{"id":6826,"date":"2020-08-15T16:00:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-15T20:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/?p=6826"},"modified":"2020-08-19T10:49:26","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T14:49:26","slug":"louis-dor-3-ans-additional-affinage-elevates-a-spectacular-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/2020\/08\/15\/louis-dor-3-ans-additional-affinage-elevates-a-spectacular-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Louis d\u2019Or 3 Ans: Taste the difference affinage makes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cheesemaker Jean Morin with award-winning Louis d’Or at Fromagerie du Presbyt\u00e8re.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Except when it affects us humans, aging can be a wonderful thing. It\u2019s what transforms shlock into fine wine, it\u2019s what turns a good cheese into a great cheese.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In cheesemaking, the process of maturing cheese is called affinage. It usually occurs in a cellar or climate-controlled room where temperature and humidity are carefully managed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Jean Morin took the concept further: First, he bought the village church. Then, he turned it into a state-of-the-art space for aging Louis d\u2019Or and other cheese.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He paid $1 to purchase the Roman Catholic church in Sainte Elizabeth de Warwick, Qu\u00e9bec, in 2015, across the street from the family dairy farm, Ferme Louis d\u2019Or, and then poured $1 million into the conversion for affinage.<\/p>\n

The church is adjacent to the former rectory which Morin purchased in 2005 to start up Fromagerie du Presbyt\u00e8re<\/a>. (Presbyt\u00e8re is the French word for rectory.) Cheesemaking takes place in the former rectory which also houses fromagerie offices. The expansive new retail store is just down the street.<\/p>\n

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Pat, the Swiss-made robot, lifts, brushes and rotates 40-kilo wheels of Louis d’Or. Photo courtesy of https:\/\/www.gastrotraveling.com\/<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The former church can house up to 3,000 wheels of Louis d\u2019Or. They are looked after by Pat, the name given to a $300,000 Swiss-made robot that lifts, brushes and rotates the 40-kilo wheels of cheese. Since the aging space is more than five meters high, the robot not only ensures uniformity but also protects employees from the hazards of doing it manually.<\/p>\n

You can watch Pat in action in this video produced by the Ottawa Citizen:<\/p>\n