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EveryCheese

Nutty

Hazelnut, almond and toasted notes: Gruyere, Comte, Emmental and aged Manchego.

Nutty cheeses taste of hazelnut, almond, walnut or toasted bread. The notes build slowly as a cheese ages and its proteins and fats break down, so they are strongest in Alpine wheels such as Comté, Gruyère, Beaufort and Emmental, in aged Manchego and Gouda, and in Parmigiano Reggiano. Sheep's milk brings a nuttiness of its own, even in younger cheeses.

How nuttiness develops

During ripening, enzymes from the rennet, the milk and the bacteria cut proteins into peptides and amino acids, and fats into fatty acids. Some of these products, together with compounds made by propionic bacteria in Emmental-type cheeses, read on the tongue as nutty and sweet. The high cooking temperature of Alpine curd and the slow, cool ageing of large wheels favour these notes. Age shows clearly: a young Comté tastes of fresh milk and butter, a two-year Comté of roasted hazelnut and broth.

Pasture and the vat

What the animals eat shapes the result. Summer cheese made from the milk of cows on flowering mountain pasture tends to be fruitier and more nutty than winter cheese made from hay-fed milk. The makers of Comté have drawn up a wheel of aromas that lists dozens of notes, from hazelnut and walnut to toasted bread, brown butter and cocoa, so that tasters can describe each wheel. Sheep's milk cheeses such as Manchego and Ossau-Iraty have a nutty sweetness from the milk's high fat.

Using nutty cheese

Nutty cheeses are among the best for cooking, since they melt smoothly and their flavour holds in heat. Gruyère and Comté go into fondue, croque monsieur, French onion soup and gratins, and Emmental fills cheese sandwiches across Europe. On a board, they pair with walnuts, dried fruit and dry white wines, and vin jaune, the yellow wine of the Jura, is the classic match for Comté. Brown ale and dry cider suit them too.

Worth knowing

  • Comté: Jura wheel, nuttier with every month
  • Gruyère: Swiss wheel of fondue and gratins
  • Beaufort: Savoie wheel from mountain pasture
  • Emmental: Sweet and nutty, with big holes
  • Manchego: Aged sheep's milk cheese of La Mancha
  • Ossau-Iraty: Pyrenean sheep's milk cheese
  • Parmigiano Reggiano: Nutty, savoury and crystalline

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.

Nutty on EveryCheese

The cheeses written up so far, best known first.

StyleFreshBrinedStretched curdBloomy rindLacticWashed rindSemi-softSemi-hardAlpineHardBlueSmokedWheyDriedProcessed
MilkCowGoatSheepBuffaloYakCamelMixedOther
🇦🇹 AustriaLüneberg A saffron-tinted cow's-milk cheese from the Austrian Alps, bridging Swiss and German styles.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇦🇹 AustriaChorherrenkäse A mild, semi-hard Austrian cow's milk cheese with a buttery taste and white rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy 🇮🇪 IrelandWicklow Farmhouse Cheese A range of handmade cow's milk cheeses from Arklow, Ireland, spanning soft bries to hard cheddars.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty 🇮🇪 IrelandBay Lough Cheese A self-taught Irish cheddar-style cheese aged in waxed wheels.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreEdamEdammer A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese aged in distinctive red wax spheres.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇫🇷 FranceComté A hard, cooked-pressed cow's milk cheese from eastern France, aged up to three years.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇳🇱 NetherlandsMaasdam A semi-hard Dutch cow's milk cheese with holes, aged for one to three months.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreCaciocavallo A stretched-curd cheese from southern Italy shaped like a teardrop and aged to develop a hard rind.Cow · Stretched curd · Nutty 🇫🇷 FranceLaguioleLa Guiòla A semi-hard pressed cow's milk cheese from the Aubrac plateau in southern France.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇳🇱 Netherlands and 1 moreLeerdammer A Dutch semihard cow's-milk cheese with holes and a sweet nutty taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel 🇳🇱 NetherlandsLeyden cheeseLeidse kaas A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese flavoured with cumin and caraway seeds.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSwiss cheese A yellow, medium-hard cheese with characteristic holes, produced globally in various styles.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇬🇧 United KingdomLancashire cheese A cow's-milk cheese from England with creamy, nutty, or crumbly varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇸🇪 SwedenHerrgårdsost A semi-hard Swedish cow's milk cheese with a waxed rind and nutty flavor.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇫🇷 FranceTome des Bauges A pressed cow's-milk cheese from the French Alps with a grey-brown rind and hazelnut aroma.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇪🇸 SpainMahónformatge de Maó / queso de Mahón A cow's-milk cheese from Menorca that ranges from soft and mild to hard and sharp.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy 🇸🇪 SwedenGrevé A semi-hard Swedish cow's-milk cheese with a nutty, slightly sweet flavour.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇸🇪 SwedenPrästost A semi-hard Swedish cow's-milk cheese with a mild, nutty flavour and a washed rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇮🇹 ItalySpressa delle Giudicarie A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the Giudicarie valley in Trentino-Alto Adige.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇳🇱 NetherlandsBoerenkaas A Dutch semi-hard raw milk cheese with TSG protection, often spiced and farm-made.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty 🇮🇹 ItalyFormai de Mut dell'Alta Valle Brembana A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the high pastures of Lombardy, Italy.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel 🇳🇱 NetherlandsParrano A semi-firm Dutch cow's milk cheese aged five months with a nutty, salty-sweet profile.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇮🇹 ItalyPallone di Gravina A firm pasta filata cow's milk cheese from southern Italy, aged for at least a year.Cow · Stretched curd · Nutty 🇺🇸 United StatesBrick cheese A Wisconsin cow's-milk cheese shaped like a brick with an orange rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel 🇨🇦 CanadaFriulano A rindless Canadian cow's-milk cheese with a salty hazelnut flavour, aged to improve its character.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty 🇬🇧 United KingdomCheddar A pressed cow's-milk cheese from England, defined by the cheddaring process and long aging.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇬🇧 United KingdomLancashire cheese A cow's-milk cheese from England with three main styles: creamy, tasty, and crumbly.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every Monday: seven cheeses you may not know, the cheese days of the week ahead, and one dish explained step by step.