5 Canadian Cheeses To Add To Your Board This Summer

Though relatively young, Canadian cheese makers have been cementing their reputation as artisanal, world-class producers over the last 15 to 20 years. In 2019, for example, the Riopelle de l’Isle brie from Quebec (more on this below) won a bronze award at the World Cheese Awards. Many Canadian cheesemakers are now second- or third-generation producers, building on French, Italian, Dutch and English traditions brought over more than a century ago. Over time, their recipes have adapted to local conditions, resulting in cheeses that reflect not only European roots, but also the distinct terroir and character of the Canadian landscape.

Still, when it comes to building cheese boards, European imports can often steal the spotlight. “There’s this stigma out there that to enjoy great cheese, we have to be importing from Europe,” says Patricia McDermott, founder of the Great Canadian Cheese Festival. “Canada is making exceptional cheese, but our consumer doesn’t necessarily know that,” she says.

McDermott encourages shoppers to look for the blue cow logo—a label that certifies a dairy product is made with 100-percent Canadian milk. “You see the blue cow, you know that that’s Canadian,” she says.

To help build your next cheese board with homegrown flair, we asked two experts—McDermott and cheese sommelier Roxanne Renwick, an ambassador for Canadian Dairy—to share their top picks from across the country. From island-aged cheddar to Swiss-style hybrids, these cheeses offer bold, nuanced flavours rooted in their local terroir.

Five Brothers from Gunn’s Hill in Woodstock, Ontario

This semi-firm cheese blends the nutty, caramel sweetness of gouda with the savoury, earthy tones of a Swiss alpine-style cheese. “It hits all those receptors on your palate that crave sweet, salty and umami,” says Renwick. “It’s now my go-to cheese for risotto.” Five Brothers melts beautifully, making it a versatile addition to both a cheese board or to warm dishes.

Avonlea Cloth-bound Cheddar from COWS Creamery in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Made using a recipe from the Ornkey Islands, north of Scotland, this cheddar is infused with the unique character of P.E.I.’s iron-rich red soil. “You could take that same recipe and make it anywhere else in the world, and it’s going to taste nothing like it does here,” Renwick explains. 

The land’s potato-growing legacy and lush pasture rotation lend the cheese “an earthy, fruity, crumbly, buttered baked potato finish,” says Renwick. “It’s a true taste of place.” She not only recommends this cheese on a board, but also for a rich macaroni and cheese.

Riopelle Triple Cream Brie from Fromagerie de l’Île-aux-Grues in Isle-aux-Grues, Québec 

Made by the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City, this cheese is fresh, creamy and earthy. It has a taste of mushroom and a hint of butter. McDermott recommends pairing it with a piece of honeycomb (she loves a cheesy-sweet pairing) or even blueberry preserve to cut through the cheese’s silky decadence.

The cheese is named after famed Quebecois painter Jean-Paul Riopelle, who kindly lent his name to the cheese label before his death in 2002 to promote the community he spent his last days in.

Grizzly Gouda from Sylvan Star in Red Deer County, Alberta

This award-winning gouda is a must-have on McDermott’s cheese board. Most goudas are aged up to nine months for a softer, melt-in-your-mouth texture, but the grizzly gouda is typically aged longer—up to two years. This process results in a stronger, nuttier taste, with harder texture and crystallization spread throughout. These crystals add a satisfying, slightly gritty bite and a burst of salty and sweet notes.

Cheese-making has been part of the Sylvan Star family for six generations, having brought this gouda recipe all the way from the Netherlands to Alberta.

Chevres from Salt Spring Island in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. 

Both experts raved about the goat’s milk cheeses from Salt Spring Island in B.C. McDermott suggests the soft garlic chevre. This easily spreadable cheese comes topped with roasted garlic soaked in olive oil and a sprig of rosemary for a most delectable bite. Other varieties are topped with flowers or even chilli and lemon.

Bonus: the Juliette cheese from Salt Spring Island also stood out to Renwick. It’s a goat’s milk cheese made in the style of Camembert, with a buttery soft interior and a snowy white rind. The cheese maker suggests trying Juliette with a hot pepper or pomegranate jelly.

Some cheeses may not be available in local grocery or artisanal stores across the country due to challenges with shipping fresh cheese across a country as large as Canada. If not available at home, make sure to keep a lookout for these cheeses on your travels this summer. “You’re travelling through cheese, you’re travelling through food,” says Renwick. “And I think that’s wonderful.”