The AnyCheese Holiday Gift Guide

Explore Cheeses

Explore cheese varieties from around the world, categorized by texture, milk type, and region.

Lietuviškas varškės sūris

Lietuviškas varškės sūris is a soft cow's milk curd cheese made in Lithuania and shaped into a triangular prism with rounded corners. It has been produced since the Middle Ages and joined the European Union list of protected products in …

Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Soft, homogeneous, rather dense, may crumble when cut (fresh); homogeneous, dense, a little elastic (baked); homogeneous, dense, crumbly (smoked); homogeneous, hard, difficult to cut, crumbles when broken (dried)
Flavor: Characteristic lactic acid with hints of seasonings

Burrata

Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese from Puglia with a pouch of stretched mozzarella curd around a filling of stracciatella and cream. Cut it open and the soft centre spills out, which is what it is known for.

Country: Italy
Milk Type: Cow, occasionally water buffalo
Texture: Soft, creamy
Flavor: Mild, lactic

Manouri

Manouri is a Greek semi-soft fresh whey cheese made from goat or sheep milk as a by-product of feta production. Cream added to the whey makes it richer and far less salty than feta.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's or sheep's milk
Texture: Smooth, dense
Flavor: Rich, milky, tangy, slightly citrusy

Oka

Oka is a semi-soft washed rind cow's milk cheese from Oka, Quebec, made by Trappist monks starting in 1893 and now by Agropur. It is known for its copper-orange rind, pungent smell, and soft creamy taste with nutty, fruity notes.

Country: Canada
Milk Type: Cow
Texture: Semi-Soft
Flavor: Soft and creamy, nutty and fruity

Gouda-Style

Gouda-Style cheese is a semi-hard cheese that originated in the Netherlands. It is made from cow's milk and is known for its smooth, creamy texture. The flavor is rich and buttery with a mild sweetness, often accompanied by nutty notes. …

Banon

Banon is an unpasteurized goat cheese from Provence, sold as a small 100 g disc wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with raffia. It ages about two weeks, gets dipped in eau de vie before wrapping, and has held AOC …

Country: France
Milk Type: Goat's milk
Texture: Soft
Flavor: Mild and intense, with notes of mushrooms and forest floor

American

American cheese is a processed cheese made from cheddar, Colby, or similar cheeses with sodium citrate added so it pasteurizes without separating. It is mild, salty, and medium-firm, and it melts at a low temperature, which is why it lands …

Country: United States
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-soft, processed
Flavor: Mild, salty

Castelo Branco

Castelo Branco is a soft Portuguese cheese made from goat or sheep milk and named after the city of Castelo Branco. It has carried a Protected Designation of Origin since 1996 and runs about 45% fat.

Country: Portugal
Milk Type: Goat's and sheep's milk
Texture: Semisoft to hard
Flavor: Sour, spicy, tangy

Saint-Nectaire

Saint-Nectaire is a pressed cow's milk cheese from the volcanic hills around the Monts-Dore in Auvergne, France. It ages on rye straw for at least 28 days and is known for its soft, creamy paste and hint of hazelnut.

Country: France
Milk Type: Cow’s milk (Holstein, Montbéliarde, sometimes Salers)
Texture: Soft and tender
Flavor: Delicate hazelnut

Pecorino Romano

Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty Italian cheese made only from sheep milk, most often grated over pasta. It began in the countryside around Rome and is now made almost entirely in Sardinia.

Country: Italy
Milk Type: Sheep's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Sharp, salty

Abbaye de Belloc

Abbaye de Belloc is a semi-hard cheese from the Pays Basque in the French Pyrenees, made from unpasteurized Manech ewe milk and aged 6 weeks to 6 months. It is known for a nutty, caramelized flavor and a lanolin aroma.

Country: France
Milk Type: Sheep's milk
Texture: Semi-hard, artisan
Flavor: Burnt caramel

Swaledale

Swaledale is a full fat hard cheese from Richmond in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, made with unpasteurised cow, sheep or goat milk. It is known for its moist medium firm texture and a rind of grey-blue mould or natural wax.

Country: England
Milk Type: Cow, sheep, goat
Texture: Moist, medium firm

Queso de Acehúche

Queso de Acehúche is a pressed uncooked cheese from the province of Cáceres in Extremadura, Spain, made with whole raw goat's milk. It has held a European PDO since 2022 and is known for its soft elastic paste and yellow …

Milk Type: Goat
Texture: Semi-hard, elastic, slightly moist
Flavor: Low saltiness, moderate acidity, low bitterness, low pungency, more pronounced in aged cheeses

Queso Palmero

Queso Palmero is a goat cheese from La Palma in the Canary Islands, made with unpasteurised milk and kid rennet. It carries Denomination of Origin protection and is often lightly smoked over almond shells, dried cactus or Canarian pine.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Goat
Texture: Firm, varies with aging
Flavor: Mild and milky when fresh, developing more complexity when aged

Scamorza

Scamorza is a southern Italian pasta filata cheese, usually made from cow's milk. It is tied with string and hung to dry into a pear-like shape, sold unsmoked or smoked, and works as a substitute for mozzarella in most dishes.

Country: Italy
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-soft

Colby

Colby is a semihard orange cheese made from cow's milk, first developed in 1885 in Colby, Wisconsin. Skipping the cheddaring step and washing the curd with cold water leaves it moister, softer and milder than cheddar.

Country: United States
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Slightly curdy, softer
Flavor: Mild, milky

Queso Tetilla

Tetilla is a cow's milk cheese from Galicia, Spain, molded into a cone with a nipple-like peak that gives it its name. Soft, creamy and pale yellow, it is a staple of Galician cooking and is often eaten as dessert.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow
Texture: Soft to semi-cured
Flavor: Milky, slightly sour, mildly salty

Brick

Brick cheese is a Wisconsin cheese pressed into brick shape and ripened on the surface with Brevibacterium linens. Young, it is sweet, mild and melts well; aged, it smells stronger and tastes nuttier. It is the traditional cheese on Detroit-style …

Country: United States
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard, smear-ripened
Flavor: Sweet and mild when young, matures into strong, ripe cheese with age

White Leicester

White Leicester, also known as Leicester or Leicestershire cheese, is similar to Red Leicester but lacks the annatto coloring, resulting in a natural pale color. It has a firm texture and a rich, mellow, nutty flavor. This cheese is excellent …

Country: United Kingdom

Abbaye de Tamié

Abbaye de Tamié is a soft cheese made from unpasteurised cow's milk by the monks of Tamié Abbey in Savoie, in the French Alps. It is close in style to Reblochon, with a saffron crust dusted in white down and …

Country: France
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Soft
Flavor: Nutty, milky, delicate to strong with age

Maroilles

Maroilles is a cow's milk cheese from northern France, sold in rectangular blocks with a moist orange-red washed rind. It is known for its strong smell and takes its name from the village of Maroilles, where it has been made …

Country: France
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semisoft
Flavor: Creamy taste, powerful aroma

Alpine-Style

Alpine-style cheese is inspired by the traditional cheeses produced in the mountainous regions of Switzerland, France, and Austria. These cheeses are typically made using cow's milk and are known for their firm texture and nutty, buttery flavors. They often have …

Pélardon

Pélardon is a small round goat's milk cheese from the Cévennes range in France's Languedoc-Roussillon region. It ripens under a white mold rind and has carried AOC status since August 2000.

Country: France
Milk Type: Goat
Texture: Soft

Stilton

Stilton is an English cheese made in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, in a blue version and a white one. The blue kind gets its veins from Penicillium roqueforti. Both hold PDO status, so no cheese made elsewhere can use the …

Country: England
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard, blue-veined
Flavor: Spicy, strong

Toma Piemontese

Toma Piemontese is the Piedmont version of Toma, a cow's milk cheese that runs from soft to semi-hard and melts well. It is the variety that carries protected designation of origin status under EU legislation.

Country: Italy
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Elastic / Consistent
Flavor: Mild, sweet / Savory, salty

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