Buttery and creamy

Rich and rounded: Brie, Havarti, young Gouda, Fontina and burrata.

Buttery cheeses are rich, round and smooth, with the taste of fresh butter or cream and a texture that melts on the tongue. The flavour comes from milk fat and from diacetyl, the compound that gives butter its scent, which some cheese cultures make. Brie, Havarti, Butterkäse, young Gouda, Fontina, Brillat-Savarin, Torta del Casar and burrata are among the best-loved buttery cheeses.

Fat and diacetyl

The more fat a cheese holds, the creamier it feels. Double- and triple-cream cheeses have extra cream added to the milk; under French rules they must reach at least 60 and 75 per cent fat in the dry matter. Some starter cultures, among them certain strains of Lactococcus and Leuconostoc, turn the citrate in milk into diacetyl, adding a buttery aroma. Cheeses made with these cultures, such as Havarti and many Goudas, taste of butter even when their fat is moderate.

Buttery cheeses of the world

Havarti from Denmark and Butterkäse from Germany, whose name means butter cheese, are mild slicing cheeses. Fontina from the Aosta Valley melts into fonduta. Brillat-Savarin and Chaource are rich bloomy cheeses of France, and young Gouda is supple and sweet. Spain's Torta del Casar, a sheep's milk cheese set with thistle, is so soft when ripe that the top crust is sliced off and the inside spooned out. Burrata, broken open, pours cream across the plate.

Serving and pairing

Buttery cheeses are best at room temperature, when the fat softens and the aroma opens. They suit crisp bread, plain crackers and fruit with some acidity, such as apples, grapes or berries, which cut through the richness. Sparkling wine is a classic match, as with Champagne and Chaource from the same region, as are light lagers and a pot of tea. A spoonful of honey or a few toasted nuts adds contrast without hiding the cream.

Worth knowing

Brie de Meaux: Creamy bloomy rind of Île-de-France
Brillat-Savarin: Triple-cream cheese of Burgundy and Normandy
Havarti: Danish washed-curd cheese
Butterkäse: German butter cheese
Fontina: Melting cheese of the Aosta Valley
Gouda: Sweet and supple when young
Torta del Casar: Spoonable sheep's milk cheese of Extremadura
Burrata: Cream-filled mozzarella of Apulia

Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.