Cheese is one of the most common foods in the world, it’s no surprise it comes in so many varieties. There are so many different types of cheese we didn’t even know where to start.
Since making cheese starts with milk and its fermentation, in most cases however, it would be an appropriate topic to start with.
Length of fermentation
Before we list some interesting types of cheese by fermentation length, we are going to clarify what fermentation is.
Fermentation is a process of sugar consumption in the absence of oxygen. The transformation of chemical elements by microbes produces energy. The cycle of fermentation consumes sugar and releases energy.
During cheese fermentation, the sugar in the milk becomes acid. So, lactic bacteria converts lactose (or sugar) to lactic acid. The lactic acid causes milk curdling. After that, the curds are salted, pressed, and combined with various microflora, and then placed for aging.
The fermentation process depends on the type of cheese, and it can vary from weeks to even years. Here are two types of cheese with different fermentation length.
Brie
This is a soft cow’s milk cheese. After the curd is warm enough (max 37℃), and has cheese-like consistency, placing it into molds is necessary, and its fermentation process lasts from 3-6 months. If the cheese becomes overripe, it can taste unpleasant because of the excessive amount of ammonia.
Cave-Aged Le Gruyere Cheese – Kaltbach
Kaltbach cave-aged cheeses got their name from the 22-million-year old Kaltbach Cave in Switzerland. Le Gruyere is aged in the cave that has a constant temperature of around 10℃ to 11℃ and humidity of 96%. The fermentation process lasts for a year.
Here you can find out more about these cave-aged cheeses.
Fermentation fun-fact: Did you know that a special type of bacteria during fermentation produces carbon dioxide? That is how the traditional Swiss cheese got holes.
Source of milk for cheese
Cheesemaking ingredients are pretty much simple, and the most important of them is milk. In the infographic (table) below, you can see different types of milk and how much fat they have, also there is a list of cheese by the source of milk:
| Type of milk | Fat | Types of cheese |
| Cow milk | 3.25% | Swiss, Parmesan, Gouda |
| Goat milk | 3.5% | Caprino, Feta, Pyramid |
| Sheep milk | 6.75% | Roquefort, Pecorino, Blue cheese |
| Buffalo milk | 10% | Italian buffalo, Paneer, Braila |
Types of cheese by texture
Various ways of cheese preparation can give large varieties in its texture. From soft and creamy to hard and crumbly. Here is a shortlist of 5 cheese types with different textures.
- Hard Cheese (Parmesan, Pecorino)
- Semihard (Emmental, Cheddar)
- Semisoft (Muenster, Gouda, Maasdam)
- Soft (Ricotta, Mascarpone)
- Spreadable (Camembert, Brie)
What classifies as a hard cheese?
As the name says it, hard cheese is firm, cheese that aged, and has lower moisture. It is often savory.
Hard cheese is made by draining and separating the whey, and creating a hard rind with salted water. After that process, cheese has to age between 2 and 36 month, in some cases even more!
A well-aged cheese is more dry, often crumbly and has a more savory taste.
Hard cheese can be hard like Parmesan or semi-hard like Gouda.
Here are some types of hard cheese:
- Parmigiano Reggiano known as parmesan, most popular cheese. The secret for its perfect taste lies in aging. Parmesan is stored for at least 12 months. When young, parmesan is firm, but by its aging it becomes granular.
- Pecorino Romano is a type of Italian hard cheese. It is very salty and made from sheep’s milk. Pecorino is mostly used for grating. This hard cheese is made in ancient Rome and it’s one of Italy’s oldest cheeses. To this day it is still made by original recipe. Name “pecorino” means “ovine” which is “of sheep” in Italian.
What is the hardest cheese in the world ?
This Himalayan cheese has become very famous for its hardness. Nepal’s churpi is proclaimed as the hardest cheese in the world! Also known as the Himalayan’s chewing gum.
This hard cheese is prepared from chauri milk. A combination of cow’s milk and yak’s milk. Sometimes it can be made by just cow’s milk or just yak’s milk.
It has a smoky fragrance, but the taste is extremely sweet. Churpi is naturally sweet, so it is good for your teeth . It also helps you stay warm in extremely low temperatures.
A single piece of this hard cheese can be eaten for hours! To get the full taste of this hard cheese, you first need to take a bite and then let it soften in your mouth for 5 to 7 minutes. If you don’t follow these instructions, you will not get a full taste! When it is all softened up, you can start chewing it as a pack of chewing gum.
Churpi comes in two variants. Depends on how much it is dried, it can be hard or soft. Soft churpi can be used as a filling momos and other typical dishes for that region. Hard churpi is not only used for chewing like a chewing gum or for its health benefits. It is very famous in the pet industry! People buy it as a dog treat.
Types of soft cheese
Everybody likes to talk about cheese but when we talk about types of soft cheese the first thing on our mind is feta, Brie, ricotta, cream cheese, Camembert, Chevre, Roquefort, and gorgonzola, and of course – cottage cheese. All these cheeses have a special creaminess . Soft cheese is unripened cheese made by coagulating casein (milk proteins) with acid
Why are they called soft cheese so primarily because of their incredibly moist and soft texture, and also the process of making soft cheese is fundamentally different from hard cheese, the difference is that soft cheeses do not age, so they are able to retain all moisture while hard cheeses do it.
Cheese consumption in world
When we talk about cheese consumption, we are talking about consumption in western countries where such statistics are kept. However third world countries (Mostly Asian and African countries) are not on that list, and consumption of cheese in those countries is actually very high.
Milk and products made of milk are the main and almost only food they use every day. But because we don’t keep that kind of statistic, we can’t really talk about the consumption of soft cheeses or the types of cheese in general.
Most popular types of soft cheese list
Although it differs from country to country, here is a list of the best-selling and most famous soft cheeses
- Mozzarella
- Feta Cheese
- Goat Cheese
- Brie
- Blue Cheese
- Roquefort
- Gorgonzola
- English Stilton
- Camembert
- Coeur de Chevre
- Cottage Cheese
- Danish Blue
- Neufchatel
- Ricotta Cheese
Which cheese has the strongest flavor
If we had to make a list of cheese with the strongest flavor, this is what it would look like according to our flavor:
- If we look for the strongest flavor (not aroma), genuine Roquefort is the king of cheeses.
- Another competitor for the higher place would be Époisses de Bourgogne, this cheese is made from unpasteurized cow’s milk and washed in Pomace brandy.
- Bleu d’Auvergne is a famous French blue cheese and he is a little less aggressive than Roquefort and other veined cheeses.
- Stilton, England’s counterpart to French Roquefort, is another strong-flavored cheese. Many cheese lovers consider him the “king of cheeses”.
- Among the type of soft cheeses, Camembert which has a relatively strong flavor
- Also among the blue soft cheese Cambozola, is a mixture of Brie and Gorgonzola.
- Blue Castello is a very popular soft blue cheese.
- Gorgonzola is an Italian blue cheese with a strong flavor and a very pungent aroma.
- Gammelost (literally: “old cheese”), is a well-aged Scandinavian cheese that often can be smelled before entering the room where it’s being served.
- Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog is a kind of goat’s cheese made in the French Morbier style with splendid flavor.
What is the softest cheese in the world?
This is a French-style soft cheese. Known for its softness, brie, is the most famous product in French . It’s made in region Brie, for where this cheese got its name.
It is made from a cow’s milk, and the taste can be different depending on what is added in the process of making it.
This soft cheese has a runny and buttery texture. It’s similar to Camembert, another French soft cheese. Brie has lighter tones of butter and cream and it is milder.
It is perfect in combination with walnuts, honey and plum. Add a glass of wine, and you can have a pleasant snack!
What is vegan cheese?
Vegan cheese is a category of based-plant, non-dairy cheese. It can be from soft to aged and cultured hard grateable cheese like Parmesan.
Vegan cheese can only be made with components from vegetables ( protein, fats, plant milks ), seeds ( sesame, sunflower, nuts ( cashew, pine nut, peanuts, almond ) ), soybeans, other ingredients such as coconut oil, nutritional yeast, tapioca, rice, potatoes and spices.
Cheese is the reason why so many people are vegetarians and can’t go 100% plant-predicated, but I have good news for you: you can make ambrosial plant-predicated cheeses, like this astounding vegan cheese.
However, I’ve found there are dainty and additionally more salubrious alternatives you can make at home with simple and facile to get ingredients. Sounds good, right?
How to make vegan cheese
This recipe is perfect for lactose intolerants and for all those people who are just probing for more salubrious alternatives. Besides, it’s profoundly easy to make and SO inexpensive.
The first time I made it I couldn’t believe it wasn’t authentic cheese and I’ve alluded to so many non-vegan friends and family members with it.
It has the same consistency as a classic cheese sauce and it’s so good with some conventional or baked tortilla chips, but you can accommodate it with anything you opt for or utilize it to make all kinds of recipes.
In addition it’s cholesterol-free, good for the planet, good for your health, lower in fat (especially if you omit the oil) and profoundly tasty. It’s rudimentary made with potatoes, carrots, oil, dihydrogen monoxide, and some condiments, that’s all!
You genuinely NEED to give this vegan cheese an endeavor. It’s one of those life-transmuting recipes you can’t miss!
Step by step:
- Boil or steam the potatoes and carrots for about 20 minutes or until they’re soft.
- Drain them and integrate them into a puissant blender.
- Integrate all the remaining ingredients and coalesce until smooth.
- Accommodate immediately or keep remnants in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You can additionally freeze it if you like.
Types of moldy cheese
Did you know that there are a lot of types of cheese made by mold? That doesn’t sound so fancy but when you list them by name you realise that probably some of your most favourite
types of cheeses are actually a moldy creation.
Do these names sound familiar – Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton, Brie, Camembert?
They are all made from mold and luckily for you, are all safe to eat. But not all mold is safe to eat, cause if the mold didnt come from the manufacturing process it can seriously harm your health.
If you can get a hand of these ingredients you can easily make your own Gorgonzola cheese and enjoy this sweet creation.
Brined cheese
Brined cheese is widely spread around the Middle East and in some parts of the Mediteranian. You are a big foodie but you have never heard about Brined cheese?
What is this sorcery? Sometimes referred to as pickled cheese, this type of cheese is ripened in brine in an airtight or semi-permeable container. Brined cheese can vary, depending on what type of milk was used for its creation in the process. It can be soft or hard, but all of the varieties taste salty and are more acidic when they are fresh.
You can also use brining to maintain cheese, because soaking cheese in brine prolongs its use. The cheese that has been soaked in brine becomes more salty and it prevents bad bacterial growth.
Processed cheese
Just hearing the words processed cheese next to a food product makes you rethink your next move. But do you really know what’s behind those words? Processed cheese said bluntly is half real cheese and the other half are additives added during processing.
You have probably learned so far that adding artificial flavors and additives isn’t good for you. So why do they do that? It’s simple, money makes the world go round so the producers of processed cheese are trying to get their money’s worth.
There are a lot of delicious options with processed cheese, they are probably your number one breakfast option. Processed cheese is also used in most fast foods, so it’s not a bad idea if you keep tracking how much fast food you consume.
Is processed cheese good for you?
Although cheese has many health benefits, processed cheese may create a higher health risk. People with cardiovascular diseases and people who are overweight are especially at risk. Because processed cheese has higher levels of salt, it contains saturated fats and has been proven to contribute to bad cholesterol. Natural cheese is a better option cause it doesn’t contain that extra salt which makes it healthier, but it gives it shorter shelf life. Both natural and processed cheese are only beneficial if consumed within limits.
