From what I can tell, cheese is traditionally broken into four different types: soft, semi-soft, semi-hard and hard. But this really doesn’t seem specific enough and seems to leave much to be desired. At Artisanal, they classify them by the above and even throw in kosher, raw milk, and leaf-wrapped; which, while indeed useful at times, seems like the categories would often overlap and a cheese that is kosher may also be firm. But, is this really necessary?
I tend to agree with Murray’s, while there may be hundreds of different types of cheese they all fit somewhere within the following seven categories:
- Fresh - Non-aged, soft, moist cheeses. These cheeses do not have a rind.
- Bloomy rind - These cheeses are recognizable by their powdery white rinds—they are ripened through exposure to mold spores which improves the texture.
- Semi-soft - Unique because they are pressed. Semi-soft cheeses often have semi-hard varieties, but production is generally the same.
- Washed rind - You'll know a washed rind cheese by the smell—funky feet, locker room smell that you get from Brevibacterium linens (B. linens). They typically have an orangey red color which is associated with B. linens.
- Firm - Firm cheeses have less moisture than soft or semi-soft cheeses but aren't aged quite as long as hard cheeses.
- Hard - These cheeses are aged for a long time, anywhere from months to years. Hard cheese's lack of moisture makes them great for melting.
- Blue - Blue cheeses are cultured with the mold Penicillium to give them their blue or greenish blue color—typically presenting as veins.