Fromage de Maredsous

Fromage de Maredsous is the family of Belgian abbey cheeses produced in collaboration with the Benedictine Abbey of Maredsous in the Molignée valley of the Namur province, in Wallonia. Although the cheese is not made inside the monastery walls (the abbey's monks shifted to cheese-making for fundraising in the 1950s), it follows recipes inspired by the traditional French Trappist and monastery cheese-making tradition of the Ardennes. The milk comes from regional Walloon dairy farms that meet the abbey's specifications.

There are three principal varieties: Maredsous Classic, a semi-soft washed-rind cow's-milk cheese aged about three weeks with a creamy, buttery, mildly tangy paste; Maredsous à la Bière, in which the wheels are washed during aging with Belgian abbey ale or dark beer, giving a richer, amber-tinged rind and a deeper malty, yeasty flavour; and Maredsous Réserve, a longer-aged, drier, sharper wheel with a firmer paste. The cheeses are pale ivory inside with a smooth, slightly tacky texture, and they slice cleanly for cheese boards or melt readily in sauces.

Today Fromage de Maredsous is produced at the Fromagerie du Vieux Moulin in the village of Maredsous and packaged by the dairy cooperative that supplies the abbey shop. It is sold in abbey shops, supermarket cheese counters across Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, and exported to North America and Japan. It is the centrepiece of the abbey's cheese and beer tasting hall, paired with the Maredsous abbey triple, dubbel, and blond beers, and is a staple of Belgian restaurant cheese boards alongside Chimay and Orval cheeses.

Fromage de Maredsous is a Belgian abbey cheese that takes its name from the Benedictine Abbey of Maredsous in Wallonia's Namur province. It is a relatively modern product, created in the mid-20th century as a licensed commercial cheese, and it is not actually made inside the abbey. Instead, a dairy produces it under the abbey's name, a common practice for Belgian abbey cheeses.

The cheese's cultural significance lies in its connection to the abbey's legacy and the broader tradition of monastic-inspired foods in Belgium. It is available in several variations, including a soft washed-rind cheese and a firmer aged reserve, often enjoyed alongside the abbey's own namesake beer. While the abbey itself was founded in the 19th century, the exact origin date of the cheese is sometimes debated, though its status as a licensed product is well documented.