Cheese Please

Europe

Finland

Leipajuusto is called Finnish squeaky cheese in the US because it seems to squeak when you bite into it. The cheese is made from the first milk drawn from a cow after it has given birth. Lipajuusto can be bought in a 2-3 cm thick dish which can be grilled, flambeed or baked. Due to its appearance the name of the cheese means "bread cheese." This cheese is usually served in slices with coffee or eaten with fresh cloudberries or cloudberry jelly or in a salad.

Denmark

Havarti is a semi-soft cheese that is made from cow's milk and has small holes in it. Usually it is eaten as a table cheese. The cheese is smooth and rindless and the color ranges from cream to yellow. Havarti smells and tastes buttery, sweet and acidic. Havarti is aged for three months if aged longer the cheese will taste saltier and a bit like hazelnuts.

England

Cheddar is one of the most popular cheeses in the world and is made with cow's milk. It was first produced in the village of Cheddar in Somerset county in England in the 12th century. It is a hard cheese and ranges in color from white to pale yellow.

Stilton Blue is one of the most famous blue cheeses and originates from central England produced in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, or Nottinghamshire. The cheese must be cylindrical in shape and form its own crust and have blue veins that radiate from the center. Stilton Blue has a sweet and salty flavor.

Holland

Gouda is a semi-hard Dutch cheese made with cow's milk. It is produced in a flattened wheel shape and is flavorable and aromatic tasting mild, fruity, sweet, or butterscotch depending on maturity. Young Gouda has a sweet, fruity taste and as it ages it become deeper yellow and firmer. This cheese is usually sliced for sandwiches or cut into cubes and eaten as a snack.

Switzerland

Berner Alpkase has to be made per specific qualifications. The cow's milk must come from known farms in the Bernese Highlands and the cows must feed in pastures with no artificial fertilizer. Berner Alpkase is made on a wood fire using manual labor and comes out as a spicy, full-fat hard cheese eaten in slices.

France

Camembert de Normandie is a well-known cheese made from raw cow's milk and weighs an average 250 grams, The cheese is pungent with a taste similar to mushrooms, grass, and butter and the aroma is moldy and cabbage-like. Camembert is poured into molds by hand, dry-salted, and matured for 30 to 35 days.The body is soft and creamy and the exterior has a white, moldy rind.

Brie de Meaux is a soft French cheese made from cow's milk. It is a flat cheese with a rind covered in white mold. The cheese matures in cellars on straw mats in the Île-de-France area near Paris for at least four weeks. This variety of Brie is the most famous of all and has been known as the cheese of royalty and well-to-do people. It is important for Brie to reach room temperature before eating to fully appreciate the range of flavors - moldy, mushroom-like, nutty, and fruity.

Spain

Manchego comes from the La Mancha region in central Spain. It is made with sheep's milk and aged between 30 days to two years. It is firm and compact with a buttery texture and ranges from white to light yellow in color. The rind has a zig-zag pattern left by the mold the curds are pressed into. Manchego has a strong, tangy taste and a nutty and caramel-like flavor.

Italy

Gorgonzola was first produced in 879 CE, in a town in the Lombardy region just outside of Milan. This is a type of blue cheese made with cow's milk and it is distinguished by green or blue marbling of the mold. To induce the blue veining the milk is inoculated with penicillin spores. Depending on its age Gorgonzola is available in two varieties. Gorgonzola Dolce is soft and creamy and has a mild flavor with a taste of butter, sour cream, and a bit of a lactic tang. Gorgonzola Piccante is firmer, and more crumbly and has to be aged for at least three month to achieve the strong, pungent flavor.

Parmeggiano Reggiano is made with raw, semi-skimmed milk from cows grazing on fresh grass and hay. It has a hard, gritty texture and the flavor ranges from nutty to robust and a bit piquant depending on maturity. It is named after the city of Parma where the cheese originated.

Ricotta is a fresh, soft cheese made with sheep, cow, or goat milk or Italian water buffalo milk. Actually it is not really a cheese but a creamy curd that is made by reheating the whey, a byproducts of cheese making. The name ricotta means re-cooked. The curds are white and creamy and very fresh with a slightly sweet taste. It usually has a conical shape through the use of fuscella, a traditional container where the cheese is placed after skimming to drain.

Mozzarella is a fresh, soft stretched curd cheese made with whole cow's milk. It has a fragrant aroma of fresh milk and a delicate creamy flavor. The cheese originates from the region of Campania but is now produced all across the country. It is made with water buffalo or cow milk. When made with cow's milk it is called mozzarella fior di latte to distinguish it from cheese made with buffalo milk.

Greece

Feta is the most famous Greek cheese and has been called "the princess of cheeses." It is made with sheep's milk or a mix of sheep and goat milk, which should not exceed 30%. Feta is produced in the regions of Macedonia, Thessaly, Thrace, Epirus, the Peloponnese, and Central Greece. The cheese is produced with non-pasteurized milk. It is made in large square or triangle-shaped mold and then preserved in wooden barrels or tin containers filled with brine to keep it fresh and preserve its acidity.

Cyprus

Halloumi is an unripened cheese and popular throughout the Levant. It has a high melting point and is often fried or grilled. To make the cheese rennet is used to curdle unpasteurized milk that comes from both goats and sheep but has also been made with cow's milk. It is a semi-hard white cheese with a layered texture and salty taste. It is said that mint keeps Halloumi fresh so it is often garnished with mint leaves. It is usually served with vegetables or in salads and can be eaten as a breakfast food, snack, or side dish. In Cyprus it is eaten with watermelon or alongside smoked port or lamb sausages.

Asia

India

Paneer is a moist fresh cheese with a soft and crumbly texture. It is made with pasteurized cow or water buffalo milk. The cheese is often used in curries particularly in the north of India and it pairs well with strong and spicy flavors.