| No one categorization scheme can capture | | | | cheeses; their curd is rinsed before it |
| all the diversity of the world's | | | | is pressed, washing away some acidity |
| cheeses. Some common systems used are: | | | | and calcium. A similar curd-washing |
| Length of aging. | | | | takes place when making the Dutch |
| Texture (hard or soft); this is | | | | cheeses Edam and Gouda. |
| correlated to the moisture content: the | | | | Swiss-style cheeses like Emmental and |
| more moist a cheese, the softer. This | | | | Gruyere are generally quite firm. The |
| classification is common in the US, but | | | | same bacteria that give Emmental its |
| is inaccurate: many types of cheese are | | | | holes contribute to their aromatic and |
| made in softer or firmer variations. | | | | sharp flavors. The hardest cheeses — |
| Methods of making: pressed or unpressed | | | | "grating cheeses" such as Parmesan, |
| curd, heated or unheated curd, mold | | | | Pecorino, and Romano — are quite |
| growth, etc. | | | | firmly packed into large forms and aged |
| Fat content. | | | | for months or years. |
| Kind of milk (cow's milk, goat's milk | | | | Methods |
| cheese, etc.) | | | | Use of mold |
| Aging period | | | | Soft-ripened cheeses such as Brie and |
| Fresh | | | | Camembert are made by allowing white |
| For these simplest cheeses, milk is | | | | Penicillium candida or P. camemberti |
| curdled and drained, with little other | | | | mold to grow on the outside of a soft |
| processing. Examples include cottage | | | | cheese for a few days or weeks. The mold |
| cheese, Romanian Caº, Neufchâtel (the | | | | forms a white crust and contributes to |
| model for American-style cream cheese), | | | | the smooth, runny, or gooey textures and |
| and fresh goat's milk chevre. Such | | | | more intense flavors of these aged |
| cheeses are soft and spreadable, with a | | | | cheeses. Goats' milk cheeses are often |
| mild taste. Fresh cheeses without | | | | treated in a similar manner, sometimes |
| additional preservatives can spoil in a | | | | with white molds (Chevre-Boîte) and |
| matter of days. | | | | sometimes with blue. |
| Whey cheeses are fresh cheeses made from | | | | Blue-mold cheeses like Roquefort, |
| the whey discarded while producing other | | | | Gorgonzola, and Stilton are produced by |
| cheeses. Provencal Brousse, Corsican | | | | inoculating loosely pressed curds with |
| Brocciu, Italian Ricotta, Romanian Urda | | | | Penicillium roqueforti or Penicillium |
| and Norwegian Geitost are examples. | | | | glaucum molds. The mold grows within the |
| Brocciu is mostly eaten fresh, and is as | | | | cheese as it ages. These cheeses have |
| such a major ingredient in Corsican | | | | distinct blue veins and, often, |
| cuisine, but it can be aged too. | | | | assertive flavors. Their texture can be |
| Traditional Mozzarella also falls into | | | | soft or firm. |
| the fresh cheese category. Fresh curds | | | | Washing |
| are stretched and kneaded in hot water | | | | Washed-rind cheeses are periodically |
| to form a ball of Mozzarella, which in | | | | bathed in a saltwater brine as they age, |
| southern Italy is usually eaten within a | | | | making their surfaces amenable to a |
| few hours of being made. Other firm | | | | class of bacteria (the reddish-orange |
| fresh cheeses include paneer and queso | | | | "smear bacteria") which impart pungent |
| fresco. | | | | odors and distinctive flavors. |
| Texture | | | | Washed-rind cheeses can be soft |
| Categorizing cheeses by firmness is a | | | | (Limburger), semi-hard (Munster), or |
| common but inexact practice. The lines | | | | hard (Appenzeller). |
| between "soft", "semi-soft", | | | | Processed cheese is made from |
| "semi-hard", and "hard" are arbitrary, | | | | traditional cheese and emulsifying |
| and many types of cheese are made in | | | | salts, often with the addition of milk, |
| softer or firmer variations. Harder | | | | more salt, preservatives, and food |
| cheeses have a lower moisture content | | | | coloring. It is inexpensive, consistent, |
| than softer cheeses. They are generally | | | | and melts smoothly. This is the |
| packed into molds under more pressure | | | | most-consumed category of cheese in the |
| and aged for a longer time. | | | | United States. The most familiar |
| The familiar cheddar is one of a family | | | | processed cheese may be pre-sliced mild |
| of semi-hard or hard cheeses (including | | | | yellow American Cheese or Velveeta. Many |
| Cheshire and Gloucester) whose curd is | | | | other varieties exist, including Easy |
| cut, gently heated, piled, and stirred | | | | Cheese, a Kraft Foods brand sold in a |
| before being pressed into forms. Colby | | | | spray can. |
| and Monterey Jack are similar but milder | | | | |