Types Of Cheeses
What are the different types of cheeses? Most of us enjoy eating cheese, whether its on a sandwich, covering our pasta or just plain. Cheese is a blanket term for a wide range artificially-aged milk products, ranging from completely solid to almost gelatinous (if you’ve had brie, you know it’s true). They’re made from whole milk (cows, buffalo, goats or sheep), cheese is produced by the coagulation of milk proteins and usually involves using curdling agents such as vinegar to solidify the content. Cheeses are most often used as a compliment to other types of food; soft cheeses like brie are great for spreading on dry, dull crackers, while cheeses like mozzarella are often melted over cooked dishes to add an extra element of flavour. Extremely versatile, and incredibly delicious.
There are many different types of cheese and normally the main factor in categorizing the types of cheeses is their age. Soft cheese also known as fresh cheese which is made without any preservatives can spoil in a matter of days due to its high moisture content. Soft fresh cheese is categorized as drained coagulated milk. Examples of soft cheeses are goats cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, feta cheese which is a very popular known Greek cheese. Mascarpone which is an Italian cheese is made from cream and is easily spreadable. Ricotta, which literally means ‘recooked’ uses the liquid that remains after straining the curds which is called whey. Another well known fresh cheese is Mozzarella which is primarily used over pizza’s and pasta’s and originated in Italy.
Soft-ripened and blue-vein types of cheeses require the presence of mold such as washed rind cheeses and blue cheeses. Gorgonzola and Gorgonzola Mascarpone are of the worlds great blue cheeses which are Italian cheeses that originated in Milan. These types of cheeses are used in many pasta dishes but are also delicious when served with a drizzle of honey. Cambozola is a combination of French Camembert and Gorgonzola but is milder than Gorgonzola but it still has a creamy texture with a subdued blue flavor. Roquefort is one of the more solid blue cheeses with a crumbly texture and a stronger odour. The odour and taste of this cheese have said to resemble butyric acid. Other types of blue cheeses include; Danish blue cheese, Dorset Blue Vinney cheese, Fourme d’Ambert, Stilton, and my personal favourite, Saint Agur.
Aged cheese have a considerable harder texture and some must even be broken apart rather than sliced. The aged cheeses are also known as the hard cheeses. Parmesan is an Italian cheese that is typically grated over pasta or other food dishes. Cheddar is the most widely purchased and eaten cheese in the world and generally takes 9-24 months to mature. Grana Padano and Parmigiano-Reggiano are also popular Itallian cheeses that are rather salty and mostly grated due to their hard texture.
I work in the dairy department of a grocery store and my job is to cut, store and sell the cheeses and I find that the harder cheeses do indeed last much longer than any of the soft cheeses we sell. Also Cheddar and Brie are the most popular types of cheeses sold in our store. We also sell al ot of Gouda, Romano and Camembert. Some of our less popular cheeses are Old Amsterdam and Gruyere which have a very dry taste.
Other popular types of cheeses around the world include; Swiss cheese, Asiago, Monteray Jack, Provolone, Edam, Leerdammer, Butter cheese, Rambol and Red Leicester. All these different types of cheeses come from all over the world and have a unique taste and texture that has them now being sold all over the world.
