Global Gourmet Cheeses To Fall In Love With

There is a saying “Cheese, wine and friends must be old to be good”. There are various types of cheese made all over the world which is why there are so many variants of it. All kinds of cheese have different characteristics such as taste, color, aroma, flavor, texture, softness, mold content, holes and also shelf life. If you are a cheese lover, there are a few types of cheeses that you must know about.

1. Cheddar (England) – A hard, often sharp-tasting natural cheese originating from the English village of Cheddar.
2. Mozzarella (Italy) – A traditionally southern Italian cheese made from Italian buffalo’s milk by the pasta filata method.
3. Brie (France) – A soft cow’s-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated.
4. Gouda (Netherlands) – A mild, yellow cheese made from cow’s milk, originating from the Netherlands.
5. Swiss (Switzerland) – Known for its distinctive holes or “eyes”, this cheese has a mild, nutty flavor.
6. Blue Cheese (Various) – Characterized by blue or blue-green veins and a strong, sharp flavor.
7. Feta (Greece) – A brined curd white cheese made in Greece from sheep’s milk, or from a mixture of sheep and goat’s milk.
8. Camembert (France) – A moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow’s milk cheese from France.
9. Parmesan (Italy) – A hard, granular cheese with a rich, sharp flavor, named after the producing areas near Parma, Italy.
10. Roquefort (France) – A sheep milk cheese from the south of France, distinguished by its green veins and strong taste.
11. Monterey Jack (USA) – An American white, semi-hard cheese known for its mild flavor and slight sweetness.
12. Colby (USA) – Similar to cheddar but does not undergo the cheddaring process. Named after the town of Colby, Wisconsin.
13. Muenster (USA) – A smooth-textured cheese with an orange rind and a mild flavor, originating from the United States.
14. Provolone (Italy) – An Italian cheese that can range in taste from sweet to sharp, made from cow’s milk.
15. Ricotta (Italy) – An Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses.
16. Havarti (Denmark) – A semi-soft Danish cow’s milk cheese that is rindless, smooth, and slightly bright-surfaced with a cream to yellow color depending on the type.
17. Gorgonzola (Italy) – A veined Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow’s milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a ‘bite’ from its blue veining.
18. Stilton (England) – An English cheese, known for its characteristic strong smell and taste.
19. Manchego (Spain) – A cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed.
20. Asiago (Italy) – An Italian cow’s milk cheese that can assume different textures, according to its aging.
21. Pecorino Romano (Italy) – An Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk, characterized by a sharp, salty flavor.
22. Limburger (Belgium) – Mexican cheese, traditionally made from raw cow milk or a combination of cow and goat milk.
23. Taleggio (Italy) – A semisoft, washed-rind, smear-ripened Italian cheese that is named after Val Taleggio.
24. Cotija (Mexico) – A hard, crumbly Mexican cheese made from cow’s milk, named after the town of Cotija in Michoacán.
25. Jarlsberg (Norway) – A mild, semi-soft cow’s milk cheese of Norwegian origin.
26. Comté (France) – A French cheese made from unpasteurized cow’s milk in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France.
27. Emmental (Switzerland) – A yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese that got its name from the area in west central Switzerland where it originated.
28. Queso Blanco (Spain) – A creamy, soft, and mild unaged white cheese, originating in Spain but popular in Latin American cuisines.
29. Queso Fresco (Mexico) – A Mexican cheese, traditionally made from raw cow milk or a combination of cow and goat milk.
30. Fontina (Italy) – An Italian cow’s milk cheese with a creamy and nutty flavor that intensifies with aging.
31. Neufchâtel (France) – A soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened cheese made in the Neufchâtel-en-Bray, French region.
32. Mascarpone (Italy) – An Italian cream cheese coagulated by the addition of certain acidic substances such as lemon juice or vinegar.
33. Chèvre (France) – A type of French cheese made from goat’s milk.
34. Gruyère (Switzerland) – A hard yellow Swiss cheese that originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne in Switzerland.
35. Queso de bola (Netherlands) – A Dutch Edam cheese exported to the Philippines, it is aged and coated with red wax.
36. Paneer (India) – A fresh cheese common in the Indian subcontinent, it is an unaged, non-melting cheese made by curdling milk with a fruit- or vegetable-derived acid.
37. Halloumi (Cyprus) – A semi-hard, unripened, brined cheese from Cyprus, it has a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled.
38. American Cheese (USA) – A processed cheese product made from cheddar, colby, or similar cheeses. It is mild with a creamy and salty flavor.
39. Cottage Cheese (USA) – A fresh cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is made from cow’s milk and is not aged.
40. Menonita (Mexico) – A Mexican cheese that is smooth, creamy, and semi-soft with a mild, slightly salty flavor.

Cheese can make a great, quick snack especially when dried and packaged right. Selecting a cheese that’s low in fat, low in sodium, high in calcium and is minimally processed like ascarpone, ricotta, swiss, goat-cheese or mozzarella can be a perfect healthy choice when you’re not ready for a full meal yet.