Cheese is a dairy product made in endless variations around the world. Though trade is extensive, it is still regulated and sometimes forbidden from importation for medical and political reasons, and some kinds of cheese are best experienced locally.
Cheese can be eaten as is, or combined with more or less any kind of food or beverage. Bread and wine are among the classic complements to cheese. There are many regional savoury dishes that include cheese as a major ingredient, and a number of countries have styles of cheese cake.
Understand
| “ | How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese? | ” |
—Charles de Gaulle, President of France 1959–1969 | ||
While some type of cheese is available in almost every supermarket, there are numerous types of cheese that are very much linked to a rather small geographical region of origin. While some of these cheeses have become "globalized" and they (or their cheap knock off second cousin thrice removed) are available almost everywhere, the vast majority is best consumed where they originate. The European Union has created the protected designation of origin (PDI; marked as AOP in Francophone countries), that applies for many types of cheese and stipulates that a certain product may only be produced in a certain region and according to certain laws and guidelines. Almost all well known European cheeses are protected in that way.
Mountain cheese
Mountainous slopes were used for dairy forming for centuries, as few other uses were practicable and the usually plentiful precipitation means grass grows well during the growing season. However, as mountains are by their nature hard to reach, the cheese had to be of a variety that stores well and can be collected for later sale. In the Alps in particular, there is a tradition of seasonal migration with the cows being moved to higher pastures at the begin of the warm season and back down at the end. This move is often accompanied by numerous festivities that used to be the only thing going for rural areas where most people lived in agriculture and continue to be put on as a show for tourists above all else.
Where to visit for cheese
| “ | Gromit, that's it; cheese! We'll go somewhere where there's cheese! | ” |
—Wallace and Gromit plan their Grand Day Out | ||
Australia
All the cooler regions of the states of Australia have localised regional cheese areas based on the dairying industry.
For a good indicator of where the dairies and cheese varieties are, the Dairy Australia website is a good guide with a map and event diary as well.
Belgium
Belgium is a small country that boasts a large and diverse range of cheeses.
Herve (AOP) is the best known Belgian cheese, a washed rind soft variety made from cow's milk.
Brazil
The state of Minas Gerais has a tradition of cheesemaking which is more than 300 years old. In May 2008, the original firm, ripened "Minas cheese" was declared a Brazilian Immaterial Cultural Heritage by IPHAN, the Brazilian Institute for National Historic and Artistic Heritage.
Canada
Canada is known among North Americans for producing good extra sharp cheddar, though the varieties that are widely available in supermarkets are not comparable to the mature cheddars from England and Ireland. However, the cheese item that Canada is probably best known for is the cheese curd that is a necessary ingredient for poutine, the Québécois dish of french fries, brown gravy and cheese curds that is a staple of Canadian fast food.
England
There are over 700 varieties of cheese produced in England. For a complete list of English cheeses and where they're made, consult the British Cheese Board website. Most traditional English cheeses are made with cow's milk, but the foodie revolution that has developed in England since the 1990s has increased the popularity of buffalo and goat's cheeses.
Everyone is aware of the cheddar you can buy from the supermarket almost anywhere in the world, but this is nothing like the real thing named after the village of Cheddar in Somerset. There are many excellent small cheese shops in south west England where you can purchase the biting taste of a real mature cheddar, and one of the dozens of other varieties made in the region. Somerset is also famous for its brie, which at least in some circles is counted on a par with the French original. Further west, Cornishyarg is wrapped in nettles to mature; the result is soft and creamy on the outside, and crumbly in the middle.
Do not miss the chance to try stilton, the so-called "king of (English) cheeses", which has a slightly sharp taste. Although named after a town in Cambridgeshire, it actually originates from Leicestershire; the town of Melton Mowbray is a good place to shop. Staying in the East Midlands, for a cheese of a different colour look out for sage Derby. The titular herb results in veins of green marbling and a very attractive, if unusual-looking, cheese.
Head to the Yorkshire Dales for Wallace and Gromit's favourite snack, wensleydale, which comes in several varieties. The original version is very pale, and can be made to contain cranberries or apricots. There are also mature, extra mature, oak-smoked and blue varieties.
Every English county has at least one local cheese, but some are much easier to locate than others. Whereas those mentioned above, plus double Gloucester, red Leicester, Cheshire and some others are readily available nationwide, many cheeses are sold only by specialist merchants in the areas they are made. Good places to look are delicatessens, farm shops and street markets. Cheese-lovers visiting London should check out Neal's Yard Dairy, who sell a huge variety of English farm cheeses from their shop in Covent Garden.
For dishes, a ploughman's lunch at a country pub with cheese, pickles and crusty bread is part of tasting rural English culture, and has been enjoyed since at least the 13th century. This is of course best consumed with a pint of the local tipple, usually cider in the Westcountry and beer elsewhere. A cheese board of different varieties of cheese served with crackers (biscuits made to accompany cheese) and grapes is also great as a snack, or as a course of a meal. You can expect at least two English cheeses, one of which will invariably be cheddar or stilton, and at least one foreign cheese, most likely French. Mac and cheese may have taken on decidedly American connotations, but the dish started life in England, and is still enjoyed today as macaroni cheese. Another common dish is cauliflower cheese, which is exactly what it sounds like. Visitors to the North East ought to look out for pan haggerty, a warming meal with a base of melted cheese, potatoes and onions which can contain almost any other ingredient from the soil or the sea.
Finland
In Finland, cheese is usually something you eat on a slice of bread. Probably the most common Finnish cheese is Oltermanni, a kind of tilsit cheese which is quite popular in Russia too. There are also two Finnish iconic spread cheeses: Viola and Koskenlaskija.
Aura cheese (aurajuusto) is a type of blue cheese, occasionally also used in cooking. "Aura" refers to the Aura river bisecting Turku. A specialty of Northern Finland and halfway down the west coast is leipäjuusto, a cheese made of rich milk from cows that have recently calved. The cheese is baked like a bread and usually eaten as a dessert with cloudberry jam.
France
- See also: French cuisine
If there are just three major cornerstones of French gastronomy, they are bread, wine and cheese, which pleasingly can be consumed together. Charles de Gaulle famously wondered how it is possible to "govern a country where there are 246 varieties of cheese"; in the 21st Century, there are close to 400 different cheeses produced in France, almost all of them linked to a specific town, area or region. Some of the most popular nationally and abroad include bleu d'Auvergne, brie, camembert, comté, reblochon and Sainte-Maure. While you will easily find these and some others nationwide, you are best advised to sample the local speciality of the region you are visiting, especially if it has protected Appellation d'origine protégée (AOP) status.
To give you an idea of the variety on offer, the land of soft and smelly cheeses like Époisses and maroilles also excels in some hard cheeses like gruyère and mimolette. Most French cheeses are made out of cow's (vache), goat's (chèvre), or ewe's (brebis) milk.
Perhaps suprisingly for a country famed for its haute cuisine, a number of well-known brands of manufactured cheese have their origin in France, including Babybel, the Laughing Cow and sandwich-filler favourite St Môret.
Cheese is used in many savoury foods, including crêpes, onion soup and Provençalsoupe de poisson (fish soup), all of which commonly use gruyère, and Auvergnat aligot (which combines mashed potato, tomme d'Auvergne cheese and garlic, to which sausage is usually added or accompanies).
Many French restaurants pride themselves on their affineur, who properly ages the restaurant's store of cheese in its cheese cellar and also normally determines which cheeses the restaurant purchases from which vendors. When eating a full-course French meal, it is common for a selection of cheeses to constitute one of the courses, either as a substitute for dessert or an additional course. Taking the advice of your waiter on which cheeses you should eat, and in what order, is a good idea in gastronomic restaurants; that way, you may be introduced to very high-quality examples of cheeses from the region you are in and other nearby areas of France.
Germany
A traditional dish to accompany wine in the regions of Rhenish Hesse and the Rheingau is Spundekäs, a soft cheese mixed with quark usually served with pretzel chips or a bretzel.
One of the traditional centers of dairy-farming and therefore cheese-production is the Allgäu in southern Bavaria.
Greece
Nothing nicer than some goat's cheese with a little olive oil and some fresh olives and a hot day. Feta cheese is commonly used in Greek salads and many other dishes; halloumi cheese is melted in a pan and combined with lemon juice to make an appetizer called saganaki.Graviera, kefalotyri, athotyros and tirozouli are hard cheeses, and can accompany pasta, fried potatoes, and stand alone as mezes.Mizithra and xinomizithra are soft cheeses. The first is sweet and the second is sour. They are used as filling in pastries (mizithropites), and in the dakos (in which case they can be substituted by feta). Cheeses very similar to feta are also traditionally made in neighboring Turkey and Bulgaria.
India and Pakistan
Paneer — a fresh, mild cow cheese curd made by heating milk and curdling it with lemon juice or vinegar — is a common ingredient in North Indian cuisines, including those native to what's now Pakistan.
Italy
- See also: Italian cuisine
Every region of Italy has its own type of pecorino (sheep's cheese), and aside from numerous cow's cheeses, the European buffalo also features in mozzarella di bufala, an integral ingredient of pizza margherita. Cheeses are often used in pasta sauces, and there are Neapolitan and Sicilian varieties of cheesecake.
One of the most famous Italian cheeses is probably Parmigiano Reggiano (or Parmesan, as it is called elsewhere) that may (at least in Europe) only be sold under the aforementioned name if it comes from the region around Parma (for which it is named). It is a hard cheese with a rather savory taste and is traditionally and most commonly grated over pasta but also used in a wide variety of Italian dishes and condiments, such as Pesto.
Netherlands
Another cheese that is better than its namesake in the supermarket elsewhere is Gouda (pronounced "KHOW-dah" in the Netherlands). Gouda cheese tastes great by itself or in a sandwich on high-quality Dutch bread with a bit of butter; such sandwiches, with either "old" (long-aged) or "young" Gouda, are widely available in bakeries.
The Netherlands are very much associated with cheese abroad and rightfully proud of their long cheese tradition. According to European law a number of types of cheese have to be produced in a defined area of the Netherlands if producers want to sell them under a certain name. As always the best fare stays in the country of origin, so try a cheese or a dozen while you are there.
New Zealand
New Zealand has a significant dairy industry, and also produces its fair share of artisanal cheeses. The most popular cheese in New Zealand is cheddar; a result of its British colonial heritage, though blue cheeses and other types of cheese are also available.
Norway
Gjetost cheese, made from whey, cream and milk that is heated for caramelization, is a very good cheese. It's also known as brunost referring to its brown color or Gudbrandsdalsost referring to the region it comes from.
Spain
- See also: Spanish cuisine
Manchego is a well-known, savory hard cheese from Spain. Queso fresco is an unaged white cheese originating in Spain and now common in Mexico and other countries in the Americas. Many other cheeses are produced in this country.
Sweden
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Hard cheese, ost, on bread is a staple food in Sweden. Svecia is the universal name for traditional Swedish hard cheese. Västerbottensost is a seasoned hard cheese made in Burträsk south-west of Skellefteå in Västerbotten County.
Ostkaka is Swedish cheesecake, made from cottage cheese.
Switzerland
Switzerland is known for Emmentaler (which is the origin of what is called "Swiss cheese" in some other countries) a medium-hard yellow cheese with holes, originated from the Emmental. Equally famous is Gruyère, named after the town of Gruyères, where it is still produced. Another popular cheese is Appenzeller, which gets its characteristic flavour from a herbal brine and which is produced in the Appenzell area. In each of these towns and regions, there are show dairies with insights into the production of the cheeses and usually also the opportunity to taste the cheese at different degrees of ripening.
While those three cheeses are probably the most famous ones abroad, they are by far not the only ones produced: Sbrinz is a very hard cheese and is often mentioned as the Swiss version of Parmesan, Tête de Moine (Monk's head) which is eaten in thin shavings or the soft Tomme Vaudoise. This list is not at all exhaustive and there is also a long list of speciality cheeses such as the Blumenkäse, a strong hard cheese that includes wildflowers from the slopes of the Alps in the rind and sometimes throughout the cheese.
Many Swiss dishes contain cheese. The most famous is Fondue, a pot of molten cheese in which bread is dipped. Fondue is generally associated with the town of Fribourg, where it's served moitié-moitié (half-half) being half Vacherin and half Gruyère. Another popular cheese dish is Raclette, originated in the canton of Valais and which is prepared with a cheese of the same name.
USA
The U.S. is known for putting bland processed cheese into everything, though you can also find some fairly good artisanal cheeses at some farmers' markets.
One of the most popular meals in the U.S. is macaroni and cheese ("Mac and cheese"). Fast food in North America is known for ladling cheese into everything from cheeseburgers to submarine sandwiches to pizza.
Oddly, the "Philadelphia Cream Cheese" brand is made just about anywhere but Philadelphia; the city was chosen just for the name.
A particular US invention (though your mileage as to taste may certainly vary) is "cheese in a can", a variety of cheese that comes in a spray can.
Wisconsin is famous for its cheese, so much so that fans of the Green Bay Packers (an American Football team) frequently wear hats shaped like a piece of cheese to games and are often called "cheese heads". Fried cheese curds are another favored snack in Wisconsin.
Beer cheese is a spread popular in Kentucky. In the general American south, Pimento cheese is a popular spreadable cheese.
Wales
For a complete list of Welsh cheeses and where they're made, consult the British Cheese Board website.
For a crumbly traditional white cow's milk cheese, try Caerphilly. This was originally made locally for hungry coal miners, but the postwar period saw production moved to an industrial scale in the English Westcountry, and nowadays most Caerphilly cheese is made in (the horror!) England. However, traditional Welsh Caerphilly (or Caerffili) has Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, and must by European law be made in Wales from local milk.
The market town of Abergavenny is particularly important for the production of cheese. The range of Abergavenny goat's cheeses (also called pantysgawn) is Britain's most successful domestic goat's cheese and can be bought from Sainsbury's supermarkets all over the UK if you can't get to Abergavenny. This cheese is soft and creamy with a gentle, somewhat lemony, flavour. The town also produces a range of mature cheddars each paired with different herbs / spices; the signature is Y Fenni (the Welsh name of Abergavenny), and is made with mustard seeds and ale. The others are each inspired by a Welsh landmark; for instance, Tintern cheddar with chives and shallots takes its name from the nearby 12th century cistercian abbey, while Harlech cheddar with horseradish and parsley is named after the folk-song inspiring UNESCO-listed castle.
Welsh rarebit is a traditional dish of a melted cheese and mustard sauce (not dissimilar to fondue cheese) poured over toasted bread. Often, Welsh ale and / or other spices such as cayenne pepper are added for extra flavour.
Concerns
There are some relevant taboos, such as in the case of kosher-observant Jews, who cannot consume dairy products with or shortly before or after eating meat. In addition, the rennet used to make the cheese must be from kosher-slaughtered or halal-slaughtered animals for Jews and Muslims respectively, and vegetarians may avoid cheese containing animal-derived rennet and select cheese with vegetarian rennet instead. Vegans avoid traditional cheese altogether, as it is an animal product, often substituting it with plant-based cheese analogues or by using nutritional yeast (known affectionately as nooch).
People concerned about their salt or fat intake for health reasons, including people with high blood pressure, should also consider limiting their consumption of cheese or carefully choosing which varieties they eat, as most types of cheese are high in fat and salt, though some are much more salty and fatty than others.
Some cheeses are unsuitable for people with lactose intolerance, but aged hard cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano are very low in lactose and therefore safe to eat. Unlike lactose-intolerant people, those with milk allergies must avoid all cheese and use dairy-free alternatives.