Types Of Cheese

There are many types of cheeses available all
over the world. The categorization of these
different cheeses is done on the basis of the
following systems:

1. Length of aging period
Fresh: These are the most simple cheeses. Here the milk is curdled and drained with very little further processing. These cheeses do not contain preservatives and are very prone to getting spoilt in a few days. A type of fresh cheese called whey cheese is made from the discarded whey obtained while preparing other cheeses.
Examples include fresh goats milk chèvre, cottage cheese, Mozzarella, Neufchâtel and Romanian Caş.
Examples of whey cheese are Provencal Brousse, Corsican Brocciu, Romanian Urda, Norwegian Geitost and Italian Ricotta.

2. Texture
Categorizing cheeses by their texture is very common. These cheeses are classified as soft, semi-soft and hard. Cheeses are literally made softer and firmer depending on the order. Softer cheeses have higher moisture content than harder cheeses. These are packed with high pressures in moulds.
Examples: Cheddar belongs to the semi-hard or hard cheese family. Colby and Monterey Jack are mild cheeses.

3. Method of preparing
Using Mold: Cheeses like Brie and Camembert are prepared using moulds like Penicillium candida or P. Camemberti. This mould forms a white crust with smooth and gooey texture. Goat's milk cheeses are treated with either white or blue mould. In these the mould grows with time. They have either soft or firm texture.
Examples of blue-mould cheeses are Gorgonzola, Stilton and Roquefort

4. Kind of milk used
According to the kind of milk used for cheese preparation, they are classified as cow cheese, goat cheese, sheep cheese and buffalo cheese.

Other classification is done on the basis of the place where it is found the most. Examples of such cheeses are

Italian Cheese
Dutch Cheese
Swiss Cheese
French Cheese
English Cheese
Vermont Cheese
Spanish Cheese
British Cheese
German Cheese
Irish Cheese
California Cheese

Other common types of cheeses are

Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan)
Cheddar
Brie
Gouda
Grana Padano
Emmental (Swiss)
Provolone
Mozzarella
Chevre
Gruyere
Gorgonzola
Feta
Stilton
Asiago
Roquefort
Manchego
Camembert
Pecorino Romano
Jarlsberg
Maytag
Ricotta
Havarti
Fontina
Raclette
Mascarpone
Edam
Limburger