Know your cheese
Rinds, styles, labels and what makes one cheese different from another.
- Can I eat the rind of cheese? Usually yes. Bloomy and washed rinds are made to be eaten; wax, cloth and plastic coverings are not.
- Cheese Basics Everything I wish someone had told me about cheese: how it is made, the seven types, and how to buy, store, serve, eat and cook with it.
- Cheese words to know Short definitions of the words you'll meet: paste, rind, curds and whey, rennet, bloomy and washed rinds, annatto and more.
- How do you pronounce cheese names? A quick guide to saying Gruyère, Gouda, Manchego, Gorgonzola and other tricky cheese names.
- The 7 types of cheese There are hundreds of cheeses, but nearly all of them fit into one of seven groups, sorted by texture and how they're ripened.
- What are the crunchy white crystals in aged cheese? Those crunchy white specks are harmless crystals that form as cheese ages. They're usually a sign of a well-matured cheese.
- What are the different types of cheese? Cheeses are usually grouped by milk type and by texture: fresh, bloomy rind, semi-soft, washed rind, firm, hard and blue.
- What does Brie taste like? Mild, creamy and buttery, with a slightly mushroomy rind. The flavor gets stronger as it ripens.
- What does DOP or PDO mean on a cheese? It means the cheese's name is legally protected and it must be made in a specific place, in a specific way.
- What is burrata? A fresh Italian cheese with a mozzarella shell and a creamy, stringy center.
- What is the difference between Brie and Camembert? Mostly size and richness. Both are bloomy-rind cheeses, and Brie is usually the bigger, richer one.
- What is the difference between raw milk and pasteurized milk cheese? Pasteurized cheese is made from heated milk. Raw milk cheese isn't, and in the US it must be aged at least 60 days. Here is what that means.
- What is the difference between ricotta, mascarpone, cottage cheese and cream cheese? Four soft, mild, fresh cheeses that get mixed up. The difference comes down to what they're made from and how they're made.
- What is the outer layer of brie cheese? It's the rind, a white "bloomy" rind grown from a harmless mold, Penicillium candidum. In most cases you can eat it.
- Why does Swiss cheese have holes? Bacteria make carbon dioxide as the cheese ripens, and the gas forms bubbles called eyes. Tiny bits of hay may help them start.