Explain different types of cheeses to me
02/10/26 9:42pm
This post was sourced from submitted reader questions and posted by wikiHow Editorial Staff.
wikiHow forums are moderated for quality. Learn more about our moderation policy here.
Share your thoughts and see what other wikiHow readers think:
Which of these cheeses do you like best?
There are several categories of cheeses. They can range from hard-soft, fermented, and veined.
Soft/fresh cheese includes ricotta, feta, and cottage cheese. An example of a soft cheese that has been fermented or ripened would be brie. Semi-hard cheeses have a lower moisture level than fresh/soft cheeses; my favorite in this category is Havarti. Hard cheeses are usually aged longer and have a small percentage of moisture, such as Cheddar or Manchego. Blue-veined cheeses, which are probably my favorite overall, are injected with strands of penicillium mold that give you the streaks of blue mold throughout the cheeses. Roquefort and Gorgonzola are just a couple of varieties. Mozzarella would fall under the category of cheeses considered to be pulled.
If you want to explore a wider variety of cheeses, I’d recommend going to a grocery store that has a nice sized cheese shop. Whole Foods, Hy-Vee, Schnucks, and Dierbergs are a few that I am familiar with. A lot of these stores will allow you to taste some of the different cheeses and have descriptions of them and their origins. They will also have people to help you pair them with specific foods.
View hidden comment
Soft/fresh cheese includes ricotta, feta, and cottage cheese. An example of a soft cheese that has been fermented or ripened would be brie. Semi-hard cheeses have a lower moisture level than fresh/soft cheeses; my favorite in this category is Havarti. Hard cheeses are usually aged longer and have a small percentage of moisture, such as Cheddar or Manchego. Blue-veined cheeses, which are probably my favorite overall, are injected with strands of penicillium mold that give you the streaks of blue mold throughout the cheeses. Roquefort and Gorgonzola are just a couple of varieties. Mozzarella would fall under the category of cheeses considered to be pulled.
If you want to explore a wider variety of cheeses, I’d recommend going to a grocery store that has a nice sized cheese shop. Whole Foods, Hy-Vee, Schnucks, and Dierbergs are a few that I am familiar with. A lot of these stores will allow you to taste some of the different cheeses and have descriptions of them and their origins. They will also have people to help you pair them with specific foods.
There are many different types of cheese, and they're categorized based on whether they're fresh, soft, semi-soft, hard, or blue. These are some of the most common types of cheese, plus descriptions of their characteristics and flavor:
View hidden comment
- Cheddar: A hard or semi-hard cheese that ranges in flavor from mild and buttery to sharp and tangy.
- Mozzarella: A soft cheese with a mild flavor and stretchy texture when melted.
- Parmesan: A hard cheese with a salty, nutty, and savory flavor.
- Provolone: A semi-hard cheese ranging in flavor from mildly tangy to strong and nutty.
- Swiss: A semi-hard to hard cheese with a mild, buttery, and slightly fruity flavor.
- Pepper Jack: A semi-soft cheese with a mild buttery base, as well as bits of spicy jalepeño or habanero chili throughout.
- American: A semi-soft processed cheese with a mild buttery flavor and smooth texture.
- Halloumi: A semi-hard to semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese with a salty and mildly tangy flavor.
- Brie: A soft, mild, and rich cheese with an edible crust and creamy interior.
- Camembert: A soft cheese with an edible crust and creamier interior, similar to Brie but slightly stronger in flavor.
- Ricotta: A soft, fresh cheese with a very mild and semi-sweet flavor and smooth texture.
- Burrata: A soft, fresh cheese with a firmer outer layer of mozzarella and a soft, stringy mixture of curd and cream on the inside.
- Feta: A soft, brined cheese with a crumbly texture and salty and pungent flavor.
- Blue Cheese: A semi-soft to firm cheese made with Penicillium cultures, which creates blue spots or veins in the cheese and gives it a distinct, sharp, and pungent flavor.
- Cream Cheese: A smooth, spreadable cheese with a mild and slightly tangy flavor.
- Cottage Cheese: A creamy and lumpy cheese made by separating cheese curds from whey.
What’s on your mind? Ask anything.
Get advice and feedback from experts and wikiHow readers just like you.
Ask a Question
