Trappiste refers to a type of cheese, in the same way that 'cheddar' refers to a type of cheese. The sisters at l'Abbaye du Port du Salut were the first to make this 'type' of cheese, mild, hard cheese made with cow's milk and brine-washed. This first cheese later became known, as it is today, as Port Salut. In 1826 some sisters moved to 'l'Abbaye du Mont-des-Cats, where they used the same recipe to make their eponymous cheese. Trappists are a strictly observant closed order of Cistercians.
