Major types of cheeses you should know

Categorizing these cheeses is primarily based on age. In a matter of days, fresh cheeses without any other preservatives may spoil.

Cottage cheese, cream cheese, curd cheese, farmer cheese, chhena, paneer and fresh goat cheese are examples for these simplest fresh cheese.

Whey cheeses are fresh cheeses made of whey, a by- product of cheesemaking. There are two fundamentally different products made of whey and called whey cheese.

1. Albumin cheese are made by coagulating the albumin in the whey with heat or acids.

   ex: ricotta, mizithra

2. Norwegian brown cheeses are made by concentrating the sugar in the whey. They are technically not considered as cheese because these are not primarily made of coagulated milk proteins.

   ex: mysost

Corsican brocciu, Romanian urda, Greek mizithra, Cypriot anari cheese, and Himalayan chhurpi are few examples for whey cheeses.

Italian Ricotta is the most popular whey cheese in the world.

Stretched curd cheese Mozzarella is also comes under the fresh cheese category. Mozzarella is worldwide famous for its use on pizza. Braided cheese, string cheese are some stretched curd cheese.

Categorizing cheese based on moisture

Soft cheese

Water content of semi soft cheese is between 36% and 45%. These type of cheeses is often used in recipes in which cheese needs to be melts. Cream cheese, Brie and Neufchâtel are soft-type cheeses.

Semi soft cheese

Havarti, Munster and Port Salut are well known varieties of semi soft cheeses which have a high moisture content.

Medium hard cheese

Medium hard cheese are made from curd which are packed into moulds, pressed and then fermented for a long time. These types of cheeses generally have less moisture and consists of holes. These types of cheeses are often served on toast for simple meals.

Semi hard or hard cheese

Harder cheeses have a lower moisture content than softer cheeses. Cheddar, Monterey jack, Dutch cheese Edam and Gouda are semi hard cheeses. Grating cheeses such as Grana Padano, Parmesan or Pecorino are considered as hard cheese.

Blue cheese

Blue cheese contains Penicillium roqueforti or Penicillium glaucum. This process is done with the loosely pressed curds in prevalent molds. The mold grows within the cheese as it ages. These cheeses consists of distinct blue veins which gives them their name..

Brined cheese

Brined cheese or pickled cheese is ripened in a brine solution in an airtight container. This process gives cheese good stability preventing the growth of bacteria even in hot climates. Brined cheese is the mostly produce and consumed type of cheese in the Middle East and Mediterranean areas.

ex:

Feta- Feta cheese is made in Greece from sheep’s milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat milk. Feta cheese is a white cheese with small holes or no holes.

Bryndza-This cheese is creamy white in appearance.Bryndza is white, tangy, and slightly moist. Bryndza cheese has a strong smell.

Halloumi - Halloumi or haloumi is a semi-hard, unripened cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk or sometimes also cow’s milk. These cheeses can easily be fried or grilled as it has a high melting point. Sirene and telemea are also few examples to brined cheese.

Processed cheese

Processed cheese is made from traditional cheese and emulsifying salts, preservatives and food colorings.Some cheeses are added with smoke flavors. Most of the processed cheese are made using a combination of real cheese waste, whey powder, vegetable oil, palm oil or fats. Some processed cheese contains only two to six percent cheese.

Most popular types of cheese

Mozzarella

Parmesan

Cheddar

Brie

Swiss cheese

Gouda

Feta

Gruyere