Bushra Griffith
Cheese is a dairy product made from milk, usually from cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. The milk is acidified and coagulated using enzymes or bacterial enzymes, separating it into solid curds and liquid whey. The curds are then pressed into finished cheese.
There are many different types of cheese, which can be categorised by factors such as length of fermentation, texture, production method, fat content, animal source of milk, and region of origin. The most common classification is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods.
Cheeses are often named after the place they were first made, such as Cheddar in England, or the cheese-making process of that area.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Milk Source | Cow, Sheep, Goat, Buffalo, Moose |
| Texture | Soft, Semi-Soft, Semi-Hard, Hard |
| Flavor | Tangy, Salty, Sweet, Pungent, Smoky, Spicy, Mild, Sharp, Bitter, Buttery, Creamy, Nutty, Earthy, Grassy, Fruity, Savory, Metallic, Intense, Rich, Floral, Butterscotch, Toasted, Tangy, Piquant, Sour, etc. |
| Added Ingredients | Herbs, Spices, Black Pepper, Garlic, Chives, Cranberries, Walnuts, Pistachios, Honey, Salt, Rennet, Bacteria, Acid, etc. |
| Aging Time | Days, Months, Years |
| Aging Process | Surface-ripening, Interior-ripening |
| Rind | Natural, Edible, Artificial, Washed, Smear-ripened, etc. |
| Color | White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black |
| Shape | Wheel, Block, Ball, Slab, Cylinder, Rectangle, etc. |
| Fat Content | High, Low |
| Moisture Content | High, Low |
| Production Method | Stretching, Soft-ripening, Semi-soft, Semi-hard, Hard, Fresh, Blue, Processed, etc. |
| Country of Origin | Italy, France, England, Spain, Greece, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, India, China, Middle East, Mexico, etc. |
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What You'll Learn
Cow's milk: Swiss, cheddar, Gouda, and other cheeses
Cow's milk is the most common type of milk used in cheese-making. It is the foundation of many popular cheeses, including Swiss, cheddar, and Gouda. Cow's milk cheeses range from soft to hard, and while some varieties, such as cheddar and Gouda, are predominantly made using cow's milk, others, such as feta, are more commonly made from sheep's or goat's milk in certain regions.
Cheddar cheese, with its tangy, sharp flavour, is one of the most easily found varieties of cheese made from cow's milk. It is believed to have originated in the English town of Cheddar around the 12th century. Cheddar can be eaten young or matured, with its taste altering from mild to sharp with age. Today, cheddar-style cheese is produced in many countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
Monterey Jack, a semi-soft cheese with a mild tang, is another famous cow's milk cheese that originated in California. Popular varieties include pepper jack, which contains jalapeños and other hot peppers, and Colby-Jack, a blend of traditional Jack cheese with mild Wisconsin Colby.
Cow's milk is also used to make blue cheese varieties such as Gorgonzola, Shropshire blue, and Danablu or Danish blue cheese. These cheeses gain their distinctive flavour from enzymes introduced during the aging process and long maturation periods.
Cow's milk cheeses possess a creamy, buttery, and smooth texture, with grassy, sweet, and earthy flavours. They range in colour from off-white to yellow or orange and can be soft or hard in texture. Cow's milk is also versatile, able to take on a range of diverse flavours. For example, aged gouda has a sweet caramel flavour, clothbound cheddars can have an earthy tang, and fresh mozzarella has a clean and simple lactic taste.
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Sheep's milk: Roquefort, feta, manchego, and more
Sheep's milk is rich in calcium and has a higher fat content than milk from goats, cows, and buffalo. It yields a cheese with subtle sweet and gamey flavours.
Sheep's milk is used to make the following cheeses:
- Roquefort: A blue cheese from Southern France, specifically Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, where it's aged in the natural Combalou caves for five months. It has a large flavour profile of robust pungency and metallic tang but is balanced out with sweet burnt caramel notes. The texture is moist, soft, crumbly, and cratered, which are all signs of good blue cheese.
- Feta: A tangy, crumbly, salty, pungent, and intense cheese. It is made in Greece from either sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep's and goat's milk.
- Manchego: A sheep's milk cheese with origins in the La Mancha region of Spain. It has a creamy, tangy, semi-sweet, and well-developed flavour profile with a flaky, grainy, and slightly crystallized texture.
- Petit Basque: A cheese made using sheep's milk.
- Other sheep's milk cheeses include pecorino, which is produced in Italy, and halloumi, which is often made from sheep's milk.
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Goat's milk: Chevre, Garrotxa, aged goat Gouda, and more
Goats' milk is commonly used to make cheese, and there are many varieties of goats' milk cheese produced around the world. In America, the term "goat cheese" often refers to fresh goats' milk cheese, also known as chèvre. However, there are many types of fresh and aged cheeses made with goats' milk, such as feta, halloumi, and Murcia Al Vino (Drunken Goat).
Goats' milk cheeses are produced using the milk of domestic goats. Goat milk is commonly used to make cultured dairy products, including cheese. One of the benefits of goats' milk is that it can be used to make cheese, addressing the challenge of storing and transporting milk, especially in the absence of refrigeration. By turning milk into cheese, herders were left with a more manageable package that did not require refrigeration.
Chevre is a well-known type of goats' milk cheese that is white and crumbly in appearance and has a tangy, yet balanced flavour. While fresh chèvre is quite intense, goat milk cheeses tend to become more approachable as they age. Aged goat cheeses are often buttery and mellow, with hints of lemon.
In addition to chevre, there are several other notable goats' milk cheeses, including Garrotxa from Spain, which is dense and aged, with a nutty flavour and a plush, soft rind. Another option is aged goat Gouda, which has a firm yet velvety texture and a sweet and savoury flavour.
Goat milk can also be used to make a variety of other cheeses, such as cheddar, mozzarella, Gruyere, and Brie.
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Buffalo milk: Mozzarella di bufala, ricotta salata, burrata di bufala, and more
Buffalo milk is the second most produced type of milk in the world. It is richer in calcium, iron, and phosphorus than cow's milk, and contains approximately 11% more protein. It also has a higher fat content, with buffalo milk containing about twice the fat of cow's milk. This makes it ideal for creamy, decadent cheeses.
Mozzarella di Bufala is one of the most famous buffalo milk cheeses. It is traditionally manufactured in Campania, Italy, and is known for its milky, sweet, pure, gooey, silky perfection. It is also produced in Switzerland, the United States, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Venezuela, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Colombia, Thailand, Israel, Egypt, India, and South Africa.
Mozzarella di Bufala is made using the pasta filata method. This involves heating the milk, adding natural whey to curdle it, allowing the curd to mature, spinning it with hot water to soften it, shaping it with rotating shaper machines, cooling it in cold water, and then pickling it.
Other Italian buffalo milk cheeses include Burrata di Bufala, Stracciatella di Bufala, and Caciotta. Burrata di Bufala is made using the same pasta filata method as Mozzarella di Bufala. Stracciatella di Bufala is produced in the southern Italian region of Apulia, and is made by stretching and shredding the cheese. Caciotta is produced in central Italy and can also be made with the milk of cows, sheep, or goats.
Outside of Italy, buffalo milk is used to make a variety of cheeses. In Indonesia, buffalo milk is used to make Dali, a cheese-like traditional Batak dish from Tapanuli, North Sumatra, with a yellowish-white appearance and a tofu-like texture and milky flavor. In China, Nguri is a buffalo milk cheese from the Fujian province that is prepared in a ball shape, about the size of a table tennis ball, and has a soft, leathery texture. In India, Surti paneer is a soft cheese associated with Surat, made from buffalo milk that has been coagulated using rennet.
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Other types of milk: Camel, horse, and yak's milk are also used
Camel, horse, and yak milk are also used to make cheese, although these types of cheese are less common and may be more challenging to produce.
Camel milk cheese, for example, is considered difficult to make due to the milk's low coagulation properties. While some rare camel milk cheeses exist, produced through acidic separation and heating of milk proteins, there are no traditional methods for making cheese from camel milk. The milk is also highly perishable, which has likely hindered its trade and development as a cheese-making ingredient. However, some cheesemakers have experimented with camel milk, adjusting rennet concentrations and ripening times to create lactic coagulated and enzymatic coagulated cheeses.
Horse milk cheese is a rare and expensive product due to the milk's lower fat and casein content. It takes up to 20 litres of horse milk to produce just one kilogram of cheese. The low yield, coupled with the high cost of horse milk, makes horse milk cheese a luxurious and exclusive delicacy.
Yak cheese, on the other hand, has gained traction in countries like Nepal, Bhutan, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Tibet, mainly for export to Western markets. Yak milk has a good fat content of around 7%, making it suitable for cheese production. The resulting cheese is often hard and tangy, sometimes resembling Swiss Gruyere. One example is Chhurpi, a type of yak cheese made in Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal that is as hard as chalk and can be chewed as a snack or ground into a powder for soups. Another is Rajya Metok, a mild Tibetan yak cheese with a distinct animal smell that is barely noticeable in the taste.
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Frequently asked questions
There are eight main types of cheese: blue, hard, pasta filata, processed, semi-hard, semi-soft, soft and fresh, and soft-ripened.
Soft cheeses include Brie, Camembert, cream cheese, Neufchâtel, cottage cheese, and ricotta.
Hard cheeses include Parmesan, pecorino, Grana Padano, and Manchego.
Blue cheeses include Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton, and Danablu.
