Types of Cheese
There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses differ in flavour, texture, milk, origin, etc. Certain types of cheese an fall into a few different categories, for example, hard, sheep milk, Italian cheese like “Toscano”. What type of cheese is it? Well, it could be described by any of those qualities.
Let’s go through different ways to judge types of cheese.
Texture
Cheese textures vary from soft cheese, to semi-soft cheese, to semi hard cheese, to hard cheese, to dry aged cheese. For example, a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, is classified as an aged cheese.
Flavour
Different types of cheese have many different flavours. Some cheeses are mild, some are sharp, some are fruity, some are herbaceous, some are nutty, some are piquant, etc. Professional cheese connoisseurs create words to describe what they are tasting and certain words work so well for certain types of cheeses that they stick and are used for years to come. Different types of cheese give individuals different flavours once it hits the palate. For some a cheese can be mild and others will feel that it is sharp. Everyone has their own taste buds.
Milk
There are many types of cheese made around the world but the following milks make up the majority of the words cheese supply. You’ve got cow milk cheeses, sheep milk cheeses, goat milk cheeses, buffalo milk cheeses. Most types of cheese in the world are made from cow milk because it is the most accessible milk and cows produce a lot of milk. Sheep milk produces some of the best cheeses in the world. Tuscany, Italy produces theses types of cheese called Pecorino. These are all made from pure sheep milk and are delicious! Goat milk cheeses are an aquired tasted, many will describe this milk as either “goaty” or “barn-yardy” and this is a good way to describes these types of cheeses. Buffalo milk is the rarest but you will find that it is used in fresh types of cheese like buffalo mozzarella produced in Campania, Italy.
Origin
Thousands of different types of cheeses are being produced all over the world right now. France is a major supplier of cheeses, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, England, Greece are all up there as far as cheese production goes. Different parts of the Middle East and Eastern Europe produce their own cheeses and they are delicious as well. Cheese has been around for ages and has been a staple for many people around the world.
Hopefully this gave everyone more insight as to what types of cheese are available and how to classify them.
