Cheese

Varieties

More than 400 different varieties of cheese are available. Cheeses are categorized in several ways: natural versus process cheeses, unripened versus ripened and soft versus hard. Many cheeses are named for their place of origin, such as Cheddar cheese, which originated in Cheddar, England.

Natural Cheeses

Natural cheeses can be unripened or ripened. Unripened cheeses are made by coagulating milk proteins (casein) with acid. Examples include soft cheeses like cream cheese, cottage cheese and Neufchatel. Ripened cheeses are made by coagulating milk proteins with enzymes (rennet) and culture acids. These cheeses are then ripened (aged) by bacteria or mold. Cheddar, Swiss, Colby, brick and Parmesan are some examples of bacteria-ripened cheeses. Blue, Roquefort, Camembert and Brie are examples of mold-ripened cheeses.

Natural cheeses are often categorized according to their moisture or degree of softness or hardness:

Soft Cheeses:

Brie, Camembert, ricotta, cottage

Semi-Soft Cheeses:

Blue, brick, feta, Havarti, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, Meunster, provolone

Hard Cheeses:

Cheddar, Colby, Edam, Gouda, Swiss

Very Hard Cheese:

Parmesan, Romano

Process Chesses.

These cheeses are made by blending one or more natural cheeses, heating and adding emulsifying salts. Process cheeses contain more moisture than natural cheeses. Pasteurized process cheeses include American cheese, cheese spreads and cheese foods. Cold-pack cheese is a blend of natural cheeses processed without heat. Flavoring and seasonings are often added.

Sources: National Dairy Council and Webstop