Belgium · Fermentation craft; Dairy craft; Walloon monastic heritage
Fromage de Chimay — Trappiste de Chimay
The Chimay Trappist cheese making tradition at the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont — one of the six Belgian Trappist breweries (CRAFT-1395) that also produces cheese, whose characteristic washed-rind cheeses (Chimay Rouge, Or, and Blanche) develop their specific orange-rind and pungent, earthy character through a beer-washing affinage process unique to the Chimay tradition. The Chimay fromagier reads the correct rind development during affinage through a press-and-smell combined assessment — pressing the rind gently to read the firmness and simultaneously nosing for the specific earthy-mushroom aroma that indicates correct Brevibacterium linens surface culture development.
Risk level: Stable · Within the Belgian Trappist UNESCO ICH (2016) umbrella
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