DCHP-3

Oka ((1))

DCHP-2 (Sep 2012)

Spelling variants:
Oka Cheese

n. — Food, proper noun

a cow's milk cheese with a hand-washed rind, originally made by Trappist monks in Quebec. See Image 1.

Type: 1. Origin — This cheese is named for its place of origin, Oka, Quebec, and was originally developed in the local Trappist (Cistercian) monastery (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference). The cheese has been produced commercially since the mid-1970s (see the 1980 quotation).
See also COD-2, s.v. "Oka" (2), and Gage-5, s.v. "Oka", which are marked "Cdn", ITP Nelson, s.v. "Oka"(3), and OED-3, s.v. "Oka", which is marked "orig. and chiefly Canad.".

Quotations

1902
A selection of special varieties of Canadian cheese has been made for exhibition at Wolverhampton and Cork. The varieties include Canadian-made English Stilton, Oka cheese and "Print" cheese, the latter being Cheddar prepared in the shape of squares.
1925
Oka Cheese, 75 c lb.
1948
And the secret is the formula for making the now-famous Oka cheese, the stand-out product of their 1,800 acres of farmland which roll down from the hills to the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains.
1971
Mayor Kevin H. White paid off his hockey play-off bet with Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau in lobsters and canned Boston baked beans. White said in a letter to Drapeau "I know you will find the three lobsters and Boston baked beans to be a tasty delicacy, and certainly more appetizing than the crow we are eating here." Had Boston won the series, White would have received maple syrup and Oka cheese from Drapeau.
1980
Using a recipe written in 1882, the Cistercian order in this community just north of Montreal made a name for themselves with Oka cheese, but five years ago their dwindling numbers forced them to sell the production line to outside private interests.
2008
Another way to celebrate maple sugar season in the Ottawa area is to sample the special March Maple Madness menu at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It features St. Albert blue cheese with roquette and Belgium endive, toasted walnuts and maple dressing, coupled with grain-fed chicken with Oka cheese and maple bourbon glaze. For dessert, there's maple bread pudding.
2013
The filling: In North America, it would typically be ground beef in a tomato-based sauce. Here, the meat from braised short ribs (B) is pulled off the bone and cooked down with house barbecue sauce. The capper is melted Oka (C), a cheese locally produced by Trappist monks for more than a century, which adds a mellow, creamy layer to the sweet, tangy, sour barbecue flavour.

References

Images

Image 1: <i>Oka</i> cheese. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo: J. Sullivan

Image 1: Oka cheese. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo: J. Sullivan

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 26 Sep. 2012

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 26 Sep. 2012