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
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.
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreFetaφέτα
A crumbly Greek brined cheese made from sheep and goat milk.Sheep · Brined · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇪 GeorgiaGuda cheeseგუდის ყველი
A salted sheep's-milk cheese ripened inside a leather wineskin in the Georgian mountains.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇹🇷 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
🇵🇰 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
🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna
A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇪🇸 SpainPata de mulo cheese
A tubular, hard ewe's-milk cheese from Spain, shaped like a mule's leg.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇷🇴 RomaniaBrânză de coșuleț
A lightly smoked sheep's milk cheese from Transylvania, cured in fir bark.Sheep · Smoked · 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
🇫🇷 FranceRoquefortRòcafòrt
A raw sheep's milk blue cheese aged in the Combalou caves of southern France.Sheep · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 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
🇸🇰 Slovakia and 5 moreBryndza
A tangy, crumbly sheep's milk cheese from Central and Eastern Europe.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇧🇬 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
🇮🇹 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
🇵🇱 PolandOscypek
A smoked, spindle-shaped sheep's milk cheese from Poland's Tatra Mountains.Sheep · Smoked · Salty
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKefalotyriκεφαλοτύρι
A hard, salty Greek cheese made from sheep or goat milk, aged for grating or frying.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Sardoberveghinu sardu
A hard, pressed sheep's milk cheese from Sardinia with two distinct age profiles.Sheep · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇪🇸 SpainTorta del CasarTorta del Casal
A creamy sheep's milk cheese from Extremadura, coagulated with cardoon and aged for at least two months.Sheep · Semi-soft · Salty
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 moreNabulsi cheeseجبنة نابلسية
A white brined semi-hard cheese from Nablus, flavored with mahleb and mastic.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMizithraμυζήθρα
A fresh Greek whey cheese made from sheep or goat milk, eaten soft or dried for grating.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇭🇷 CroatiaPag cheesePaški sir
A hard sheep's-milk cheese from Croatia's Pag island, aged up to eighteen months.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇸🇰 Slovakia and 1 moreKorbáčikkorbáčik (Slovak), korbacz (Polish)
A braided string cheese from the Orava region of Slovakia and Poland.Cow · Stretched curd · Salty
🇨🇾 CyprusAnariαναρή
A fresh whey cheese from Cyprus made from sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Toscano
A firm Tuscan sheep's milk cheese with PDO status since 1996.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceTomme des PyrénéesToma de Pirenèus
A rustic pressed cheese from the French Pyrenees, made from cow, sheep or goat milk.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇵🇱 PolandRedykołka
A smoked, salted sheep's milk cheese from Poland's Podhale region, shaped like animals or hearts.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇮🇷 IranLighvan cheeseپنیر لیقوان
A sour brined sheep's milk curd cheese from the village of Liqvan in Iran.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇦🇲 ArmeniaMotalմոթալ
A soft, brined Armenian cheese aged in leather bags with wild thyme.Sheep · Brined · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRomano cheese
A hard, salty American grating cheese made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇬🇷 GreeceAnthotyrosΑνθότυρος
A traditional Greek whey cheese made from sheep or goat milk, available in fresh and dry forms.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino di Filiano
A firm sheep's milk cheese from Basilicata with PDO status since 2007.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇳🇱 NetherlandsBoerenkaas
A Dutch semi-hard raw milk cheese with TSG protection, often spiced and farm-made.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇮🇱 IsraelTzfat Cheeseגבינה צפתית
A semi-hard salty cheese from Safed, originally made with sheep's milk and molded in baskets.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇬🇷 GreeceXynomizithraΞινομυζήθρα
A soft, sour Greek whey cheese from Crete made with sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇪🇸 SpainMallorcaformatge mallorquí
A semi-hard cow, goat or sheep milk cheese from the Balearic Islands with an olive-oiled rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇽🇰 Kosovo and 2 moreSharr cheeseDjathë i Sharrit / Шарски сир
A hard, salty cow and sheep milk cheese from the Šar Mountains of Kosovo.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇧🇬 BulgariaCherni VitЧерни Вит
A soft sheep's milk cheese from Bulgaria with a naturally green mold crust.Sheep · Salty
🇺🇦 UkraineHutsul sheep bryndzyaгуцульська овеча бриндзя
A soft, crumbly sheep's-milk cheese from the Ukrainian Carpathians, ripened and salted by hand.Sheep · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceCazelle de Saint AffriqueCazelle de Sant Afric
A soft, pungent sheep's milk cheese from the Aveyron department of France.Sheep · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇪🇬 EgyptEgyptian cheeseجبنة (gebna)
A broad category of cheeses central to Egyptian cuisine, ranging from fresh white types to aged blue varieties.Cow · Fresh · Salty
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Guda cheese: Jonathan Cardy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pecorino Romano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Friesian Clove: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lighvan cheese: farsnews.ir, CC BY 4.0, source
- Anthotyros: Giorgos ab1234, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mizithra: grongar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pecorino Sardo: The original uploader was Frankie816 at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Pecorino: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pag cheese: Silverije, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Anari: Zlerman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Romano cheese: Brian Boucheron, CC BY 2.0, source
- Redykołka: MOs810, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pecorino Toscano: Dan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sharr cheese: ThinkTank123, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tomme des Pyrénées: Julie333411, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feta: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Korbáčik: Mariuszjbie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Motal: Barseghian Lilia, CC0, source
- Nabulsi cheese: رائد عزمي حموده, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- Brânză de coșuleț: Vlad.saileanu at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Van herbed cheese: Tanyel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Torta del Casar: MollySVH, CC BY 2.0, source
- Roquefort: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Blue cheese: No machine-readable author provided. Brookie assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bryndza: Kagor, GFDL, source
- Oscypek: Pawel Swiegoda ( Paberu ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Kashkaval: Nnikolce, Public domain, source
- Kefalotyri: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pecorino di Filiano: Rlucia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tzfat Cheese: Myself, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mallorca: Tamorlan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hutsul sheep bryndzya: Ukrinform TV, CC BY 3.0, source
- Egyptian cheese: Tour d'Afrique, CC BY 2.0, source