Embarking on a culinary exploration of the world of cheese is akin to entering a labyrinth of flavour, texture and craftsmanship. Behind every delectable piece lies a fascinating story of cheesemaking, a process that has evolved over centuries, producing an astounding array of cheese varieties. Join me as I delve into this intricate world, uncovering the different types of cheese.
Different ways to classify cheese
Cheese, with its vast spectrum of flavours, textures and aromas, can be classified in several ways, providing a comprehensive understanding of this culinary treasure. The diverse classification methods not only highlight the origins and types of cheese but also shed light on the nuanced processes that contribute to their unique characteristics.
Milk type
Cheeses can be broadly categorised based on the type of milk used in their production. The primary categories include cow, goat, sheep and buffalo.
Texture
Next, the texture of cheese is also a defining characteristic, and it varies widely. Common texture classifications include soft, semi-soft, semi-hard and hard.
Rind type
The rind, or outer layer, contributes significantly to a cheese’s flavour and appearance. Rind classifications include bloomy, washed and natural.
Cheesemaking technology
Finally, cheeses are crafted using diverse techniques, influencing their final characteristics.
And this is the classification we will be using in this blog post.
Fresh paste cheeses
Firstly, fresh cheeses are a category of cheeses that are not aged or undergo minimal ageing. These cheeses are typically made and consumed shortly after the curdling process.
Characterised by smooth textures that vary from coarse to grainy, the diverse array of fresh cheeses results from the choice of coagulation methods during production.
Typically exhibiting a spreadable quality, these cheeses are celebrated for their high moisture content, creating a delightful creaminess on the palate.
With a relatively short shelf life of 6 days post-production, it’s recommended to store them in refrigeration at 2-4 °C to maintain their freshness.
Rich in texture and flavour, these delectably moist fresh cheeses are a culinary delight to be savoured within the optimal window of freshness.
Fresh cheeses fall mainly in two sub-categories: natural and enriched.
1. Natural fresh cheeses
Examples: Caillebotte du Poitou & Chèvre Frais
Age: 1 to 7 days
The manufacturing process involves obtaining a “caillebotte“, etymologically referring to curdled milk (caillé) drained on a bundle (botte) of straw. In contemporary terms, the focus lies solely on the draining process. The technology employed is a combination of methods.
Natural fresh cheeses exhibit lactic and tangy flavours with nuanced aromatic differences based on the milk used:
- Herbs and aromatic plants/dried fruits for goat milk
- Roasted seeds and barnyardy for sheep’s milk
- Leather and earthy for buffalo milk
- Vegetal and lactic for cow’s milk
By definition, these cheeses do not have a rind. This means that their external surface and internal paste look and feel identical. In general, fresh cheeses have a lactic paste with shiny white-ivory reflections.
2. Enriched fresh cheeses
Examples: Fontainebleau & Petit Suisse
Age: 1 to 7 days
The second sub-category of fresh cheeses are made by enriching milk with cream. These cheeses were created in the 20th century to meet a new trend of consuming fatty cheeses.
Since fat acts as a genuine aromatic receptor, it captures the aromas and flavours of the products added to the preparation. As was the case with natural fresh cheeses, enriched fresh cheeses are also rindless.
However, due to the added cream, they tend to have an immaculate milky appearance with the occasional frothy bits. The froth is a result of the cream’s expansion during cheesemaking.
Lactic paste cheeses
Lactic cheese is a type of cheese that is produced through lactic acid fermentation. These cheeses offer a diverse sensory experience characterised by an array of shapes and textures. These cheeses, whether shaped as pyramids, cylinders, bricks or rings, undergo a relatively extended manufacturing process.
The flavour journey of lactic cheeses is a dynamic one: when young, they boast a moist, chalky, brittle, porous and permeable texture, evolving into creaminess with maturity.
For cow’s milk variants, the texture tends to be softer and creamier, while those crafted from goat or sheep’s milk are typically smooth.
Storage: To preserve their freshness, these cheeses are best stored for 10-21 days in their original packaging.
Serving: For serving, allow 45-60 minutes at room temperature, ensuring a delightful experience that captures the subtle qualities in these cheeses.
There are several different types of lactic cheeses.
3. Lactic cheeses with natural rind
Examples: Charolais, Crottin de Chavignol & Mothais-sur-Feuille
Age: 8 to 31 days
Generally, these cheeses are made from goat or sheep’s milk. These cheeses are sold at various stages of ageing, providing consumers with a choice: fresh, semi-dry or dry.
Young cheeses within this category exhibit milky and tangy flavours, which evolve into pronounced animal notes as they age. And finally becoming piquant as they dry. Furthermore, the natural rind is typically white to cream-colored and speckled with the occasional blue patches of mould.
Under the rind, the paste ranges from immaculate white to light-yellow. And the texture evolves from crumbly when young to creamy at the end of the ageing process.
4. Lactic cheeses with bloomy rind
Examples: Brie de Melun, Chabichou du Poitou, Chaource, Neufchâtel & Saint-Marcellin
Age: 10 to 38 days
During production, these cheeses are sprayed with specific moulds and pre-aged in a ripening chamber. Afterwards, they mature in an ageing room to allow the development of the surface bloom.
Originally, cheeses in this category had a hue ranging between blue-grey and grey-green, sometimes with brownish and/or reddish spots. However, consumer demand for cheeses of immaculate white led to the replacement of Penicillium camembertii with Penicillium candidum over time.
Mushroom, yeast, moss or damp earth aromas evolve toward the barn, musk and savoury flavours during maturation.
Of course, a white, bloomy rind is the signature appearance for these lactic cheeses. Their rinds range from silky, velvety and thin to thick. And are typically adorned with ochre spots or brown-red streaks at the points of contact with the ageing racks.
Under the rind, the cheese’s paste develops a texture that ranges from chalky to sticky, coating the palate.
5. Lactic cheeses with ashed rind
Examples: Sainte-Maure de Touraine, Selles-sur-Cher & Valençay
Age: 10 to 35 days
This type of lactic cheese is covered with food-safe vegetable ash. Historically, these were farmhouse cheeses from wine-producing regions, aimed at enhancing the preservation of cheeses. Unsurprisingly, the ash used was derived from the combustion of vine shoots.
On the nose, these ashed cheese show lactic and buttery aromas that gradually evolve into hazelnut notes with a hint of animal characteristics.
Also, they often have a wrinkly rind that is dusted with light grey to dark grey charcoal. As for the paste, it is usually fine, smooth and homogeneous with a creamline under the rind.
6. Lactic cheeses with washed rind
Examples: Epoisses, Langres and Soumaintrain
Age: 15 days to 3 months
These lactic cheeses are washed with salt water, sometimes supplemented with diluted alcohol (wine, cider or beer).
The cheeses go through a slow maturation which can last up to 3 months. As a result of the washing, these lactic cheeses develop a penetrating and pervasive aroma with fermented, ammonia and smoky notes. And salty meaty flavours dominate.
Another consequence of the regular washing is a wet and sticky rind. These washed rind cheeses can have either smooth or wrinkled rinds, ranging in colour from slightly pinkish-yellow to brick red.
Under the rind, their paste is fine and homogeneous and exhibits a colour spectrum ranging from straw-yellow to beige.
7. Cream-enriched lactic cheeses
Example: Brillat-Savarin & Saint-Félicien
This technology originated in cream-producing bocage (mixed woodland and pastures) areas, close to regions with a well-established tradition of lactic cheeses with bloomy rinds.
Age: 5 to 10 days
Overall, these enriched lactic cheeses show buttery flavours with a mouth-coating texture. And their aromas display notes of fresh cream, whey and button mushrooms.
The rind is sometimes velvety, with a slight development of Geotrichum candidum responsible for the formation of a delicate wrinkly surface.
Under the rind, you will find a smooth, pearlescent white core with a creamline ranging from ivory to creamy.
Soft paste cheeses
Next, we have one of the most popular types of cheese. Soft cheeses encompass a diverse category of cheeses that are either aged or not and may have undergone various fermentations beyond lactic fermentation.
Soft cheeses exhibit a unique and diverse range of flavours and aromas. The taste is subtly tangy, with cow’s milk varieties invoking the essence of milk, plants and flowers. On the other hand, sheep’s milk cheeses introduce distinctive lanolin notes, while goat’s milk cheeses offer nuances of almonds, and in some cases, even the sweetness of marzipan.
For preservation, these cheeses are best enjoyed within the first 10 days.
Storage: After bringing them home, you will want to store them below 12°C (54°F). Depending on where you live, you can do this in a cheese dome or in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator.
Serving: To enhance the taste experience, allow these soft cheeses to reach room temperature for 45-60 minutes before serving.
8. Rindless brined soft cheeses
Examples: Feta & Sirene
Age: 60 days to 12 months
Cheeses in brine are aged cheeses, ranging from soft to firm consistency, with a white to yellowish paste. Typically, they present a compact texture that is well-suited to slicing.
These cheeses lack a true rind and have been aged and preserved in brine until the moment of sale. Some brine cheeses contain herbs and spices that contribute to their identity.
As a result of the production method, these cheeses develop a strong salty flavour with notes of citrus and herbs. Finally, they have a firm and crumbly texture to the touch yet smooth and melting in the mouth.
9. Soft cheeses with natural rind
Examples: Banon and Pérail
Age: 7 to 15 days
This type of soft cheese develops a natural rind during maturation. Interestingly, the rind is not formed by inoculated bacteria or mould. Instead, it comes from the environment in the affinage rooms. This can include the air, walls and wooden planks that the cheeses rest on.
At times, these cheeses are adorned or placed on a leaf, serving as a surface moisture regulator and thus encouraging the growth of specific microbial cultures.
In general, natural-rind soft cheeses show robust and animalistic aromas with hints of humus. During ageing, they develop a streaked or vermiculated rind, white in colour and occasionally speckled with bluish spots.
Finally, their paste has a texture ranging from flowing to compact, presenting shades from ivory to light beige.
10. Soft cheeses with bloomy rind
Examples: Brie de Meaux, Camembert de Normandie & Coulommiers
Age: 14 days to 3 months
Soft cheeses with a bloomy rind are cheeses whose rind is covered with moulds (notably Penicillium) that give them a fluffy white appearance. The ripening process occurs in a ripening room and then in a maturation chamber to enable the development of the surface bloom.
When young, these cheeses develop tangy flavours and milky aromas. And as they mature, they reveal predominant flavours of fresh wild mushrooms, apple and pear.
The milder aromas evoke hay or Champignons de Paris, while the more pronounced aromas suggest sulfuric vegetables, the barn or manure, with an intense and peppery, almost ammoniated finish.
Unsurprisingly, they develop a white bloomy rind, adorned with ochre spots or brown-red streaks of moulds at the points of contact with the ageing racks.
Typically, these are cylindrical cheeses with a chalky, granular crumbly core and a soft, velvety smoothness around it. The paste has a colour ranging from light yellow to straw.
11. Soft cheeses with washed rind
Examples: Herve, Livarot, Maroilles, Mont d’Or, Munster, Pont l’Évêque & Taleggio
Age: 14 days to 4 months depending on the format
Like lactic washed rinds, this is a type of cheese whose rind undergoes washing and brushing that promote the development of a pronounced taste.
The washing helps preserve the flexibility of the rind and the development of red ferments. In some regions, washes can be done with water added with marc, wine, cider or beer. Consequently, the wash imparts distinctive aromas to the cheese and contributes to the selection of surface flora.
These soft cheeses have distinctive aromas ranging from meadow flowers to smoked charcuterie or evoking the farm or ammonia. On the palate, you will detect strong salty flavours.
Overall, they tend to be soft and sticky on the palate.
Blue cheeses
This category includes cheeses with moulds like Penicillium glaucum or roqueforti. Undoubtedly, there is a predominance of blue cheeses from cow’s or sheep’s milk, with goat’s milk blue cheeses being relatively rare.
The production of blue cheese starts similarly to soft cheeses, with the only difference being that the curd is crumbled or cut into cubes to enhance drainage and the implantation of Penicillium spores. During ageing, an affineur pierces the cheeses with long needles, fostering the harmonious development of moulds in the paste.
Storage: Up to 3 weeks in an airtight container in your fridge. To maintain a bit of humidity, we recommend lining the container with a damp cloth.
Serving: Up to 15 minutes at room temperature.
12. Blue cheeses with internal blue mould and large openings
Examples: Bleu d’Auvergne, Bleu des Causses, Fourme d’Ambert, Queso Cabrales & Roquefort
Age: 15 days to 5 months
With this type of blue cheese, the technology used in production leads to a loose curd structure. Consequently, the formed cheese develops relatively large opening. Moreover, piercing during ageing allows oxygen to access the internal Penicillium mould.
Interestingly, these cheeses remain white unless they are pierced or cut open. Once the paste has access to oxygen, the cheese develops sizeable blue-green pockets with a splattering of veins.
In general, these blues develop a strong salty flavour with sweet and metallic undertones. Your nose may also detect notes of spice, burnt caramel and mould.
Most versions of this type of blue are rindless and develop a sticky surface due to wrapping in aluminium or tin foil. Versions that are not wrapped in foil may have a dry and powdery rind.
Overall, their texture is brittle and crumbly to smooth and even creamy.
13. Hybrid blue cheeses with internal blue mould and small openings
Examples: Cashel Blue, Fourme de Montbrison & Blue Stilton
Age: 30 days to 15 weeks
This category of blue cheese is very similar in production to the above type. However, the technology used allows a slightly less intense development of Penicillium due to a denser curd.
As a result, these cheeses have a sweeter flavour profile with notes of mushrooms and undergrowth, possessing a bit of character reminiscent of a damp cellar. Moreover, they develop a dry natural orange-brown rind, speckled with blue or grey for British blues.
As opposed to the blues like Bleu d’Auvergne and Fourme d’Ambert, Cashel Blue and Stilton tend to have fewer pockets of blue mould and have a milder aroma.
14. Blue cheeses with internal blue marbling
Examples: Bleu de Gex, Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage, Gorgonzola Dolce & Gorgonzola Piccante
Age: 21 days to 9 months
Our next sub-class of blue cheese is even milder in aroma and flavour than the first two we’ve covered. These can be made by either inoculating milk with Penicillium mould or adding the mould to newly formed curds.
The main blue characteristics here appear along the lines where the cheese is pierced during maturation. Consequently, they tend to develop mostly sweet flavours with a hint of herbs and forest floor. You may also note a subtly bitter aftertaste.
Cheeses like Bleu de Gex usually form a dry natural rind and have a compact and dense texture with grey-green marbling reminiscent of porcelain shards.
15. Blue cheeses with external blue mould
Examples: Bleu de Termignon & Persillé des Aravis
Age: 2 to 5 months
Lastly, this type of blue cheese is not inoculated with blue mould at all. Instead, the blue is natural and comes from the maturation environment.
Historically, the external development of blue was found accidentally on the surface of certain wheels of French cheeses like Cantal, Salers or Laguiole. This category is therefore a testament to an ancient time when damp caves were invaded by Penicillium spores.
Due to the ageing techniques used, these blue cheeses tend to have a mineral quality to them, with notes of flint and dry cellar. They also develop a dry natural rind and have a crumbly paste.
Pressed uncooked cheeses
We now venture into one of the most varied categories of cheeses: pressed uncooked cheeses. In this category, cheesemakers heat their curd-whey mixture up to a temperature below 50 °C (122 °F). Afterwards, they press the curd to promote drainage during ageing.
Historically, these cheeses were made in bocage areas, medium or high mountains, using cow, goat, sheep or mixed milks. Overall, the aromas and flavours of the cheese are provided by the rind and the milk used.
Depending on the region of origin, some pressed uncooked cheeses are wrapped in cloth or wax for maturation. And there’s even one Spanish version that bears the marks of woven reeds on its rind. We’ll get back to those a little bit further down.
These cheeses tend to be full of character and can exhibit a range of different textures. Indeed, they can be buttery, soft and homogeneous and either moist or crumbly and dry.
Storage: 2-3 weeks in original packaging in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator or in a cool, slightly humid room.
Serving: Room temperature for 45-60 minutes.
16. Lightly pressed uncooked cheeses with a washed rind
Examples: Chevrotin & Reblochon
Age: 18 to 40 days
The technology involving lightly pressing the curd or by stacking the cheeses on top of each other. During ageing, an affineur regularly rubs each cheese with a salted solution, with or without added whey, in a cool and humid atmosphere.
These lightly pressed cheeses tend to exhibit generally creamy flavours, sometimes with herbal and dried fruit notes. And they develop a thin, slightly orange rind that is covered with a fine white fuzz.
As for their texture, you can expect a firm to supple paste, sometimes creamy, with small holes due to fermentation.
17. Milled curd cheeses with mottled rind
Examples: Cantal, Laguiole & Salers
Age: 30 days to 12 months
On the plateaus of Auvergne, where natural fuels are scarce, the Auvergnats have invented a technology that involves forming an initial curd, pressing it for the first time, crushing it, shaping a larger cheese for longer preservation, and pressing it a second time.
Successive pressings aim to exude the maximum whey, while fine crushing of the curd ensures homogenization of the paste and grain bonding.
On the flavour side, you can expect a lactic quality evolving towards peppery and spicy notes for cheeses aged over 8 months.
Moreover, these cheeses develop a mottled rind ranging from grey-white (1-2 months of ageing) to golden (3-6 months of ageing). And those over 6 months of ageing form a brown rind.
18. Milled curd cheeses with dry wrapped rind
Examples: West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, Bay of Fires Cheddar & Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar
Age: 2 months to more than 2 years
The production of these cheeses follows a similar process as the mottled rind cheeses. However, during ripening, the cheese is wrapped in cloth, plastic film or wax and placed in a dry and cold atmosphere for maturation.
While the Auvergnats invented this technology, the Anglo-Saxons exported this model known as “Cheddaring” internationally, leading to numerous variations. The major difference lies in wrapping the cheese in cloth to drain the residual whey outside the cheese and thus dry the surface.
With these Cheddar-type cheeses, you will experience varied flavours that explain variable taste intensity depending on age. Generally, you can expect a savoury, tangy flavour with a pleasant hint of bitterness.
Due to the wrapping, they develop a dry rind and have a granular, crumbly paste.
19. Pressed uncooked cheeses with artificial rind
Examples: Manchego & Idiazabal
Age: 2 weeks to more than 1 year
This type of pressed uncooked cheese is made using a technology that involves waxing or wrapping the cheese in plastic to prevent it from developing natural a rind.
Your nose will detect aromas reminiscent of roasted seeds, caramel and aromatic herbs. And their texture is usually quite granular paste. Since these cheeses are often made with sheep milk, they tend to be a bit whiter than their cow milk counterparts.
20. Pressed uncooked cheeses with dry rind
Examples: Ardi-Gasna, Bethmale, Ossau-Iraty & Tomme des Pyrénées
Age: 21 days to 10 months
This particular cheese technology is borrowed from Pyrenean cheeses made from sheep’s milk. The rind is regularly brushed or rubbed to make it dry. Historically, these cheeses were characteristic of regions in southern France with a dry and warm climate.
Because of the environment where they are made and aged, cheeses like Bethmale and Ossau-Iraty display a signature aroma. Your nose will detect notes of lanolin, dried herbs, fresh milk and yellow fruits.
Furthermore, they have a dry rind ranging from wine-brown to grey and an ivory-yellow paste with a buttery texture.
21. Pressed uncooked cheeses with washed rind
Examples: Morbier, Raclette & Vacherin Fribourgeois
Age: 45 days to 9 weeks
As with other washed rind cheeses, these cheeses are regularly washed during maturation. Most affineurs reuse cloths previously soaked in water or a proprietary solution and used to wipe older cheeses. This way, the water will pick up beneficial flora from one cheese and positively inoculate the subsequent cheeses.
Look out for lactic aromas with hints of sweet spices like vanilla or roasting (Maillard reaction expression) with slightly acidic flavours. Due to the affinage methods, these cheeses have a wet and sometimes sticky rind ranging from yellow-orange to ochre.
As for the mouthfeel, they are usually very creamy and palate-sticking.
22. Pressed uncooked cheeses with grey rind
Examples: Saint-Nectaire, Tome des Bauges & Tomme de Savoie
Age: 21 days to 5 months
These cheeses are produced using similar methods to other pressed uncooked cheeses. However, they are matured on spruce or oak boards in a cool and humid environment. Hence, this allows mucor to develop on the cheese’s surface. The operator will manually rub the cheese to lower this flora, which will later form a grey rind.
These tomme-style cheeses show pronounced flavours of damp cellar, undergrowth and humus. Due to the handling during affinage, they for an anthracite grey rind with a fine to thick felting and sometimes some yellow-red spots.
As for their paste, they are usually firm to creamy and may have a few small holes from fermentation.
23. Pressed uncooked cheeses with washed curd
Examples: Edam & Gouda
Age: 4 weeks to 18 months
When making this type of pressed uncooked cheese, the cheesemakers wash the curd. This process involves the replacement of part of whey (10-45%) with water. This method aims to limit acidification of the paste during maturation and produce a softer texture.
After the cheese is formed from the curds, it may be coated in wax or paraffin. This allows the cheese to maintain its moisture content during ageing.
When young, milky flavours with hazelnut notes are present. However, in a more mature cheese, you will smell caramelised and fermentative aromas and taste sweet and savoury flavours.
Most younger Edams and Goudas have a creamy ivory paste with a texture ranging from soft to firm. When very mature, these cheeses may exhibit Tyrosine crystals (indicative of the breakdown of peptide chains into amino acids).
24. Pressed uncooked cheeses with a cheese mite rind
Examples: Mimolette
Age: 3 to more than 18 months
This unique type of cheese starts its life in a similar manner to the washed curd cheeses above. However, one important point of distinction is that they are allowed to be colonised by tiny cheese mites.
As a result, they develop a dry, brittle rind that is covered with small holes. Those holes are caused by the mites which feed on the natural rind of the cheese during ageing.
As for the paste underneath, it is dense and smooth. And the cheese shows tantalising flavours of chocolate and salted caramel.
Pressed cooked cheeses
Compared to pressed uncooked cheeses, this type of cheese is made from curds that have been heated to 50 °C (122 °F) or higher.
Additionally, these cheeses are significantly drained during the make to reduce the water content. Unsurprisingly, the amount of exuded whey determines the texture and a complex and structured organoleptic finish.
Pressed cooked cheeses are typically matured in cool (8-12 °C/46-54 °F) or warm (13-24 °C/55-75 °F) cellars, where they receive careful attention.
Historically, these cheeses were made in mountainous areas, especially in the Alpine region. To this day, some of these cheeses have a concave rind because they were transported on the backs of humans or mules from mountain pastures to the valleys.
Storage: 4 weeks in the original packaging in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.
Serving: Room temperature for 30 minutes.
25. Blind semi-cooked pressed cheeses
Examples: Abondance & Pecorino Fiore Sardo
Age: 20 to 100 days
Our first sub-category of cooked cheeses is made by heating the curd to a temperature of 45-50 °C (113-122 °F) for 30-50 minutes. Afterwards, maturation takes place at a temperature between 8-12 °C (46-54 °F).
These cheeses display aromas reminiscent of nuts and exotic fruits with a very slight bitterness. And their paste ranges from soft and melting to hard and granular.
They are called “blind” because their paste has no openings (eyes).
26. Semi-cooked pressed cheeses with fermentation
Examples: Appenzeller, Leerdammer
Age: 6 weeks to more than 9 months
This cheesemaking technology involves maturing the cheeses in heated caves at 13-24 °C (55-75 °F). Consequently, the higher temperature promotes fermentation responsible for the holes in the cheese due to the release of carbon dioxide.
Overall, they have a slightly piquant flavour with nutty, peppery and spicy aromas. Of course, the flavour gets more potent and complex as the cheeses age.
In general, they have a blonde paste punctuated with smooth openings called eyes. And their texture is semi-soft to semi-hard.
27. Blind cooked pressed cheeses
Examples: Beaufort, Comté, l’Etivaz, Parmigiano Reggiano, Sbrinz, Swiss Gruyère & Tête de Moine
Age: 75 days to 40 months
As the name suggests, this type of cheese is made from curds that have been cooked at a higher temperature than the semi-cooked varieties. Indeed, cheesemakers typically heat their curds to 51-58 °C (124-135 °F) for a maximum of 20-60 minutes.
This is typically done in copper vats, excellent conductors of heat, with continuous stirring to help separate the solids (curd) from the liquid (whey).
Once the heat source is turned off, the operator waits for the curds to gather at the bottom of the vat and then retrieves them using a linen cloth.
Without a doubt, these cheeses are renowned for their finesse and prolonged, structured tastes, with more or less bitter flavours depending on the ageing duration.
Generally, they have a rugged and grainy rind, ranging from brown. And they have a smooth paste ranging in colour from ivory to cream, with a melting, buttery and delicate texture. Since they do not contain openings, they are also blind.
28. Cooked pressed cheeses with fermentation
Examples: Emmentaler, Emmental de Savoie & French Gruyère
Age: 75 days to 38 weeks
These cheeses are matured in a similar environment to semi-cooked pressed cheeses like Appenzeller. Indeed, the affineur maintains the wheels of cheese in heated caves at 13-24 °C (55-75 °F), promoting the release of carbon dioxide.
This sub-category of pressed cooked cheeses usually displays a slightly tangy flavour with subtle nutty undertones. And their rind is relatively thick yellow-brown rind. As you’ve probably guessed, their paste is punctuated with smooth large openings called eyes and possess an elastic texture
Coagulated whey and milk cheeses
This category of cheese is made using a technology called thermocoagulation. This involves causing whey or milk to flocculate, i.e., making denatured proteins rise to the surface of a hot liquid.
When heated to 70-90 °C, milk or whey proteins will naturally float. With the help of salt, vinegar, or lemon juice, they coagulate to form small cloud-like structures. Those can be collected by the operator using a skimmer and are then moulded.
Almost all of the cheeses in this class are consumed very fresh (without ageing). However, some rare examples are aged for up to 4 months (e.g., Ricotta Salata).
Duration of Conservation and Storage: 6 days in the refrigerator (2-4 °C).
Room Temperature for Serving: 15 minutes.
29. Coagulated milk cheeses
Examples: Brousse du Rove & Cottage Cheese
The first type of coagulated cheese is made by coagulation of milk.
As a result, they tend to present with lactic and sweet almond aromas, sometimes reminiscent of the aromatic herbs from the region where the cheese originates.
Unsurprisingly, these fresh cheeses are rindless and often have a very smooth, white paste.
30. Coagulated whey cheeses
Examples: Brocciu & Ricotta
On the other hand, whey cheeses are cheeses crafted by coagulation or precipitation of whey, with or without the addition of other dairy products. The cheeses are generally made with fresh sheep and/or goat whey, which are very rich in proteins, supplemented with whole sheep and/or goat and/or cow’s milk.
Compared to coagulated milk cheeses, these cheeses tend to be lower in fat and less creamy. The reason for this is because most of the fat in milk remains in the casein network when whey is drained.
Moreover, whey cheeses usually have a delicate and soft white texture. And develop subtle milky, sweet and savoury flavours. Depending on the milk used, you might also detect some citrus (goat) or grassy (cow) qualities.
Miscellaneous categories
31. Pasta filata cheeses
Examples: Mozzarella, Fior di Latte, Burrata & Scamorza (unaged) and Provolone Dolce, Provolone Piccante & Caciocavallo (aged)
This unique type of cheese is made by immersing fresh rennet-dominant curds in hot water (heated up to 90 °C) to mechanically stretch it multiple times into ribbons. Legend has it that the very first stretched curd cheese was created when a cheese accidentally fell into very hot water.
The resulting cheese can be enjoyed fresh or aged.
Historically, these cheeses were produced in the Mediterranean region, especially in southern Italy. Actually, most traditional versions were made using cow’s or buffalo’s milk (buffalo originating from India with generous fat content and found in marshy areas).
Smoking certain stretched curd cheeses aims to dry the surface and limit microbial activity. A great example of this is Scamorza.
Optimal Aging: No ageing for some, dry smoking for others lasting 4-24 hours using beech or spruce sawdust (resin-poor varieties), or liquid smoking through the spray of a smoke condensate.
Because the age varies significantly within this class, the flavours and aroma do as well. Having said that, some recurring notes are lactic and a subtle savoury quality.
Due to their production method, unaged pasta filata cheeses are typically stringy and elastic. They also produce a spectacular stretch when melted.
Duration of Conservation and Storage: 10 days in the original packaging, then under a bell jar provided temperatures do not exceed 12 °C, or in the original packaging in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator.
Room Temperature for Serving: 45-60 minutes.
32. Cream cheeses
Examples: Mascarpone
Finally, cream cheeses are cheeses made by the coagulation or precipitation of cream, with or without the addition of other dairy products. The cheeses are generally made with fresh cream, sometimes enriched with milk.
Cream cheeses showcase the versatility of dairy processing techniques, providing a unique expression of creamy richness. Of course, the richness of the cream is central to the flavour profile, offering a luxurious and velvety taste experience.
As for texture, cream cheeses are smooth, creamy, and indulgent, presenting a luscious texture that melts in the mouth.
Conclusion
As you can see, cheese is an incredibly diverse food. And cheesemaking technology is only one of many systems that can be used to categorise it.
From fresh to pressed cooked via blue and pasta filata, I hope that you have enjoyed this in-depth exploration of fromage.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Let me know your questions about cheesemaking technology.
Reference
Fr’hommages by Cyril Jacquot
Jonah is a a hipster, eco-warrior and slow food afficionado. Coming from a scientific background, Jonah has a particular interest in cheese science. And yes, he loves a good cheese pun!
