Port Salut

Port Salut: Nutrition, History and Cooking Guide

Port Salut (full name Port du Salut) is a French semi-soft, washed-rind cow's milk cheese with a mild, creamy character and a distinctive orange-yellow rind. It was originally produced by Trappist monks at the Abbey of Notre-Dame du Port du Salut in Entrammes, Mayenne — part of a cheesemaking tradition that Trappist and Cistercian monks developed and maintained across France and Belgium from the early nineteenth century after their return from exile during the Revolutionary period. The original monastery cheese became commercially successful, and the SAFR company obtained the rights to the name in 1873, eventually industrialising production. The monastery monks' own cheese — now sold as Entrammes — is made in much smaller quantities and considered superior. Port Salut has a characteristic mild, slightly buttery, gently earthy flavour with a supple, semi-soft texture that becomes stickier and more pungent with ripening.

Nutritional Value and Uses

Port Salut provides 352 kcal and 23.8 g of protein per 100 g, with 28.2 g of fat. Calcium at approximately 657 mg per 100 g is very good. It provides B12, vitamin A, and phosphorus. Port Salut's mild, creamy character makes it universally appealing — excellent in sandwiches, on crackers and fruit, in pastry, and on cheese boards as an approachable, mild option. It melts well in toasties and grilled preparations. Saint-Paulin, Havarti, and young Muenster are closely related cheeses with similar uses.