Salty
Brined and salted: feta, halloumi, Pecorino Romano, cotija and akkawi.
Salt is in almost every cheese: it draws out whey, controls bacteria and seasons the paste. In some cheeses it is the leading note. Brined cheeses such as feta, halloumi, akkawi and nabulsi, hard grating cheeses such as Pecorino Romano, crumbly Mexican cotija and Bengal's small Bandel cheese are made to be salty, and they season the dishes they go into.
How salt gets in
Cheesemakers salt in three main ways. Dry salting rubs salt onto the rind or mixes it into milled curd, as with cheddar. Brine salting floats wheels in salt water for hours or days, as with Gouda and Parmigiano Reggiano. Brine storage keeps cheeses such as feta in salt water for their whole life, so they end up saltier still. Salt also slows ripening and firms the paste, which is part of why salty cheeses keep well in hot climates.
The salty classics
Pecorino Romano is among the saltiest of Italian cheeses, and in Roman kitchens it seasons cacio e pepe and amatriciana with little extra salt. Cotija, named after a town in the Mexican state of Michoacán, is crumbled over beans, elotes and tacos. Halloumi, akkawi and nabulsi are soaked to draw out salt before they are fried or used in sweets. Egypt's domiati is salted in the milk itself, before it is set, and Bandel cheese is small, dry and distinctly salty.
Using salty cheese
Taste before you season a dish with a salty cheese in it. Soak brined cheese in cool water or milk for an hour to soften the salt, changing the water once if needed. Salty cheeses pair well with sweet and juicy foods: watermelon with feta or halloumi in Greece and Cyprus, figs and honey, ripe tomatoes, and fresh grapes. They suit crisp white wines, lagers and, in the Levant and Turkey, a glass of strong black tea.
Worth knowing
- Feta: Brined Greek cheese
- Halloumi: Salty grilling cheese of Cyprus
- Pecorino Romano: Salty sheep's milk grating cheese
- Cotija: Crumbly salty cheese of Michoacán
- Akkawi: Levantine brined cheese
- Nabulsi cheese: Brined, spiced cheese of Nablus
- Domiati: Egyptian cheese salted in the milk
- Bandel cheese: Small salty cheese of Bengal
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.
Salty on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreParmesanParmigiano Reggiano
A hard, granular cow's-milk cheese aged at least a year in northern Italy.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreFetaφέτα
A crumbly Greek brined cheese made from sheep and goat milk.Sheep · Brined · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreGorgonzola
A creamy Italian blue cheese from Lombardy with two distinct styles.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇵🇰 Pakistan and 1 moreKadchgall
A hard, sweet and salty cylindrical cheese made from sheep or camel milk by Pashtun communities.Sheep · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇪🇸 SpainPata de mulo cheese
A tubular, hard ewe's-milk cheese from Spain, shaped like a mule's leg.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreBondostbond-ost
A firm Swedish cow's-milk cheese aged in brine for six to eight weeks.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇨🇳 ChinaNguri
A small, salty buffalo-milk cheese from Fujian served with rice congee.Buffalo · Fresh · Salty
🇹🇷 TurkeyGolot cheese
A granular, pressed Turkish whey cheese from the Eastern Black Sea region.Mixed · Semi-hard · Salty
🇻🇪 VenezuelaPalmitaqueso palmita
A fresh, salty cow's milk cheese from Venezuela's Zulia state, made in large wooden vats.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇹🇷 TurkeyVan herbed cheeseVan otlu peyniri
A semi-hard sheep's-milk cheese from eastern Turkey, infused with wild herbs and brined.Sheep · Semi-soft · Salty
🇳🇱 NetherlandsRoomano
An aged hard cow's-milk cheese from Friesland with less butterfat than standard Gouda.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇷🇴 RomaniaBrânză de coșuleț
A lightly smoked sheep's milk cheese from Transylvania, cured in fir bark.Sheep · Smoked · Salty
🇨🇾 Cyprus and 3 moreHalloumiχαλούμι
A squeaky, brined cheese from Cyprus that holds its shape when fried.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna
A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇬🇪 GeorgiaGuda cheeseგუდის ყველი
A salted sheep's-milk cheese ripened inside a leather wineskin in the Georgian mountains.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇮🇪 IrelandSt Tola
Handmade goat's milk cheese from Inagh, County Clare, ranging from fresh logs to aged wheels.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreBasket cheesesepet peyniri
A fresh, unsalted or lightly salted whey and curd cheese shaped in reed baskets from the Aegean coast.Goat · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇦🇹 Austria and 1 moreTyrolean grey cheeseTiroler Graukäse
A low-fat cow's milk acid-curd quark from the Tyrolean Alps with a moulded rind.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇪🇬 EgyptMishمش (meš)
A fermented Egyptian salty cheese aged in buttermilk brine until sharp and pungent.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇲🇽 MexicoPanela cheeseQueso panela
A fresh, white Mexican cow's-milk cheese that holds its shape when fried.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 FranceRoquefortRòcafòrt
A raw sheep's milk blue cheese aged in the Combalou caves of southern France.Sheep · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreGruyère
A hard, pressed Swiss cheese made from raw cow's milk, aged for several months.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreEdamEdammer
A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese aged in distinctive red wax spheres.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreBlue cheese
A family of cheeses defined by blue-green mold veins created through deliberate inoculation and piercing.Cow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino
A family of Italian hard sheep's-milk cheeses with protected status.Sheep · Hard · Buttery and creamy
🇮🇹 ItalyGrana Padano
A hard, grainy Italian cow's-milk cheese aged for at least nine months in the Po Valley.Cow · Hard · Nutty
🇸🇰 Slovakia and 5 moreBryndza
A tangy, crumbly sheep's milk cheese from Central and Eastern Europe.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreProcessed cheese
A meltable cheese blend made with emulsifying salts for stability and long shelf life.Mixed · Processed · Salty
🇧🇪 Belgium and 2 moreLimburger
A washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from Belgium known for its strong aroma and soft texture.Cow · Semi-soft · Salty
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKashkavalkaşkaval
A semi-hard yellow cheese from cow, sheep, or goat milk, popular across the Balkans and Turkey.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 FranceComté
A hard, cooked-pressed cow's milk cheese from eastern France, aged up to three years.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePecorino Romano
A hard, salty sheep's-milk cheese from Italy, aged at least five months and protected by EU law.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceFrench NeufchâtelNeufchâtel
A soft, grainy Normandy cow's-milk cheese with a bloomy rind, aged for two months.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇬🇪 Georgia and 1 moreSulguniსულგუნი
A brined, elastic Georgian cheese from Samegrelo, often deep-fried.Cow · Brined · Salty
🇺🇸 United StatesAmerican cheese
A mild, meltable processed cheese made from cheddar or Colby with sodium citrate.Cow · Processed · Salty
🇵🇱 PolandOscypek
A smoked, spindle-shaped sheep's milk cheese from Poland's Tatra Mountains.Sheep · Smoked · Salty
🇬🇧 United KingdomCaerphilly
A hard, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from South Wales with a mild lemony taste.Cow · Hard · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreCheshire
A dense, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from the English county of Cheshire.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceChaource
A soft-ripened cow's-milk cheese from north-eastern France with a white mould rind.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇳🇴 NorwayGamalostgammelost
A firm, sour Norwegian cheese made from skimmed cow's milk and aged for several weeks.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇱🇻 LatviaJāņi cheeseJāņu siers
A soft Latvian sour milk cheese flavoured with caraway seeds and eggs.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKefalotyriκεφαλοτύρι
A hard, salty Greek cheese made from sheep or goat milk, aged for grating or frying.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHavartiflødehavarti
A semi-soft Danish cow's-milk cheese with a buttery taste and small irregular eyes.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreAkkawiجبنة عكاوي
A white brined cow's milk cheese from the Levant named after Acre.Cow · Brined · Salty
🇫🇷 FrancePouligny-Saint-Pierre
A pyramidal goat cheese from central France with a mouldy rind and crumbly white paste.Goat · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainTetillaQueixo Tetilla
A soft, conical cow's-milk cheese from Galicia with a distinctive nipple-like peak.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCancoillotte
A runny French cheese made by melting metton, served hot or cold in the east.Cow · Processed · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 FrancePicodon
A small, spicy goat cheese from southern France with a rind that turns golden as it ages.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tyrolean grey cheese: Jürgele, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Guda cheese: Jonathan Cardy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cheshire: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia . Later versions, Public domain, source
- Caerphilly: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- French Neufchâtel: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pecorino Romano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Akkawi: Paul Joseph, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tetilla: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Gamalost: Quick fix, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pouligny-Saint-Pierre: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pecorino: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gruyère: Rolf Krahl ( Rotkraut ), CC BY 4.0, source
- American cheese: jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0, source
- Parmesan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feta: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Comté: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Edam: Yvwv, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cancoillotte: Popo le Chien, CC0, source
- Sulguni: Georgian Recipes at Georgia About, CC BY 3.0, source
- Halloumi: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Panela cheese: Pyb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Basket cheese: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ġbejna: Chattacha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pata de mulo cheese: Triplecaña, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- St Tola: HighKing, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brânză de coșuleț: Vlad.saileanu at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Golot cheese: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Van herbed cheese: Tanyel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mish: Reem Al-Kashif, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Roquefort: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Picodon: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Grana Padano: Claudia Castaldi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chaource: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blue cheese: No machine-readable author provided. Brookie assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Limburger: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Bryndza: Kagor, GFDL, source
- Oscypek: Pawel Swiegoda ( Paberu ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Gorgonzola: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kashkaval: Nnikolce, Public domain, source
- Kefalotyri: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Processed cheese: Rainer Z ..., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jāņi cheese: Xil, CC BY-SA 3.0, source