Port-du-Salut or Entrammes is a mild variety of smear-ripened cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

 manufactured from cow's milk first made by monks in the early 18th century and still produced in monasteries throughout France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

A version of the cheese is produced by a major creamery under the name Port-Salut

Port-Salut cheese

S.A.F.R Port Salut is a semi-soft pasteurised cow's milk cheese from Mayenne, France, with a distinctive orange crust and a mild flavour. The cheese is produced in disks approximately 23 cm in diameter, weighing approximately 2 kg .Though Port Salut has a mild flavour, it sometimes has...

, though there are minor differences between the commercially-prepared variety and handmade Port-du-Salut.

The origin of Port Salut is closely linked to the French Revolution of 1789. Fleeing from the persecutions, a congregation of Trappist Monks set themselves up abroad and, as a way of supporting themselves financially, learned how to make cheese. When they returned to France in 1815, they built a new abbey at Notre Dame, and continued to make their cheese.

Port Salut is a semi-soft natural cheese that is easily recognized by its orange rind. Unlike many other French cheeses, it is rather mild and sweet in flavor. The smooth and velvety texture has a light acidic taste giving freshness and a great finish.

Port Salut is smooth cheese made in Mayenne

Mayenne

Mayenne is a department in northwest France named after the Mayenne River.-History:Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of Maine...

 which belongs to the old Maine (province)

Maine (province)

Le Maine is one of the traditional provinces of France . It corresponds to the old county of Maine, with its center, the city of Le Mans.-Location:...

. Originally, it was named Port du Salut after the abbey of Notre Dame and made strictly for consumption at the monastery. A visit to Paris by the head of the abbey in 1873 resulted in an opportunistic distribution agreement with a Parisian cheese seller. A year later, sales of this disc shaped cheese were phenomenal and the monks registered Port du Salut as a trade name.