Creamy, ripe, melt-in-your-mouth: Riopelle is cheese that lives up to the French reputation for seduction. Barely contained in its thin, bloomy rind is a salty, triple-cream cheese with a rich, decadent paste. Its texture is that of soft butter, leaving hints of mushroom and a light tang to linger on the tongue.
Riopelle's namesake is the famous Quebec painter Jean-Paul Riopelle, best known for his large, abstract, brightly coloured paintings on which he layered paint with a palette knife. Months before he died in 2002, Mr. Riopelle agreed to lend his name and artwork to the cheese label in order to promote the small, tight-knit community on the Ile-aux-Grues, where he was a resident.
Ile-aux-Grues (Goose Island) is one of an archipelago of 21 islands in the St. Lawrence River, about 64 kilometres east of Quebec City. About 7.2 km long and 2.4 km wide, it has a population of 120. The Fromagerie began as a co-operative of 14 local dairy farmers in 1977 when its first cheese, Cheddar de l'Ile-aux-Grues, was born. Today, the milk is sourced from the island's six remaining dairy farms. The cows are fed in part on hay that grows naturally on the local mud flats. No chemicals or pesticides are used and the land is not worked by farmers, ensuring a high-quality milk that reflects the land's terroir.
As a soft cheese, Riopelle is not pressed. In the mould, the whey is allowed to drain from the curds through the effect of gravity and by turning the cheese regularly. It is aged for 60 days, and is best eaten at its peak of ripeness when soft, oozy and a little bit messy.
Serve Riopelle with seasonal berries or use the triple-cream cheese to top a crusty baguette. (Deborah Baic/The Globe and Mail)
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By French standards, a cheese qualifies as a triple cream if it has 75 per cent fat (labelled M.G. or matières grasses) in its dry content (the total solids that make up the cheese). In Canada, the fat percentage of the entire mass of a cheese is measured, including the moisture. Since triple-cream cheeses can be made up of almost 50 per cent moisture, Riopelle's milk-fat content (labelled M.F.) is only 35 per cent.
Riopelle is not only buttery on the palate, it is also the cheese lover's Girl Guide cookie: In accordance with Jean-Paul Riopelle's wishes, one dollar from every wheel goes to support the education of the children of Ile-aux-Grues.
Sue Riedl is part of the pastry team at Toronto's C5 restaurant.
On the block
Cheese Riopelle de l'Îsle
Origin Chaudière-Appalaches
Region, Que.
Producer Fromagerie de
l'Île-aux-Grues
Milk Thermalized cow (Holstein)
Type Artisanal, triple-cream,
surface-ripened, bloomy rind
Shape 1.4 kg wheel
Food Matches Serve with seasonal berries or to top a crusty
baguette
Notes Champion Soft Cheese Category: 2004 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix.
Distributors Quebec: Plaisir Gourmet Rest of Canada: Provincial Fine Foods
Available
Vancouver: Benton Brothers Fine Cheese, Whole Foods Market
Calgary: Janice Beaton Fine Cheese
Toronto: Alex Farm Products, All The Best Fine Foods, Pusateri's
Ontario: Ouderkirk & Taylor in Guelph
Montreal: Fromagerie du
Marché Atwater
Beppi's wine matches
Tricky with wine, this cheese. A white with plenty of acidity and preferably lots of fruitiness is best. Don't be afraid of sweetness, either; an off-dry or even medium-sweet white is ideal. Think German or Canadian riesling. A dry gruner veltliner from Austria could work, too. For a more offbeat and interesting choice, consider a fruit-flavoured beer, such as Belgian kriek (cherry) or framboise (strawberry). Several Canadian breweries, such as Amsterdam Brewing Co. of Toronto, make good fruit beers. If you must drink red wine, try a pinot noir or gamay, but don't waste an expensive pinot like Richebourg on this Riopelle, and don't say I didn't warn you; the wine will turn a tad sharp and sour.
Beppi Crosariol
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