Cheese is usually sorted into seven types, based on how moist it is and how it's ripened: fresh, bloomy rind, semi-soft, washed rind, firm, hard and blue. There are hundreds of individual cheeses, but nearly all of them fit one of these groups. Once you know the group, you know a lot about a cheese: how it's made, how long it keeps and what to do with it.
The 7 types of cheese at a glance
| Type | What it's like | How it's made | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh | Soft, moist, no rind | Curdled with acid, drained and eaten, with little or no aging | Ricotta, mascarpone, fresh mozzarella, chèvre |
| Bloomy rind | Soft and creamy, with a white velvety rind | A white mold grows on the surface and ripens the cheese from the outside in | Brie, Camembert |
| Semi-soft | Supple and sliceable, usually mild | Pressed, then aged only briefly | Havarti, Fontina, Muenster |
| Washed rind | Sticky orange or pink rind, strong smell | The rind is washed over and over while it ages | Époisses, Taleggio |
| Firm | Solid enough to slice, grate or cube | Cut, heated and pressed, then aged for months | Cheddar, Gruyère, Manchego |
| Hard | Dry, dense, often grainy | Low-moisture curd aged for a year or more | Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano |
| Blue | Veins of blue-green mold, sharp and salty | Pierced so a mold can grow inside | Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton |
The 7 types of cheese, explained
1. Fresh cheese
Fresh cheeses are made to be eaten soon. They're not aged at all, or only for a few days, so they're soft and moist and have no rind. The milk is curdled with acid (like lemon juice or vinegar) or a bacterial culture, sometimes with a little rennet, then drained. Because they hold so much water, they spoil faster than aged cheeses, so buy them close to when you'll use them.
Examples: ricotta, mascarpone, cottage cheese, cream cheese, chèvre, burrata and fresh mozzarella. More about fresh cheese →
2. Bloomy rind cheese
Bloomy rind cheeses have a soft, white, velvety coat. The coat is a mold, usually Penicillium candidum, added to the milk or sprayed on the surface of the young cheese. As it grows, it softens the cheese from the outside in, so older wheels are runnier near the rind. The rind is edible, and most people eat it. Triple-crèmes are bloomy rinds with extra cream added to the milk.
Examples: Brie, Camembert, Truffle Tremor, Robiola Oro and Robiola Bosina. More about bloomy rind cheese →
3. Semi-soft cheese
Semi-soft cheeses are only a little firmer than soft ones. The curds are pressed to push out more whey than in a fresh or bloomy cheese, but the cheese is aged only briefly, so it stays moist. They're supple, sliceable and generally mild, and they melt well, which is why you find them in sandwiches and grilled cheese. Some also have a washed rind.
Examples: Havarti, Fontina, Muenster, Chaumes, Morbier and Monterey Jack. More about semi-soft cheese →
4. Washed rind cheese
These are the famously smelly cheeses, with a sticky orange or pink rind. While they age, the rind is washed again and again with brine, beer, wine or spirits. That keeps the surface moist and salty, which suits bacteria such as Brevibacterium linens. The bacteria give the rind its color and its strong smell. The smell is much stronger than the taste, and the inside is often milder than you'd guess.
Examples: Époisses, Taleggio, Livarot, Pont-l'Évêque and Chaumes. Wrap them well in the fridge so the smell doesn't spread. More about washed rind cheese →
5. Firm cheese
Firm cheeses are solid enough to slice, grate or cube, but not so dry that they crumble. The curds are cut small, heated and pressed to push out most of the whey, and the wheels are aged for months in a cool, humid cellar. They usually have a natural rind. They're the all-rounders of the cheese world: good on a board, in sandwiches and in cooking. Gruyère and Emmental are the classic fondue cheeses.
Examples: Gruyère, cheddar, Manchego, Emmental and other Swiss styles and Jarlsberg. More about firm cheese →
6. Hard cheese
Hard cheeses are aged the longest, often a year or more, until they're dry, dense and full of flavor. They're made from low-moisture curd and lose water as they age, which concentrates the flavor. They're the cheeses you grate over pasta, soup and salad, or shave onto a board. The crunchy bits you sometimes find in them are harmless crystals (here's why).
Examples: Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano, aged Gouda and Paški sir. More about hard cheese →
7. Blue cheese
Blue cheeses are shot through with blue-green veins of mold. The milk is inoculated with a mold such as Penicillium roqueforti, and the cheese is pierced with needles so air can reach the inside. The mold grows along those channels to form the veins. They're sharp, salty and tangy, and range from creamy to crumbly.
Examples: Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton and St. Clemens. Read the full guide to blue cheese →
Soft vs hard cheese
You'll often see cheese sorted more simply into four groups: soft, semi-soft, semi-hard and hard. The seven types above are a finer version of the same idea. What matters is moisture. The more water a cheese holds, the softer it is, and the shorter it keeps. The more it has dried out while aging, the harder it is, and the longer it lasts.
| Simple group | Types that fit it | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Soft | Fresh, bloomy rind, and many washed rind cheeses | Ricotta, Brie, Époisses |
| Semi-soft | Semi-soft | Havarti, Muenster |
| Semi-hard | Firm | Cheddar, Gruyère, Manchego |
| Hard | Hard | Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano |
Blue cheese doesn't fit neatly into this system because it can be soft and creamy or hard and crumbly. That's one reason it gets its own type.
How long a cheese keeps follows the same rule. Once opened, fresh cheeses last about a week, Brie and Camembert one to two weeks, semi-soft and semi-firm cheeses three to four weeks, and hard cheeses a month or more. See How long does cheese last?
Types of cheese by milk
Cheese can also be sorted by the animal the milk comes from. The milk affects the flavor and the richness of the cheese. Goat's milk cheeses tend to be tangier. Sheep's and water buffalo milk are the richest in butterfat, which suits creamy cheeses like mozzarella.
- Cow's milk: Brie, cheddar, Gruyère, Parmigiano Reggiano, Gorgonzola
- Goat's milk: chèvre and other goat cheeses
- Sheep's milk: Manchego, Roquefort, Pecorino Romano
- Water buffalo milk: mozzarella di bufala
- Mixed milks: some cheeses blend two or three. Ibérico is made from cow's, sheep's and goat's milk.
Other ways cheese is sorted
- By origin. Some cheeses, like Parmigiano Reggiano and Roquefort, have a protected name. What DOP and PDO mean on a cheese.
- Raw milk or pasteurized. What's the difference?
- Natural or processed. What is processed cheese?
- Vegetarian or not. It depends on the rennet. Is cheese vegetarian?
Common questions about types of cheese
How many types of cheese are there?
Seven main types, by the system used on this page. There are hundreds of individual cheeses, and every one fits one of the seven. Other systems use four groups (soft, semi-soft, semi-hard and hard) or add categories like milk type.
What type of cheese is Brie? Cheddar? Parmesan?
Brie is a bloomy rind cheese, cheddar is a firm cheese, and Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) is a hard cheese.
Which types of cheese melt best?
Semi-soft and firm cheeses melt well. Gruyère and Emmental are the classic fondue cheeses. How well a cheese melts also depends on its age and how it's heated: see why melted cheese turns greasy or stringy.
Which types of cheese should I put on a cheese board?
Pick three to five that are different from each other, such as something fresh or soft, something semi-firm, something hard and maybe a blue. See how to build a cheese board.
Can I eat the rind?
Bloomy and washed rinds are made to be eaten. Natural rinds are up to you. Wax, cloth and plastic are not. See Can I eat the rind of cheese?