A Tale of Two Cheeses: Monasticism and Its Contribution to Europe’s Great Cheeses

The monks left. So begins the tale of two cheeses, Époisses and Port Salut. Combined, these cheeses tell the true story behind European cheesemaking. While these cheeses are different in terms of taste and production, their history and evolution reveal the forces that have created some of the world’s most beloved and iconic cheeses as well as the issues and debates that characterize European cheesemaking today. Filled with religious fervor, peasant-master relationships, conspiracy and violence, alcohol, terrior, and the implications of mass production, the stories of Port Salut and Époisses provide a lens from which to view European cheeses that generate questions of production, labor, and consumption.

Cheesemaking and the Monastery

            Époisses and Port Salut are both apart a long tradition of monastic cheesemaking. In response to the incursion of Frankish tribes and Irish monastic missionaries compromising the power of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Gregory I endorsed the establishment of Benedictine monasteries. The original intent of the Benedictine Order was a dedication to education and learning, public service, social responsibility, and self-sufficiency (Kindstedt, 2012, 123). Monastic cheesemaking goes back to at least the ninth century. A compilation of monastic managerial directives called The Customs of Corbie describes how the monks made cheese from its own flock of sheep as well as received cheese in the form of tithes (tribute) through manors and villas under their administration, known as the manorial system (Ibid, 131). Additionally, a ninth century biography of Charlemagne (Charles the Great), describes Charlemagne’s affinity for a cheese from the monastery of Saint Gall. According to the biographer, Charlemagne liked the cheese so much he asked for two cart loads to be sent to him every year (Ibid., 132). 

Source: Making White Cheese During the Middle Ages (From Tacuinum Sanitatis (ÖNB Codex Vindobonensis, series nova 2644), c. 1370-1400)

            The cheeses made by the monks or the peasants paying them tithes were soft-ripen cheeses, either bloomy rind or washed rind cheeses. These cheeses would be made from pooled milk, resulting in a higher acid level. The resulting curds were higher in moisture and, after pressing, were soaked in a brine bath. The defining part of these cheeses was the curing process. An orange mold would be cultivated on the outside of the cheeses through periodic washings in either a weak brine or alcohol, usually also made by the monks (Ditaranto, 2014). Each monastery had its own unique recipe that reflected, among other factors, the bacterial cultures of the area, the animals raised, the moisture and acidity levels, the washing solution (alcohol or otherwise), the temperature and humidity during storage, and the length of time the cheeses aged. 

The History of Epoisses 

Époisses is one of the softer cheeses developed in monasteries. Some sources date its production back to the seventeenth century, while others place it in the sixteenth century. Regardless of its first production date, we do know production started at L’Abbaye de Citeaux where the Cistercian monks made the cheese for almost two hundred years (Roman, 2015). 

And then the monks left…

The records do not say why or exactly when the monks left, but before they went they made sure to teach the local peasants how to produce Epoisses. The cheese grew in popularity throughout France. Reportedly, it was Napoleon’s favorite, and France’s most famous gourmands, the politician, philosopher, and all-round foodie Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) crowned Epoisses “the king of cheese” (Ibid). 

Epoisses with its signature orange rind and pudding-like texture. Source: Murray's Cheese

However, this cheese almost disappeared from the French cheeseboard. The method for production was traditionally orally passed down from mother to daughter. However, during both World Wars, with men off at war women had to take care of all aspects of running the farm, leaving very little time for cheesemaking (Risoud, 2016, 254). The cheese might have been lost forever if it was not for two local farmers, Robert and Simone Berthaut, who obtained the recipe from a few local old women who still remembered how to make the cheese (Roman, 2015). In 1956 they started producing the cheese again. By 1991 the cheese received AOC status, and in 1996 it received PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) protection. Since 2015, 1,400 tons of Epoisses are produced annually (Risoud, 254).

A defining feature of Époisses’s production is the use of marc de Bourgogne, a brandy produced locally in Burgundy, to wash the rind while the cheese ages (Roman, 2015). The process reflects the close ties between the production of alcoholic beverages, like beer, wine, mead, and cider, with monasteries. The Cistercian monks who started the recipe would have most likely made their own brandy or wine and used it to wash the outside of the cheese. 

            Within the cheese world, AOC and PDO production has become a contentious subject. France claims it preserves cultural heritage and economically supports small producers. However, countries that received large numbers of European immigrants, such as the United States, claim these cheeses are part of the cultural heritage of the immigrants that settled in their country, as they brought the knowledge of the methods of production with them and then replicated them (Rowan, 2018). 

The History of Port Salut

             And the monks left…

So begins the story of another monastic cheese. Port Salut is a relatively new cheese in comparison to other monastic cheeses, but its history is still illustrative of the forces behind the production of most European cheeses. In the late eighteenth century, a monastery of Trappist monks fled France due to the French Revolution that resulted in France’s Catholic monarchy being disposed. They found refuge in the Alps where they learned how to make Gruyere cheese (Blume, 2011). 

Upon returning to France in 1815, the monks set up a new monastery in Entrammes, called Notre Dame du Port du Salut (Ibid). The monks started raising cows and making a washed rind cheese that was a softer version of Gruyere. In 1873 they began distributing “Port du Salut” in Paris (Hillerbrand, 2013). The cheese’s popularity spread out of France. The recipe traveled across Europe to Eastern Europe as well as across the Atlantic to North America (Ditaranto, 2014). The abbey continued to produce the cheese until 1959 when the monks of Notre Dame du Port du Salut sold all rights to making the cheese to a large dairy corporation, the Société Anonyme des Fermiers Réunis (SAFR) (or the limited corporate partnership of united farmers) (Blume, 2011). 

Port Salut's signature orange washed rind has been replaced in recent years with a cloth rind. Source: Cooks Info

Due to the cheese’s popularity, the monks trademarked the name “Port Salut” at the end of the 19^thcentury. Imitators started going by the name St. Paulin (Blume, 2011). Despite the trademark, some small farmhouse producers still make cheeses labeled with the name Port du Salut or Port Salut. There are also British and Canadian Port Saluts and a Danish Port Salut. Mass production has taken its toll on Port Salut; the cheese has lost its washed rind, punchy aroma, and tangy flavor (Blume, 2011). Thus, unlike Epoisses where popularity generated protection of heritage and quality, popularity has led Port Salut to fall in quality and shirk aspects of its original production.

Two cheeses, both started in the monastery, yet they end on either side of the spectrum of cheese production today. One has retained its heritage and quality though at the expense of placing its production under regulatory control and distribution. The other has managed to expand its production, but along the way it lost touch with its origins. The monks may have left the cheese room for both of these cheeses, but, despite the changes these cheeses have weathered, they continue the legacy of these early cheesemakers.

Epilogue

            The story of monastic cheese does not end here. Monasteries around the world still produce cheese as a means of supporting themselves. Examples include Our Lady of the Holy Angels in Crozet, VA., Abbey of St. Benoit du Luc in Quebec, and in Bangalore, India at the monastery of Benedictine monks of the Vallombrosian Order. Inspired by the monastic history of cheese, I decided to make my own cheese in the same style of a monastic cheese. When I started my graduate degree at Chatham University, I lived in Orchard Hall, the residence hall on their Eden Hall campus dedicated to the Falk School of Sustainability. The campus felt so isolated from Pittsburgh, it became a joke among residents that we lived in a monastery. My goal: to create a monastic style cheese reflecting the terriorof Eden Hall. Check back later to see what I come up with.   

Blume, a. (2011 Oct. 4). Popular French cheese isn’t what it once was. Evansville Courier & Press.Accessed from http://archive.courierpress.com/features/popular-french-cheese-isnt-what-it-once-was-ep-445063131-324685711.html/.

Ditaranto, J. (2014 Sept 20). Cheese devotees: All about monastic cheeses. Culture: The World of Cheese. Accessed from https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-bites/cheese-devotees-monastic-cheeses.

Hillerbrand, M. (2013 Mar 1). Homemade Port Salut cheese. Culture: The World of Cheese. Accessed from https://culturecheesemag.com/diy/homemade-port-salut-cheese.

Kindstedt, P. (2012). Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese ad Its Place in Western Civilization. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.

Risoud, G. (2016). Époisses. By Donnelly, C., The Oxford Companion to Cheese. New York City: Oxford University Press.

Roman, G. (2015 Mar 13). Bon Fromage: Epoisses, the creamy king. Culture: The World of Cheese. Accessed from https://culturecheesemag.com/blog/bon-fromage-epoisses-the-creamy-king.

Rowan, J. The EU doesn’t want your Parmesan cheese. The Food Institute. Accessed from https://foodinstitute.com/blog/eu-doesnt-want-your-parmesan-cheese.