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Fromages CDA represents more than 200 years of cheesemaking

· 1943: Saint-Benoît-du-Lac Abbey founds a cheese factory to make a blue cheese called Ermite. Saint-Benoit-du-Lac is now one of the oldest cheese factories in Quebec.

· 1981: Fritz Kaiser leaves his native Switzerland and settles in Noyan in the Montérégie region of Quebec. He founds a cheese factory of the same name, which produces award-winning cheeses.

· 1995: The Dubois family founds Rang 9 in Plessisville. Organic farming practices have been used by two generations of the family and the cows are fed on organic fodder crops.

· 1996: The Barrette dairy farm has been in the family for four generations when Christian Barrette and Hélène Lessard acquire the farm in 1990. After careful consideration, in 1996, they decide to turn the farm into an artisan cheese dairy.

· 1998: The family-owned Le P’tit Train du Nord cheese factory began operations in Mont-Laurier in the Upper Laurentians. Their additive-free cheeses are made within 24 hours of milking.

· 2004: The Autre Versant farmhouse and artisan cheese factory opens its doors in Hébertville in Lac-Saint-Jean.

· 2006: The Normandinoise farmhouse and artisan cheese factory opens its doors in Normandin in Lac-Saint-Jean.

Cheese made from real milk

Making a kilo of cheese takes about 10 litres of cow’s milk.

Cows being bigger than sheep or goats produce about 10 times more milk. Goat and sheep milk therefore costs more. So to minimize costs, two types of milk are often used. Cheeses made in this way, such as Soeur Angèle, have a unique flavour.

Different breeds of cows also produce milk with a distinctive flavour. Milk from Holstein cows is not at all the same as Jersey cow milk. And these different flavours are transferred to the cheese.