Cheddar
A firm cow's-milk cheese from the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England. It is the world's most widely made cheese style, aged from a few months to two years or more.
Cheese
Every cheese, in every form: hard, soft, fresh, aged, sliced, shredded, and spreadable. Cheese is the flagship category of the dairy case, and the one with the longest history: cheese has been made for thousands of years.
Mozzarella
A soft, stretchy Italian cheese from Campania, made by stretching curds in hot water. Traditional mozzarella uses buffalo milk; most everyday mozzarella is cow's milk.
Parmesan
A hard, granular Italian cheese from Emilia-Romagna, aged at least 12 months and often two to three years. True Parmesan, Parmigiano-Reggiano, is one of the world's great grating cheeses.
Brie
A soft, bloomy-rind cow's-milk cheese from the Île-de-France region of France. Under its white rind, ripe Brie turns creamy and buttery with a mild, earthy flavor.
Gouda
A Dutch cow's-milk cheese named for the city of Gouda. It ranges from young, mild, and buttery to aged wheels with caramel notes and crunchy crystals.
Swiss (Emmental)
A firm Swiss cow's-milk cheese from the Emme Valley, famous for its cherry-sized holes, or eyes. Aged at least four months, it tastes mild, nutty, and slightly sweet.
Provolone
A stretched-curd Italian cheese from the south of Italy, aged from a few weeks to over a year. Young Provolone is mild and smooth; aged Provolone turns sharp and piquant.
Feta
A brined Greek cheese made from sheep's milk, sometimes with up to 30 percent goat's milk. Feta is white, crumbly, and tangy-salty, and it has been made in Greece for centuries.
Gruyère
A firm Swiss alpine cheese from the Fribourg region, aged 5 to 12 months or more. Its dense paste turns from smooth and nutty to firm and crystalline as it ages.
Comté
A firm French alpine cheese from the Jura mountains, made from raw cow's milk and aged from 4 months to over 2 years. Each wheel is graded before release.
Manchego
A firm Spanish cheese from La Mancha, made only from the milk of Manchega sheep. Its rind carries a woven zigzag pattern from the molds it is pressed in.
Pecorino Romano
A hard, salty Italian grating cheese made from sheep's milk, produced mainly in Sardinia and Lazio. It is aged at least 5 months and often 8 or more.
Camembert
A soft French cheese from Normandy with a white bloomy rind and a creamy, yielding center. It is sold in small rounds and ripens from the rind inward.
Gorgonzola
An Italian blue cheese from Lombardy, made from cow's milk in two main styles: dolce, soft and sweet, and piccante, firm and sharp. Both are veined with blue mold.
Stilton
An English blue cheese made only in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire. It has a crumbly, creamy paste veined with blue and a rough natural rind.
Roquefort
A French blue cheese made from sheep's milk and aged in the natural caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. It is moist, crumbly, and the sharpest of the classic blues.
Asiago
An Italian cow's-milk cheese from the Asiago plateau in Veneto. Young Asiago is smooth and mild; aged Asiago is firm, nutty, and made for grating.
Fontina
A semi-soft Italian cheese from the Aosta Valley, made from raw cow's milk. It has a washed reddish rind, small holes, and a rich, earthy flavor.
Taleggio
A soft Italian washed-rind cheese from Lombardy, square in shape with a rosy rind and a pale, creamy center. Its aroma is stronger than its mild, tangy flavor.
Burrata
A fresh Italian cheese from Puglia: a pouch of mozzarella filled with stracciatella, shreds of mozzarella soaked in cream. It is eaten days after it is made.
Halloumi
A firm, brined cheese from Cyprus, traditionally made from sheep and goat milk, now often with cow's milk. Its high melting point makes it a cheese for frying and grilling.
Paneer
A fresh Indian cheese made by curdling hot milk with lemon juice or vinegar, then pressing the curds. It is unaged, unsalted, and does not melt.
Queso Fresco
A fresh, soft Mexican cheese made from cow's milk, sometimes with goat's milk. It is white, crumbly, and mildly salty, sold young and meant to be eaten fresh.
Cotija
An aged Mexican cheese from Michoacán, made from cow's milk. It is firm, dry, and very salty, grated or crumbled over dishes the way Parmesan is used in Italy.
Oaxaca Cheese
A Mexican stretched-curd cheese from Oaxaca, sold as a ball wound from long ribbons of cheese. It is mild, stringy, and one of the best melting cheeses.
Havarti
A semi-soft Danish cheese with small irregular holes and a smooth, buttery paste. It is mild and slightly sweet, aged only a few months, and slices cleanly.
Edam
A semi-hard Dutch cheese named for the town of Edam, usually sold coated in red wax. It is mild, slightly salty, and nutty, made from partly skimmed milk.
Monterey Jack
A semi-hard American cheese from Monterey County, California. It is pale, mild, and buttery with small holes, made to melt; aged Dry Jack is its firmer variant.
Pepper Jack
An American cheese made by flavoring Monterey Jack with spicy peppers, usually jalapeño, sometimes habanero and other chiles. It melts like Jack, with heat.
Colby
An American cheese from Wisconsin, made like cheddar but with a washed curd. It is softer, moister, and milder than cheddar, with an open, springy texture.
Muenster
A semi-soft American deli cheese, pale and smooth with tiny holes and an edible orange rind. It is mild and buttery, and related to European Munster in name only.
Raclette
A semi-hard Swiss alpine cheese from Valais, made from cow's milk and aged 3 to 6 months. It is famous less for its flavor, mild and fruity, than for how it melts.
Limburger
A washed-rind cheese from the Limburg region, now made mostly in Germany and Wisconsin. It is soft, savory, and notorious for the strongest smell of any common cheese.
Smoked Gouda
A Dutch-style cheese made by smoking young Gouda over hickory or similar wood. It has a brown rind, a pale supple paste, and a pronounced smoky, caramel flavor.
Jarlsberg
A Norwegian cheese with large round holes and a yellow wax rind. It is semi-soft, mild, and distinctly sweet and nutty, in the Emmental family but softer.