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Explore Cheeses

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

Cendre d'Olivet

Cendre d'Olivet is a soft, artisan cheese from the Centre-Val de Loire region of France, made from cow's milk. It has a fat content of 45%, giving it a rich, smooth texture. The cheese is ivory in color and features …

Country: France
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Soft
Flavor: Mild, smooth

Nokkelost

Nokkelost is a Norwegian cow's milk cheese flavoured with cumin and cloves. It is semi-hard and yellow, sold in wheels or blocks, and matured for three months.

Country: Norway
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Nutty, spicy, tangy

Tiroler Graukäse

Tiroler Graukäse is a rennet-free, acid-curd cow's milk cheese from the Tyrolean Alp valleys of Austria. It takes its name from the grey mold on its rind, holds around 0.5% fat, and has a strong flavor with a penetrating smell.

Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Fresh
Flavor: Tartish, spicy to sharp

Brie de Meaux

Brie de Meaux is a soft cheese made from raw cow's milk in the Brie region of France, an AOC product since 1980. Wheels run 36 to 37 cm (14 to 14+1/2 in) across, with a delicate white rind and …

Country: France
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Soft
Flavor: Cream, butter, hazelnuts

Ackawi

Akkawi is a white brine cheese from the Levant, named after the port city of Acre. It is usually made from pasteurized cow's milk, cured two days in salted whey brine, and eaten with soft flatbread or on its own …

Country: Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East and Syria
Milk Type: Cow's, goat's or sheep's milk
Texture: Soft, brined
Flavor: Mild, milky, salty

Cotija

Cotija is an aged Mexican cheese from the town of Cotija in Michoacán, made by hand from cow's milk. It is white, firm and salty, and it is used crumbled or grated over tacos, soups, salads and elote.

Country: Mexico
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Salty, strong

Queso de Afuega'l pitu

Afuega'l pitu is a soft cow's milk cheese from Asturias, Spain, with protected designation of origin status. It comes plain white or paprika red, shaped like a small cone or a squash, and turns dry and pasty with age, which …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Soft
Flavor: Slightly acidic and creamy, strong and spicy in the paprika versions

Mixed Milk

Mixed milk cheese is any cheese made from more than one type of milk, such as cow, goat, sheep or buffalo. Feta, Scamorza, Wensleydale, Faisselle and Corsican farmhouse cheeses all belong to this group.

Milk Type: Cow's, goat's, sheep's and water buffalo's milk

Harzer

Harzer is a German sour milk cheese from the Harz mountains, made from low fat curd cheese and usually seasoned with caraway. It is known for its strong smell and flavor, almost no fat, and about 30% protein.

Country: Germany
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Tangy

Livanjski sir

Livanjski sir is a hard cheese from the Livno area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, made since the 19th century on the model of Gruyère. It comes from sheep's milk, cow's milk, or a blend of the two, and ripens for …

Milk Type: Sheep's and cow's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Slightly sweetish, piquant

Mohant

Mohant is a semi-soft cheese from Bohinj in Slovenia with protected geographical origin status. It is known for an aggressive smell and a sharp, piquant taste that stops short of burning and can turn slightly bitter.

Country: Slovenia
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-soft, creamy, elastic
Flavor: Tangy, sharp, and can be slightly bitter

Vacherin Fribourgeois

Vacherin Fribourgeois is a Swiss semi-hard cheese from the canton of Fribourg, made with thermised milk and protected by Swiss AOP. It tastes slightly acidic and resiny, and it is one of the cheeses that gives fondue its character.

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Buttery, nutty

Semi-Hard

Schnittkäse, also called Halbhartkäse, is the German category for cheese firm enough to slice cleanly, ripened one to three months. It carries more water than hard cheese, and it is eaten mostly as sliced cheese with bread.

Texture: Semi-hard

Époisses

Époisses is a pungent soft-paste cow's milk cheese from the village of Époisses in Burgundy, France. Washed in brine and Marc de Bourgogne as it ripens, it has a soft red-orange rind that is edible and a strong smell.

Country: France
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Soft, creamy
Flavor: Subtle, fruity, distinctive, balanced

Caciocavallo Palermitano

Caciocavallo Palermitano is a variant of Caciocavallo from the Palermo region of Sicily. It is made using traditional methods that include hanging the cheese in pairs tied with rope, hence the name "caciocavallo" (cheese on horseback). This cheese has a …

Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Spicy

Sainte-Maure de Touraine

Sainte-Maure de Touraine is an unpasteurized goat cheese from the Touraine province of France, sold as a small ash-rolled log with a straw running through its centre. The straw carries the AOC seal and a number identifying the producer.

Country: France
Milk Type: Goat's milk
Texture: Semi-soft

Bleu de Laqueuille

Bleu de Laqueuille is a blue-veined cow's milk cheese from the Puy-de-Dome in Auvergne, France. Born at Laqueuille in 1854, it is the ancestor of the region's other blues and comes as 2.5 kg cylinders with an ivory paste marbled …

Country: France
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Soft, blue-veined
Flavor: Salty, spicy, tangy

Boeren-Leidse met sleutels

Boeren-Leidse met sleutels is a Dutch cow's milk cheese flavored with cumin and caraway seed, made from the semi-skimmed milk left over from butter making. It carries the crossed keys of Leiden and a red annatto-colored rind.

Country: Netherlands
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Sweetness from cumin seeds

Criollo Cheese

Criollo cheese is a semi-hard raw cow's milk cheese from the area around Taxco, in northern Guerrero, Mexico. Its yellow to orange paste is full of eyes, the taste is mild and slightly sweet, and it browns well under a …

Country: Mexico
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Savory, sharp

Bandel

Bandel is a fresh, salted cow's milk cheese from Bandel in eastern India, introduced by the Portuguese around 500 years ago. It is sold in small circular flats, plain or smoked, and known for its dry, crumbly body and smoky …

Country: India
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Crumbly
Flavor: Mild and slightly salty

Colony cheese

Colony cheese, also called queijo colonial, is a semi-hard artisan cheese from Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil. It is known for a pale yellow paste, a natural rind, and a creamy texture with pungent, spicy flavor.

Country: Brazil
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Creamy, pungent, spicy

Fleur du Maquis

Fleur du Maquis, also sold as Brin d'amour, is a Corsican raw sheep's milk cheese created in the 1950s. Its natural rind is dusted with maquis herbs, which the paste absorbs as it ages.

Country: France
Milk Type: Sheep's milk
Texture: Semi-soft
Flavor: Citrusy, mild

Kasseri

Kasseri is a pale yellow, medium-hard to hard Greek cheese made from sheep milk with at most 20% goat's milk. It belongs to the pasta filata family and is best known as the cheese in saganaki and kasseropita.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep's milk, sometimes with goat's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Rich

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's milk
Texture: Soft, creamy
Flavor: Milky, slightly sour, mildly salty

Vorarlberger Bergkäse

Vorarlberger Bergkäse is a hard cow's milk cheese from the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, made by hand from raw hay milk and protected as a PDO. It ages 3 to 6 months, sometimes past two years, and tastes nutty with …

Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Spicy, becoming sharp with increasing age