Argentine Cheeses
- Edam: Originally an imitation of Dutch Edam
balls, Argentine "Magnasco" Edam has taken on an identity of its own. It is
dryer and harder than Dutch Edam and good on crackers and with red wine.
- Reggianito: Similar to Italian Parmigiano
Reggiano. Mostly used for grating.
- Sardo: Another grating cheese, similar to Italian
Romano.
Austrian Cheeses
- Emmental: Same characteristics as Swiss Emmental.
Canadian Cheeses
- Cheddar: Same characteristics as English Cheddar.
Danish Cheeses
- Blue Castello: A blue-veined cheese with an extremely buttery
taste. The surface of the cheese is rindless, thus the entire cheese is
edible.
- Cream Havarti: Arguably Denmark's most famous cheese, Cream Havarti
is a deliciously mild, very creamy, natural, semisoft cheese laced with small
to mid-sized holes. Cream Havarti is both a table cheese and a dessert cheese
to be served with fruit and wine. Flavored Cream Havartis are also available,
with ingredients such as dill, jalapeno pepper or garlic and herbs.
- Fontina: Danish Fontina is pale yellow and semisoft with a mild,
slightly sweet flavor. A derivitive of its Italian namesake and a great table
cheese that goes well with a light wine, Fontina is also a good sandwich
cheese.
- Saga: Original Saga is a cross between blue cheese and brie; a
creamy, blue-veined cheese with a white-mold rind. It is very mild for a
blue-veined cheese. Saga is an excellent dessert cheese that should be served
with fruit and wine. It is also an excellent cheese in salads or as a snack on
a cracker. Saga is now made in America as well as in Denmark.
English Cheeses
- Cheddar: Cheddar cheeses were originally made in England; however,
today they are manufactured in quite a number of countries. Fully cured,
Cheddar is a hard, natural cheese. The rind, if any, is artificial, most often
times wax. The color of the wax used for coating does not indicate a level of
quality. Normally, the color of Cheddar ranges from white to pale yellow. Some
Cheddars however have a color added, giving the cheese a yellow-orange color.
Cheddar is always made from cow's milk and has a slightly crumbly texture if
properly cured. If the cheese is too young, the texture is smooth. Cheddar
gets a sharper taste the longer it matures. The important thing in purchasing
Cheddar is to consider the age of the cheese. Of course, the older it is, the
more it will cost.
- Cheshire: One of the oldest English cheeses, allegedly invented
during the 12th century. Cheshire is firm in texture and a bit more crumbly
than Cheddar. Cheshire is rich, mellow and slightly salty with an excellent
aftertaste, its flavor sharpens as it ages.
- Devon Cream: Strawberry's famous partner, Devon Cream has a much
wider application than just strawberries and cream. It is thick and rich, and
needs to be spooned. This product is served over fruit, hot scones, fish or
vegetables.
- Double Gloucester: A natural hard cheese. Double Gloucester has a
mild and rich flavor with a smooth texture and a creamy yellow color. This
cheese is excellent with fruit and beer.
- Leicester: A natural hard cheese. Leicester has a rich, mild flavor
with a flaky texture and a deep orange color. This cheese is excellent with
fruit and beer.
- Stilton: Historically referred to as "The King Of Cheeses," Stilton
is a blue-mold cheese with a rich and mellow flavor and a piquant aftertaste.
It has narrow blue-green veins and a wrinkled rind which is not edible.
Stilton is milder than Roquefort or Gorgonzola and is equally excellent for
crumbling over salads or as a dessert cheese served with a Port Wine.
- Wensleydale: Traditionally blue, because the cheese is lightly
pressed, allowing the mould to penetrate. And blue Wensleydales are still
available. But today it is usually a creamy white, crumbly cheese, with a fine
curd and minimal texturing, thus a high moisture content. White Wensleydale is
usually eaten young, at about a month old. Wensleydale is produced in
Cheshire.
Finnish Cheeses
- Finlandia Swiss: Similar characteristics to Switzerland
Emmental. Aged over 100 days, it is sharp, rindless and
delicious.
- Lappi: Lappi is a semisoft, semisweet cheese that slices easily and
is excellent in recipes and for melting. It comes from Finland's Lapland
region.
- Turunmaa: Similar to Danish Cream Havarti,
Turunmaa is a deliciously mild, very creamy, natural, semisoft cheese laced
with small to mid-sized holes. Like Cream Havarti, it is both a table cheese
and a breakfast cheese to be served with fruit and bread.
French Cheeses
- Brie: Brie is the best known French cheese and is aptly nicknamed
"The Queen Of Cheeses". Several hundred years ago, Brie was one of the
tributes which the subjects had to pay to the French kings. In France, Brie is
very different from the cheese exported to the United States. "Real" French
Brie is unstabilized and is at its peak of flavor when the surface turns
slightly brown. As long as the cheese is still pure white, the cheese is not
mature. Cutting unstabilized Brie before it is ripe will stop the maturing
process and the cheese will never develop properly. Exported Brie, however, is
stabilized and never matures. Stabilized Brie has a much longer shelf life and
is not susceptible to bacteriological infections. Brie, one of the great
dessert cheeses, comes as either a 1 or 2 kilogram wheel, and is packaged in a
wooden box. In order to fully enjoy the experience, Brie must be served at
room temperature.
- Camembert: Another soft-ripened white mold cheese from France,
Camembert, like Brie, is soft and creamy with an edible crust. A wheel of
Camembert, however, is only 8 ounces and comes in its own wooden box.
- Chevres: These cheeses are made from goat's milk. They come in many
sizes and shapes such as round patties, log-shapes, drum-shapes, pyramids,
round loaves, long loaves, etc.; their textures vary from soft, but firm like
cream cheese, to extremely hard. Chevres are excellent dessert cheeses, often
served as snacks, or with before dinner drinks. Goat cheese is often served as
an ingredient in many fine dishes.
- Comte: Comte is a natural, hard cheese with similar characteristics
to Switzerland Gruyere.
- Coulommiers: Similar to Camembert, a wheel of Coulommiers is
slightly larger (12 ounces) and the cheese has a nuttier flavor with a thicker
crust.
- Emmental: Same characteristics as Swiss Emmental.
- Mimolette: A semi-hard cow's milk cheese produced in Flanders and
Normandy. It comes in spheres of about 7-8 pounds, it has an orange rind and
interior. A firm texture with some small holes and a mild favor.
- Morbier: A semisoft cow's milk cheese from Franche-Comte. It has a
creamy brown crust, the interior is two layers of glossy, yellowish-ivory
paste separated by a thin flavorless layer of ash. This separates the morning
milking from the evening milking. It is a creamy cheese with a flavor of nuts
and fruit and an aroma of fresh hay.
- Munster: French Munster is one of the few cheeses which ripen from
the inside out. Munster is dark yellow with a strong flavor. It should be
served with dark bread and beer. French Munster has nothing in common with
Domestic Munster, which is a white, mild cheese.
- Pont L'Eveque: This semisoft, soft-ripened cheese from the Normandy
region has a pronounced flavor, although its taste is not as strong as its
smell. It has a firm body, yellow color and an edible crust. The crust has
ridges because it is cured on straw mats. Pont L'Eveque is an excellent
dessert cheese that goes very well with a robust wine.
- Pouligny-Saint-Pierre: An unpasturized goat's cheese from Berry, it
is soft to hard depending on the age. Also depending on age its color runs
from a very white, creamy and fragile to a hard dry interior surrounded by a
dark beige crust. All have a piquant flavor and goaty aroma.
- Reblochon: From the French Alps, Reblochon is a semisoft, pale
yellow, creamy cheese with a nutty flavor. Reblochon is a dessert cheese that
goes well with red wine.
- Roquefort: The most famous blue-mold cheese in the world, authentic
Roquefort comes from caves near the Spanish border and is made from sheep's
milk. Roquefort is sharp, peppery, piquant and distinct. The blue mold is
added to the curd by mixing it with powdered bread containing the Pennicillium
Roqueforti mold. The French eat Roquefort as a dessert cheese, although most
Americans prefer it in salads or dips.
- Saint-Marcellin: A soft, rindless cow's milk cheese from Dauphine,
it is disk shaped wrapped in chestnut leaves and dipped in wine or eau-de-vie.
It typically has a beige crust with blue mold and a soft beige creamy
interior. It has an intensely rustic, nutty, fruity flavor.
- Saint-Nectaire: A semi-soft cow's milk cheese, disk shaped from
Auvergne. It has a smooth reddish rind, ivory to straw colored interior, soft
and supple texture. It is an earthy cheese with a fruity flavor and a grassy
aroma.
- Saint-Paulin: St. Paulin (also known as Port Salut, a licensed
name) is a mild and very pleasing dessert or table cheese originally made by
Trappist Monks. St. Paulin is creamy and butter-like, yet firm enough for
slicing. Genuine Port Salut has an edible, orange rind. However, beware
imitations that use a plastic, inedible rind. St. Paulin goes well with fruit
and light wine.
- Tomme de Savoie: A semi firm, dish shaped cow's milk cheese from
Savoie in the French Alps. It has a distinct thick gray-brown rind with a
beige or straw colored paste. It has a slightly salty, mild but savory taste
with an aroma reminiscent of a cheese cellar.
German Cheeses
- Emmental: Same characteristics as Swiss Emmental.
- Jermi Tortes: Jermi tortes are handmade, with alternating layers of
cheese and exquisite fillings such as Norwegian Salmon, Walnut, French Herbs,
etc. Jermi Tortes are dessert cheeses, excellent on fine bread or crackers.
- Limburger: A soft-ripened cheese famous for its pungent odor,
Limburger is a strong cheese that goes well with red wine or beer. Limburger
has a thin crust, a soft texture, and is nearly white inside. During the
two-month curing process, the cheese is constantly brushed with brine until it
has absorbed all salt.
- Munster: See French Munster.
- Tilsit: A natural hard cheese, German Tilsit has a stronger flavor
than its Scandinavian cousins. It has tiny hole formation and a firm texture
suitable for slicing. Tilsit is an excellent sandwich cheese, good with robust
wine or beer.
Greek Cheeses
- Feta: Genuine Greek Feta is made from sheep's milk, with a distinct
strong, slightly acidic flavor. Feta is crumbly in texture and white in color.
Feta is traditionally sold in glass jars, although modern packaging techniques
have become more commonplace. Feta needs to be covered in brine at all times
otherwise it will dry out and mold fast and needs to be refrigerated at all
times. Feta is a true eating cheese, although most Americans think of it as a
salad topping.
- Kasseri: Pale yellow in color, with a mild buttery flavor and a
springy, kneaded texture. Kasseri is a versatile, multi-purpose cheese made
from sheep's milk.
- Kefalotyri: This hard, pale, golden yellow cheese has a tange
flavor and a sharp aroma reminiscent of Italian Pecorino
Romano. Harder and saltier than Kasseri, Kefalotyri is generally served
grated over cooked dishes.
- Mizithra: A cheese made from whey of Feta and Kefalotyri, Mizithra
is available both fresh and aged. Fresh Mizithra is soft, similar to cottage
cheese. Aged Mizithra is shaped like an ostrich egg, and is firm and pungent,
rather like Italian Ricotta Salata. The aged variety
makes an excellent grating cheese.
Holland Cheeses
- Edam: Edam is a semisoft to hard natural cheese, depending on age.
Edam is similar in flavor to Gouda, but slightly dryer in texture and less
creamy. Edam is traditionally shaped into 2 or 4 pound balls coated in red,
yellow or black wax. Because of its shape and size, Edam makes an excellent
gift basket centerpiece.
- Gouda: Gouda is a semisoft to hard natural cheese, depending on
age. It is pale yellow and slightly sweet and nutty. Gouda is considered to be
one of the world's great cheeses. It is both a table cheese and a dessert
cheese, excellent with fruit and wine.
- Leyden: Leyden is a part-skim cheese laced with caraway or cumin
seeds. It is semisoft to hard and bland in flavor. Its seeds give Leyden most
of its taste.
- Maasdam: Holland's answer to Jarlsberg,
marketed under brand names such as Leerdammer, Westberg, etc.
- Smoked Gouda: Smoked slowly in ancient brick ovens over smoldering
hickory chip embers, this sausage shaped cheese is perfect for impromptu
picnics, party platters or midnight snacks. Sensational with beer, this hardy
cheese has an edible brown rind and a creamy, yellow interior.
Irish Cheeses
- Baylough: A mixed herd of Fresians and distinctive Red and White
Dutch cows provides the full-cream milk for Baylough, a hard-pressed waxed
cheese which can mature for many months. Varieties: Oak-smoked, Garlic and
Herbs, Fresh Garlic.
- Coolea: The hills of Collea give their name to the Williams
family's acclaimed raw milk gouda-style cheese. Young, mild Coolea is 6-8
weeks old; some is flavored with nettles or herbs and garlic. Long-matured
Coolea, piquant with a lingering finish, is becoming more and more
sought-after .
- Dunbarra: A soft cheese with an edible white rind, firmer than Brie
yet distictively creamy. Hand-made by Dubliner Barra McFeely, this new cheese
has already won three first prizes.
- Gubbeen: Gubbeen's gentle flavors reflect the great care taken by
Tom and Gina Ferguson in farming their herd of cows and curing the cheese. A
fresh tasting, pliant textured cheese with a peach pink washed rind.
- Knockalara: Knockalara is a fresh feta-style cheese made on the
Waterford farm by Wolfgang and Agnes Schliebitz. Its light tang marries
beatifully with fruity olive oil, so it's ideal in salads. Knockalara comes
either plain or preserved in herb-flavored olive oil.
- Orla: On the Manch estate in Co Cork, Iris Diebrok and Oliver
Jungwirth farm an organic flock of dairy sheep. Iris uses the milk for her
award-winning semi-hard rind-washed cheese. Orla is matured for 2-6 months.
Italian Cheeses
- Bel Paese: A semisoft cheese, Bel Paese is very similar to French .
St. Paulin
- Fontal: Fontal is similar to Fontina Val d'Aosta, and in fact was
called Fontina until the milk farmers of Val d'Aosta obtained exclusive rights
to the name in 1951.
- Fontina Val d'Aosta: Genuine Fontina comes from the Val d'Aosta
region of Italy, in the Alps near the French and Swiss borders. One of the few
cheeses imported into America that is made from raw (unpasteurized) milk, it
is a smooth, straw-colored cheese with a brown rind. Fontina has a delicate,
nutty, buttery sweet flavor. Fontina is the primary ingredient in Italian
fonduta and is a pristine table or dessert cheese.
- Gorgonzola: A blue-veined cheese made of cows milk, Gorgonzola is a
soft table cheese. It is an antique cheese of great popular tradition with a
compact, rough, hard, reddish crust and a firm but mellow paste interior which
melts on the tongue. Its color ranges from white to straw-yellow with an
unmistakable marbled green or bluish-green mold. The taste ranges from mild to
sharp, depending on age. Gorgonzola is also excellent in salads and dips.
- Grana: This is the generic name for Parmigiano Reggiano-type
cheeses.
- Mascarpone: This cheese is virtually solidified cream, mildly
coagulated and whipped into a velvety consistency. It hails from the Lombardy
region and is served with fresh fruit or sweetened with sugar and used as a
pastry ingredient, such as for Tiramisu.
- Mozzarella di Bufala: "Buffalo" Mozzarella is made in the South of
Italy from a mixture of water buffalo and cow's milk. This cheese is pure
white, hand-formed into small balls. It is soft and rubbery and stored in a
whey brine. It is best served with sliced tomatoes and fresh basil, drizzled
with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: A very hard natural cheese, a full wheel of
Parmigiano Reggiano weighs 75 lbs. and must be cut by a saw. Parmigiano
Reggiano's flavor is unmistakably piquant and true cheese connoisseurs know
when they are served an inferior imitation. Primarily a grating cheese,
Parmigiano Reggiano is a great topping for soups, pasta dishes, veal, chicken,
or salads. Buy this cheese as a wedge and grate it yourself so you know you
are getting the real thing.
- Provolone: Provolone has a slightly smoky flavor and is mellow and
compact with a smooth, paste-like texture. Provolone has an inedible crust and
has strings to hang from rafters. Aged long enough, Provolone can be grated.
However, it is better known as a table or sandwich cheese.
- Ricotta: Ricotta is made from whey collected from making other
cheeses and re-cooked. It is white, creamy and mild and is primarily used as
an ingredient in lasagna.
- Ricotta Salata: When fresh Ricotta goes through its natural aging
process, a hard, pungent cheese suitable for eating or grating results. Like
fresh Ricotta, Ricotta Salata is almost white in color.
- Romano: A very hard cheese made from part-skim sheep's (Pecorino),
goat's (Caprino) or cow's (Vecchino) milk. More mild than Parmigiano Reggiano,
it is a very popular grating cheese that sharpens as it matures.
- Taleggio: This semisoft, uncooked cheese from the region around
Bergamo gains flavor and an accompanying odor as the cheese ages. The crust is
pinkish-gray and the paste is white, supple and fruity. Taleggio is an
excellent dessert cheese that goes very well with a robust wine.
Norwegian Cheeses
- Gjetost: Gjetost (pronounced "Yay-Toast") is a hard cheese made
from boiled goat's milk whey either blended with cow's milk or from 100%
goat's milk. This cheese has a sweetish caramel-like taste and is dark brown
in color. Gjetost is a non-perishable dessert cheese that must be sliced
paper-thin and placed on Norwegian flatbread. Norwegian children eat Gjetost
in place of candy
- Jarlsberg: The world's most famous "Baby Swiss", Jarlsberg has the
consistency, texture and hole formation of Swiss Emmental, but its flavor is
more nut-like and sweeter. A full wheel of Jarlsberg weighs about 20 lbs., one
tenth the weight of a wheel of Emmental. Jarlsberg is an excellent all-around
performer that can be used as a table cheese, dessert cheese or sandwich
cheese. Serve it with wine, beer or aquavit.
Spanish Cheeses
- Cabrales: A renowned blue cheese from Northern Spain, Cabrales is
made from blended cow's, goat's and sheep's milk. It is matured in
naturally-formed caves and has a creamy texture, a complex flavor and a
powerful bouquet.
- Garrotxa: A semisoft cheese made from pasteurized goat's milk in
Catalonia. It comes in grey-rined felt textured disks, it has a bone white
interior. It has a mild flavor - nutty with herbal hints.
- Iberico: A hard, oily cheese made from blended cow's, goat's and
sheep's milk. It is mild yet tasty, aromatic and very popular. Good for
cooking and for eating, it goes well with Spanish red wines.
- Mahon: An aged cheese produced from cow's milk on Minorca, the
outermost of the three Spanish Balearic Islands. Ripened for six months to two
years the eight inch squares weighing 5 to 6 pounds, it is buttery sharp,
slightly salty with a sweet and nutty aroma.
- Manchego: This historic cheese is produced in the La Mancha region
from pasteurized sheep's milk,. It has a black, gray or buff colored rind with
a crosshatch pattern, the interior ranges from stark white to yellowish,
depending on age. It has an even distribution of holes and a mild, slightly
briny, nutty flavor.
- Roncal: A hard cheese from Navarre produced from sheep's milk and
aged for a minimum of three months. It has a hard beige to gray rind with
beige interior which turns to amber with age. It has a rich, olivey, nutty
flavor.
- Tetilla: A semisoft cheese produced from cow's milk in the Galicia
region, it comes in squat cone shaped like a woman's breast (hence the name)
about five inches in diameter. It has a greenish beige rind and a white
interior. It has a mild and tangy flavor.
- Tronchon: A semisoft cheese made from blended cow's, goat's and
sheep's milk. It comes in rindless wheels with a dimple on top, a by-product
of the manufacturing process. The interior is bone white and has many small
holes.
Swedish Cheeses
- Fontina: See Danish Fontina
- Graddost: Sweden's most popular cheese, Graddost is deliciously
mild and very creamy. It is laced with small to mid-sized holes and makes an
excellent dessert cheese to be served with fruit and wine.
- Herrgard: Sweden's second most popular cheese, Herrgard comes in
large wheels and has a few small holes. It has similar characteristics to
Cheddar and is pale yellow in color.
Switzerland Cheeses
- Appenzeller: A natural, hard cheese that is similar to Emmental,
although with smaller and fewer holes. It is cured in white wine and spices
that give it a unique piquant flavor.
- Emmental: More commonly reffered to as "Swiss Cheese", Emmental is
immitated by many cheese producing countries. Emmental is considered to be one
of the most difficult cheeses to successfully manufacture because of its
complicated, hole-forming fermentation process. Emmental can be used as a
table cheese, dessert cheese or sandwich cheese.
- Gruyere: Famous for its use in Swiss Fondue, Gruyere is a hard
cheese that is similar to Emmental but with smaller hole formation. Its
texture is chewy and it develops small cracks as it ages. In addition to its
role as a Fondue cheese, Gruyere is also an excellent sandwich cheese that
melts evenly.
- Raclette: A hard cheese with a subtle flavor, good aftertaste and
firm texture. Raclette is pale yellow inside an inedible crust. Raclette is
famous for a Swiss dish made by melting thin slices over broiled potatoes.
- Sap Sago: A tiny, green, 2 ounce cheese wrapped in foil, Sap Sago
is a very hard grating cheese with a sharp flavor and a pungent aroma due to
the use of a powder made from clover leaves added to the cheese during
manufacture. Sap Sago is not an eating cheese, but is good as a food topping
and in cooking.
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