The AnyCheese Holiday Gift Guide

Semi-Hard Cheeses

Exploring semi-hard cheeses, known for their distinct texture and production methods.

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Cheddar

Cheddar is a relatively hard, off-white to orange cow's milk cheese from the village of Cheddar in Somerset, South West England. The name is not protected, so it is made worldwide, and it is the UK's most popular cheese at …

Country: England
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Mild to sharp, buttery to brothy and savory

Provolone

Provolone is an Italian semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk with a stretched curd. It runs from the very sharp piccante, aged at least four months, to the mild dolce.

Country: Italy
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Tangy

Gouda

Gouda is a yellow cow's milk cheese from the Netherlands, named after the city of Gouda in South Holland. It runs from young and elastic to old and hard, picking up a caramel sweetness and small crunchy crystals with age.

Country: Netherlands
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Sweet to nutty

Stelvio

Stelvio, known in German as Stilfser, is a protected designation of origin cow's milk cheese from the Autonomous Province of Bolzano in northern Italy. It is known for its yellow to orange-brown rind, springy pale yellow paste, and pronounced, sometimes …

Country: Italy
Milk Type: Cow
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Aromatic and marked, sometimes pungent

Sfela

Sfela is a semi-hard cheese from the Peloponnese region of Greece. Made from sheep's milk or a mix of sheep and goat milk, it is often fried due to its high melting point. Sfela has a salty, tangy flavor, making …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Raw sheep’s milk or combination with goat’s milk
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Unique personality

Idiazabal

Idiazabal is a pressed sheep's milk cheese from the Basque Country, made with unpasteurized milk and named after a town in Gipuzkoa. It is usually sold unsmoked, tastes strong and slightly piquant, and has held a Denomination of Origin since …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Sheep
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Intense, slightly piquant

Asiago

Asiago is a cow's milk cheese from the Asiago plateau in Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy, made either young and soft (Asiago pressato) or aged and crumbly (Asiago d'allevo). It carries Italian DOP status, though the name is treated as …

Country: Italy
Texture: Hard , Semi-Hard
Flavor: Sweetish when young, bitter and spicy when very old

Abondance

Abondance is a semi-hard raw cow's milk cheese from the Haute-Savoie department of France, named after the commune where it is made. A wheel weighs about 10 kg (22 lb), and the cheese has held AOC status since 1990.

Country: France
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Savory, yet fruity with an intense "umami" taste

Batzos

Batzos is a Greek brined cheese made from sheep's milk, goat's milk, or a mixture of the two. It is rindless, semi-hard to hard, full of irregular holes, and salty with a slightly piquant edge. It has held EU PDO …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's and sheep's milk
Texture: Hard , Semi-Hard
Flavor: Sourish and slightly piquant

Spressa delle Giudicarie

Spressa delle Giudicarie is a cow's milk cheese from Trentino-Alto Adige in northern Italy, made from milk left over after buttermaking. It has a brown crust and a pale, lightly holed interior, and it is usually eaten young.

Country: Italy
Milk Type: Partially skim raw cow’s milk
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Light and sweet to robust and piquant

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