Cheese Database

Mont des Cats vs Port Salut

Mont des Cats

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Pressed
Rind
Washed rind
Country
France

Mont des Cats is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese from France. The paste is pressed, smooth, and supple, with a few small holes, and a washed rind colors the outside orange to red. The taste is mild, milky, and lightly savory, closer to a gentle table cheese than to a pungent washed rind. People eat it in slices and also melt it. The name belongs to this French cheese, not to a blue and not to a fresh curd.

Port Salut, field guide plate
Port Salut, photographed

Port Salut

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Washed rind
Rind
Washed rind
Country
France

Port Salut is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese from France, sold in small wheels with a smooth orange rind. The paste is pale, supple, and mild, with a light sweetness and a gentle tang. It slices cleanly, and it also softens when it is warmed. The smell can be stronger than the taste, especially after the wheel has been kept, but the flavor stays approachable. French cooking treats it as an everyday cheese, not as a fierce washed-rind challenge for specialists.