oka, a washed-rind cheese, in the 1890s.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: June to October, with apples in September.
Oka is a village on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains, west of Montreal. Trappist monks founded the abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac here in 1881. In 1893 Brother Alphonse Juin arrived from France with a recipe for Port Salut cheese, which he adapted into Oka, a washed-rind cheese that became one of Canada's best known.
Oka cheese
Oka is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a copper-orange rind, washed by hand during ageing. It has a pungent smell and a creamy, nutty taste. The monks made it for nearly a century before selling the recipe in 1981 to a dairy co-operative, which still makes it in the village. The monks later moved to a new abbey in Lanaudière.
The abbey and the lake
The old abbey buildings, now a heritage site, stand among orchards on the slopes above the village. Oka National Park protects beaches, wetlands and the Calvary of Oka, a hill with old chapels. The Kanien'kehá:ka community of Kanesatake neighbours the village. A ferry crosses the lake to Hudson in the warmer months.
A trail idea for Oka
- Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac The former Trappist abbey where Oka cheese was born.
- Village cheese shop Taste Oka of different ages in the village.
- Oka National Park Walk the Calvary trail and the lakeshore.
- Orchards Pick apples on the hills in autumn.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Oka, Quebec" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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