Types of Cheese

Here’s a little trivia for us cheese lovers. There are over 400 different type of cheeses, with over 2,000 different names. Cheeses are grouped by their moisture content. So we have fresh, soft, semisoft, hard and very hard.

Cottage cheese, cream cheese or ricotta make up fresh cheeses. Brie and Camembert are examples of soft cheeses. Blue cheese, Muenster and Limburger fall under the semisoft category. Swiss, cheddar, and Gouda make good hard cheeses and Parmesan and Romano, also known as grating cheeses, make up the very hard cheese category.

What’s your favorite?

Here is a list of a few cheeses in the Very Hard and Hard categories.

Very Hard (used for grating)

Texture – Flavor – Use
Asiago – sharp, slightly fruity – cooking and seasoning
Parmesan – sharp, salty – cooking, pasta, salads and seasoning
Romano – sharp, piquant, salty – cooking, pasta and seasoning

Hard
Cheddar – rich, nutty, from mild to sharp – cooking, dessert, with fruit
Cheshire – tangy, salty – cooking, with fruit
Edam, Gouda – milky and nutty to sharp and salty – appetizer, dessert
Gjetost – sweet, fudgelike, caramely – sandwich and snacks
Gruyere – mellow and buttery – cooking and dessert
Jarlsberg – slightly sweet and nutty – appetizer, sandwich and cooking
Nokkelost – spieced with cloves and buttery – appetizer, sandwich and cooking
Swiss – mild, very fruity with tang – appetizer, cooking, dessert and with sandwiches

These are just a few cheeses in the Very Hard and Hard category. Thanks to Betty Crocker for the above information!