Best Cheeses, Ranked by Popularity

The Most Popular Cheeses

Number 1 is the most popular. Click any row to learn more about the cheese.

1. 1 Mozzarella Mozzarella is a semi-soft, non-aged cheese from southern Italy, made by stretching and kneading the curd. Cow's milk versions are called fior di latte, buffalo milk versions mozzarella …
2. 2 Brie Brie is a soft cow's milk cheese named after the French region it comes from, pale under a white mould rind. It runs 60 to 75 percent butterfat …
3. 3 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 …
4. 4 Camembert Camembert is a moist, soft, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese from Normandy, first made in the late 18th century. Penicillium camemberti gives it a white bloomy rind and a …
5. 5 Quark Quark is a fresh acid-set cheese made by souring milk with lactic acid bacteria and straining the curd. Soft, white, unaged and usually unsalted, it anchors German, Austrian …
6. 6 Tilsit Tilsit, also spelled Tilsiter, is a pale yellow semihard smear-ripened cow's milk cheese created in the mid-19th century by Prussian-Swiss settlers in the East Prussian town of Tilsit. …
7. 7 Taleggio Taleggio is a semisoft Italian cheese with a washed, smear-ripened rind and a strong smell. The taste is milder than the aroma suggests, creamy and pale yellow inside, …
8. 8 Jarlsberg Jarlsberg is a mild Swiss-type cheese from Norway, made from cow's milk and named after Jarlsberg Manor. It is known for its buttery, slightly sweet and nutty flavor …
9. 9 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 …
10. 10 Parmigiano Reggiano Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard, granular Italian cheese made from unpasteurised cow's milk and aged at least 12 months. Protected as a PDO across Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena …
11. 11 Paneer Paneer is a fresh, non-aged cheese from South Asia, made by curdling cow or buffalo milk with acid instead of rennet. It does not melt, so it holds …
12. 12 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 …
13. 13 Maasdam Maasdam is a Dutch cheese made in the style of Swiss Emmental, aged at least four weeks and marked by holes that form as it ripens. It tastes …
14. 14 Raclette Raclette is a Swiss cheese and the dish made from it: the cheese is heated and the melted part is scraped off, usually onto boiled potatoes. It comes …
15. 15 Ezine Peyniri Ezine peyniri is a matured full-fat white cheese from Çanakkale Province in Türkiye, made from a mix of goat, sheep and cow milk. It is one of the …
16. 16 Reblochon Reblochon is a soft, washed-rind cheese made from raw cow's milk in the Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps. It tastes nutty, holds an AOC designation, and is …
17. 17 Kashkaval Kashkaval is a yellow cheese from the Balkans made with cow, sheep or goat milk, or a mixture of them. It melts and fries well, so it shows …
18. 18 Halloumi Halloumi is a brined cheese from Cyprus, traditionally made from goat and sheep milk, though most modern halloumi also contains cow's milk. It has a high melting point, …
19. 19 Emmental Emmental is a yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese from the Emme Valley, known for the natural holes that run through it. The taste is savoury but mild. It is …
20. 20 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 …
21. 21 Roquefort Roquefort is a blue cheese made from raw Lacaune sheep's milk in southern France. Only cheese ripened in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may carry the name. …
22. 22 Queso Manchego Manchego is a PDO sheep milk cheese from the La Mancha region of Spain, made only with whole milk from Manchega sheep. It is firm and buttery, aged …
23. 23 Mimolette Mimolette is a hard, bright orange cow's milk cheese made around Lille in northern France. It is sold at several ages, from young wheels that taste like Parmesan …
24. 24 Domiati Domiati is the most common cheese in Egypt, a soft white salty cheese usually made from buffalo or cow milk. Salt goes into the milk before the rennet, …
25. 25 Havarti Havarti is a semisoft Danish cow's milk cheese, mild and buttery with very small irregular eyes running through a rindless, cream to yellow paste. It slices, grills, and …

Best Cheeses by Country, Texture and Use

Popularity tells you what people search for. These lists tell you what to buy. Each one is ordered by hand and explains why every cheese made the cut.

Best American Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best Mexican Cheeses

8 cheeses ranked

Best Danish Cheeses

15 cheeses ranked

Best German Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best Swiss Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best Dutch Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best Greek Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best Spanish Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best Italian Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best French Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best Soft Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

Best Hard Cheeses

25 cheeses ranked

How we rank cheeses