This cheese used to be made at the Abbaye d'Igny but the nuns turned to making chocolates called bouchons de Champagne, biscuits and so on. The cheese was much more work and was a wheel of mild, semisoft cheese made with cow’s milk. It had a pressed, uncooked paste, washed rind and was made with raw milk, containing 40-45% fat (dry). It weighed 1.3 kg (2½ lb). Affinage was around two months in damp cellars.
A thick disc of firm, semihard cheese made with cow’s milk. It has a supple yellow paste and a brine washed rind. It has been made since 1890 at the monastery on the hill of Mont-des-Cats, near Godewaersvelde, north west of Lille in Flanders. This cheese is eaten all year round and is made with raw milk and contains 45-50% fat (dry). The curds are uncooked and pressed and it is rather similar to Port-Salut. It may be found in the following dimensions: 25 cm (10") diameter x 4 cm (1½"), weighing 2 kg (4½ lbs). Affinage is usually at least one month. It is at its best with red Graves and is sometimes eaten as a breakfast cheese with coffee because of its relatively mild flavour. In 1826 some of the nuns from the Abbaye du Port-du-Salut came to the Abbaye du Mont-des-Cats bringing with them the recipe of Port-Salut. This cheese is the result - a typical trappiste cheese.
A fresh, mild, usually unsalted, Corsican sheep's milk cheese sometimes with added goat's milk. It is sometimes made from the whey from cheeses such as Veneco and is made on farms. It has an oily texture and is sometimes salted and is generally eaten fresh from the end of autumn (US: fall) to the beginning of spring, within two days of being turned out of cane moulds. Otherwise, it can be salted and matured. When it has dried it is wrapped in dry leaves of asphodel (a garden perennial plant) and stored in a cool place. If it is used in this form it must be desalted for some time in cold water. It is similar to Brousse and Ricotta. (AOC-1988).
A fermier sheep's milk, semihard, uncooked, pressed wheel of cheese with a hard natural rind made in the Hameau de Bagès. It has a robust flavour.
An industrially-produced semihard cheese similar to Port-Salut. They may come in a variety of shapes and sizes and appear under many names. These include Abdijkaas, Affligem, Casse-Croûte de l'Abbaye du Val Dieu, Echte Loo, Fromage d'Abbaye, Petrus, Père Joseph etc.
A disc of semisoft cheese made with cow's milk, similar to Camembert. It has a smooth paste and a dry surface coated with wood ash and is boxed. It is made around the village of Barbery near Troyes in Aube in Champagne. This cheese is at its best from July to November, though it is sold fresh in summer, is made with semi-skimmed milk and contains 20-30% fat. The curds are uncooked and pressed. It may be found weighing 250 g (9 oz). It may be found in the following dimensions: 11 cm (4¼") diameter x 2.5 cm (1") deep, weighing 250 g (9 oz). Affinage is usually 1 month, by when it has a sharp flavour.
