Best Cheeses, Ranked by Popularity
The best cheeses in the world, all 996 of them, ranked by popularity. Start with the full list, then browse our hand-picked lists of the best cheeses by country, texture and use.
The Most Popular Cheeses
Number 1 is the most popular. Click any row to learn more about the cheese.
-
1
Comté
Comté is a hard cheese from eastern France, made daily from raw cow's milk in village dairies called fruitières. It holds PDO status, has the largest production of …
-
2
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 …
-
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
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 …
-
5
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 …
-
6
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 …
-
7
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. …
-
8
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 …
-
9
Blue
Blue cheese is any cheese made with edible mold cultures that form blue-green spots and veins through the paste. It ranges from mild and slightly sweet to salty …
-
10
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 …
-
11
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 …
-
12
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 …
-
13
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 …
-
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
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, …
-
16
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 …
-
17
Ricotta
Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from the leftover whey of sheep, cow, goat, or water buffalo milk cheesemaking. The fresh curds are creamy white and slightly …
-
18
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 …
-
19
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 …
-
20
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. …
-
21
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 …
-
22
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, …
-
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
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
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. …
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.
