Monday's post

Welcome back, Constant Readers, to another week here at Cheese Cheese Everywhere!

As you’ll notice, the title of today’s post is Monday’s post.  But, you might say to yourself, isn’t today Tuesday?  Aren’t there only 4 days left till the weekend?   Not 5?  Please tell me there’s only 4 days!  Please, I’m begging you!  I can’t handle two Mondays!!!

It’s ok, you’re not all losing your minds.  Well, not about which day it is.  I don’t know about the other stuff.  Today’s post was supposed to go up yesterday but the life of a Captain is jam-packed and there are many adventures to go on.  So the Captain apologizes for the delay.

On to the review…

As many of you know, there is a Sobeys not far from the Captain’s abode.  Recently, there have been several cheeses on sale at not insignificant discounts.  2 weeks ago, it was brie at 50% off.  This week, Oka L’Artisan is 40% off.  If there’s one thing the Captain loves just as much as cheese, summer, cruises and Disney, it’s saving money.  Also, I noticed I hadn’t yet reviewed an Oka cheese.  It’s a well-known brand so I thought it was time.

First, a little history on the cheese because I actually think it’s quite interesting…  Oka cheeses are named after the town of Oka, where they were first produced.  Oka is a small town about 60 kilometres (or 45 minutes) northwest of Montreal (the Captain’s hometown).

Oka is known for two things.  One is its cheese and the other, especially for those who grew up in Montreal, is the Oka crisis.  I remember the Oka crisis quite vividly and invite you all to read up on it.  It’s a fascinating story that, to this day, I believe has not yet been completely resolved and involves a lot of issues that should be important to us as a society (urbanization, gentrification, inequality, relations with First Nations, etc, etc).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka_Crisis

*steps down from soapbox*

As I mentioned above, the other thing Oka is known for is its cheese.  In fact, the cheese is named after the town.  It was first produced in 1893 by monks who had established a monastery in Oka.  The monks created an agricultural school, through an affiliation with the Université de Montréal, and started producing cheese as well.  In 1996, the monks sold the rights to the cheese to Agropur, a Quebec company.  So no, the cheese in Oka is no longer made by monks.  Although, research shows that monks at Our Lady of the Prairies Monastery in Holland, Manitoba produce Oka brand cheese as well.

Agropur’s website for Oka L’Artisan cheese: http://www.pleasureandcheeses.ca/cheeses/oka-lartisan

Oka cheese is a cow’s milk cheese that is ripened for about 5 weeks.  It’s very similar to Swiss cheese and even has holes in it.  I had 3 of my coworkers try it with me and their comments were as follows:

Clementine:  Like a creamy, smoky, Swiss cheese
Vanellope Von Schweetz:  Strong cheese with a subtle aftertaste
Morgans Grant:  Brah, that’s good.  You get some red wine with that and you’re good, brah.

For myself, I liked it.  But there are other similar cheeses that I like more.  Also, it was expensive (even with the 40% off).  So I don’t think I would buy it again.  There’s not enough that’s special about it to make me choose it over other cheeses.

Come back tomorrow for a milestone event at Cheese Cheese Everywhere!

Stay cheesy :)

Captain Cheese