If you are like me, you find a stocked cheese case intimidating. I usually glide past it at Whole Foods and hit up my stand-bys: smoked mozzarella or a hunk of Muenster. These are also cheeses that lend themselves well to devouring in the kitchen while unpacking the other groceries. For dinner parties, I will linger by the full cheese case sniffing plastic-wrapped options that are unrevealing about their nature. Eventually I ask someone for help, but the fact that they never suggested Port Salut is evidence that I was being steered to their personal favorites or worse the blocks they want to move.
If you like a milder–or as I like to think, more nuanced–cheese, go for the Port Salut. Produced by Trappist monks in the 19th Century, this soft creamy cheese has a hint of tang and very little saltiness, so it goes wonderfully on just about any type of cracker. The other selling point: the price. It’s one of the cheapest in the case, so a nice big wedge is just $5. I feel like I’m getting away with something when I walk out with this gem.
