Mont des Cats

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Mont des Cats is a small hill (alt. 150m) near the town of Godewaersvelde, in French Flanders. Its name in Dutch is Katsberg. It is the seat of an abbey ^[1] bearing the same name, famous for the cheese produced by the monks since 1890.

1 Origin of the name
2 Mont des Cats Abbey
3 Mont des Cats cheese
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Origin of the name

The name has nothing to do with cats, but is derived from the name of a Germanic tribe known as Chatti (French: Chattes; Dutch; Chatten), living in the area after the fall of the Roman Empire (5th century). The Dutch name is supposed to be also the root for the name of the town Katwijk.^[2]

[edit] Mont des Cats Abbey

A first community of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony was settled in 1650 and lasted until the French Revolution which closed the monastery in 1792. In 1826, a new community of Trappists (Reformed Cistercians) was funded, and this congregation has run the abbey ever since.

[edit] Mont des Cats cheese

Mont des Cats cheese has been produced by the monks since 1890 with the milk of local farms, in a small independent dairy. The production method are similar to those used for Port Salut. Affinage (maturing) takes a minimum of one month and during this period the cheese is washed in salted water and dyed with roucou, a reddish derivative from annatto seeds. The texture of the cheese is hard, uncooked, pressed and has small holes. The fat content is 50%. In Flanders it is sometimes eaten as a breakfast cheese with coffee.