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.
🇦🇲 Armenia and 4 moreChechilչեչիլ
A brined, stringy pasta filata cheese from the Caucasus region.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Sardoberveghinu sardu
A hard, pressed sheep's milk cheese from Sardinia with two distinct age profiles.Sheep · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreSireneбяло саламурено сирене
A crumbly, brined white cheese from Bulgaria made with sheep or goat milk.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇪🇸 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
🇸🇪 SwedenVästerbottenVästerbottensost
A hard, salty Swedish cow's milk cheese aged at least a year in VästerbottenCow · Hard · Salty
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 moreNabulsi cheeseجبنة نابلسية
A white brined semi-hard cheese from Nablus, flavored with mahleb and mastic.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyRaschera
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Piedmont with a savory taste and ivory paste.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇧🇷 BrazilMinas cheesequeijo minas
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Brazil with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-soft · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceSelles-sur-Cher
A small cylindrical goat cheese with a grey-blue mould rind from Centre-Val de Loire.Goat · Bloomy rind · 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
🇸🇰 Slovakia and 1 moreKorbáčikkorbáčik (Slovak), korbacz (Polish)
A braided string cheese from the Orava region of Slovakia and Poland.Cow · Stretched curd · Salty
🇭🇷 CroatiaPag cheesePaški sir
A hard sheep's-milk cheese from Croatia's Pag island, aged up to eighteen months.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇹🇷 TurkeyBeyaz peynir
A salty Turkish brine cheese made from sheep, cow, or goat milk.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇪🇸 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
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWeisslackerWeißlacker
A pungent German cow's-milk cheese aged seven months with a whitewashed rind.Cow · Semi-soft · Pungent and funky
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreRumiجبنة رومى
A hard, salty Egyptian cow or buffalo milk cheese with a pungent aroma.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇨🇾 CyprusAnariαναρή
A fresh whey cheese from Cyprus made from sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Salty
🇩🇪 GermanyMilbenkäse
A German quark cheese ripened with living cheese mites in rye flour.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇫🇷 FranceSaint AgurSant Agur
A soft, double-cream French blue cheese with olive-green veins and a mild spicy taste.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇵🇹 PortugalCheese of PicoQueijo do Pico
A soft, salty cow's-milk cheese from the Azores island of Pico, aged for three weeks.Cow · Salty
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandBerner AlpkäseBerner Hobelkäse
A hard, hole-free Swiss cheese from the Bernese Alps, aged up to two years.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKopanistiΚοπανιστή
A soft, spicy Greek cheese from the Cyclades, made by kneading ripening curds.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainIboresQueso Ibores
A firm, salty goat cheese from Extremadura with a natural or paprika-rubbed rind.Goat · Semi-hard · Salty
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreDomiatiجبنه دمياطى
A soft, salty Egyptian white cheese salted before coagulation.Buffalo · Bloomy rind · 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
🇸🇪 SwedenÄdelost
A pasteurized cow's-milk blue cheese from Sweden with a creamy texture and sharp flavor.Cow · Blue · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇳🇴 NorwayPultost
A soft Norwegian sour milk cheese flavored with caraway seeds and preserved with salt.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇵🇱 PolandRedykołka
A smoked, salted sheep's milk cheese from Poland's Podhale region, shaped like animals or hearts.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceVieux-Boulogne
A soft, beer-washed cow's milk cheese from northern France known for its intense aroma.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRomano cheese
A hard, salty American grating cheese made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainSan Simón da Costa
A pear-shaped, smoked cow's milk cheese from Galicia with a smooth brown rind.Cow · Semi-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
🇮🇷 IranLighvan cheeseپنیر لیقوان
A sour brined sheep's milk curd cheese from the village of Liqvan in Iran.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇵🇾 ParaguayParaguay cheesekesú Paraguái
A soft, creamy cow's-milk cheese from the eastern wetlands of Paraguay.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇦🇲 ArmeniaMotalմոթալ
A soft, brined Armenian cheese aged in leather bags with wild thyme.Sheep · Brined · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino di Filiano
A firm sheep's milk cheese from Basilicata with PDO status since 2007.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyGrana
A family of hard, granular Italian cow's-milk cheeses known for grating.Cow · Hard · Nutty
🇧🇷 BrazilQueijo Coalho
A squeaky, semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Brazil, often grilled on sticks.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇵🇭 PhilippinesKesong putiKesong putî
A soft, unaged Filipino white cheese made from carabao or cow milk and curdled with acid.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇲🇽 MexicoCotija
A salty, aged cow's milk cheese from Michoacán that crumbles but does not melt.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
🇪🇸 SpainTupíformatge de tupí
A soft, creamy Catalan cheese fermented in a ceramic jar with strong liquor.Mixed · Tangy and lactic
🇦🇷 ArgentinaSardo
A hard, grating cow's milk cheese from Argentina with a mellow, salty flavor.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇳🇱 NetherlandsBoerenkaas
A Dutch semi-hard raw milk cheese with TSG protection, often spiced and farm-made.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇬🇷 GreeceXynomizithraΞινομυζήθρα
A soft, sour Greek whey cheese from Crete made with sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇩🇪 GermanySpundekäs
A spiced cream cheese spread from Northern Rhenish Hesse in Germany.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇧🇷 BrazilColony cheesequeijo de colônia
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from southern Brazil with a yellow crust and creamy interior.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Minas cheese: The original uploader was Hellkt at German Wikipedia . ( Original text, Public domain, source
- Friesian Clove: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ibores: No machine-readable author provided. Ardo Beltz assumed (based on copy, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- Västerbotten: Nata Uploaded by File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske), CC BY 2.0, source
- Saint Agur: Micah Anderson, Public domain, source
- Pecorino Sardo: The original uploader was Frankie816 at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Pag cheese: Silverije, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Beyaz peynir: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Anari: Zlerman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rumi: summer photo hobby, CC BY 2.0, source
- Romano cheese: Brian Boucheron, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sirene: Иван, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Redykołka: MOs810, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pecorino Toscano: Dan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tomme des Pyrénées: Julie333411, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ädelost: Jorchr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Korbáčik: Mariuszjbie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kopanisti: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pultost: Jan-Tore Egge, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- San Simón da Costa: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Domiati: MartinKassemJ120, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nabulsi cheese: رائد عزمي حموده, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grana: MOs810, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Raschera: F Ceragioli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Berner Alpkäse: Mike Lehmann, Mike Switzerland 11:02, 19 November 2006 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Torta del Casar: MollySVH, CC BY 2.0, source
- Milbenkäse: Benutzer:Dundak at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chechil: Valen1988, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cheese of Pico: Adriao, CC BY 3.0, source
- Weisslacker: Langinger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kesong puti: Shubert Ciencia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Cotija: Leslie Seaton, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pecorino di Filiano: Rlucia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Queijo Coalho: Carioca, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tzfat Cheese: Myself, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spundekäs: User:Kandschwar , edit by Rainer Z ..., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mahón: Slastic, Public domain, source
- Selles-sur-Cher: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Motal: Barseghian Lilia, CC0, source