THE 7 TYPES OF CHEESE

Unlike wine or animals, the character of cheeses can be judged by a glance at their rind.

From just a brief encounter you can gauge its texture, taste, strength of flavour and, with a little experience, even the stage of maturity.

Using the 'rind' method, you can categorise 90% of all cheeses into one of the following types.

  • FRESH CHEESES - [No rind]
    Only 1-15 days old when eaten they have no time to develop a rind and only a subtle 'lactic', fermenting fruit flavour with a hint of the green pastures. They can be smooth and creamy, mousse-like or crumbly like Feta. Some are wrapped in chestnut leaves, rolled in ash or covered in herbs.
    Examples: Banon, Ricotta, Feta, Cottage cheese, Cream cheese

  • NATURAL RIND - [Wrinkled rind, bluish grey mould]

    CrottinNearly always goat, they are chalky and moist when young, with a lemony fresh tang. Gradually they develop a delicate bluish grey mould and dry out, producing a wrinkled rind which becomes more pronounced with age and the flavour is more nutty with a more distinct goaty taste.
    Examples: Sancerre, Chabichou, Crottin de Chavignol

  • SOFT WHITE CHEESE - [White Fuzzy Rind]

    TunworthThe curd retains much of the whey, ensuring the cheese becomes wonderfully soft, almost runny and grows a fuzzy white rind of Penicillin candidum. The best taste of mushrooms sometimes with a hint of sherry! Unpasteurised examples develop a reddish-brown ferment on the rind whereas pasteurised versions have a pure white appearance.
    Examples: Camembert, Brie, Chevre Log

  • SEMI-SOFT - [Brownish orange to thick greyish brown] 

    Stinking BishopThere are two styles of semi-soft cheese. The first are those with supple, elastic, sometimes rubbery, texture and sweet, buttery to savoury or even meaty in taste. These may have a barely formed rind like Edam or be encouraged to develop a thick, leathery rind encrusted with greyish mould.
    Examples: Edam, Pont L'Eveque, St Nectaire, Tomme de Savoie 


    The other style, known as washed-rind cheese, are rubbed or 'washed' in strong brine to maintain their internal moisture and attract special bacteria that create the characteristic orange sticky rind, strong, piquant flavour and aroma. The texture ranges from slightly chalky when young to rich, smooth and voluptuous when fully mature.
    Examples: Langres, Carre de L'Est, Epoisses

  • HARD CHEESES - [Thick, dense rind often waxed or oiled] 

    BerkswellThe curd is cut finely then heated in large vats before the whey is drained off. The curd is cut again or even 'milled' before being salted, packed in moulds and firmly pressed. Some cheeses are bathed in brine to seal and protect the cheeses from drying out in the curing cellars.
    Examples: Cheddar, Parmigiano Reggiano, Gruyere, Manchego

  • BLUE CHEESES - [Gritty, rough, dry or sticky variable in colour] 

    Shropshire BlueThe blue moulds, like Penicillin Roquefort, need oxygen to develop their colour. This is achieved by piercing the young cheese with rods [normally steel]; the blue then grows along the tunnel, cracks and trails between the roughly packed curd.
    Examples: Stilton, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Maytag Blue, Cashel Blue

  • FLAVOURED CHEESES - [From barely formed to hard and crusty] 

    YargThey are a rapidly growing area of the market and offer an alternative to those who like dessert rather than cheese or who are not sure they like cheese. They range from the sublime to the ridiculous and are hard or semi-soft cheeses with added flavourings - nuts, fruit, spices, herbs even salmon or ham!
    Examples: Cornish Yarg, Gouda with Cumin, Stilton with Apricots, Devon Garland.

For more details you could purchase a copy of CHEESE, a magnificent book by Juliet Harbutt that reveals chapter by chapter each of the different types with delicious examples from around the world.