Orval is an excellent Belgian gourmet cheese made by Orval Cistercian Trappist Abbey in Villers-devant-Orval, located in the Gaume region of Belgium. Made in an Abbey originally founded in 1132, Orval is produced using the full cream pasteurized milk local to the Gaume region.
According to Wikipedia, "there is a legend of the abbey's foundation, purporting to explain the name '"Orval" and the coat of arms. According to this, the widowed Mathilda of Tuscany was visiting the site, when she lost her wedding ring in a spring, to her great distress. After praying for the return of the ring, a trout appeared on the surface of the water with the ring in its mouth. She exclaimed "Truly this place is a Val d'Or", from which the name "Orval" is derived, and in gratitude made available the funds for the foundation of the monastery here. The abbey arms show the trout and ring. The spring still supplies water to the monastery and its brewery."
Orval is a compact cheese of the Port Salut variety with a natural rind (untreated) of an orange color which may change over a period of time in a loaf like format. As the rind is not always pleasant to eat we recommend not consuming the rind. Another cheese similar to the Orval cheese is Kernhem; this cheese has a much stronger aroma.
Indeed, Orval is an historic cheese, with its roots deep in the history of Belgium and certainly worth adding to your next tasting.