Sharp and tangy-aged
The bite of long-aged cheddar, Provolone piccante and old Pecorino.
Sharp is the bite at the back of the mouth that comes with age: the tang of extra-mature cheddar, provolone piccante, old pecorino and aged Gouda. It is a mix of acidity, salt and the products of protein and fat breakdown, and it grows stronger the longer a cheese ripens. In North America, cheddar is even sold by sharpness, from mild through sharp to extra sharp.
What makes a cheese sharp
As cheese ripens, enzymes cut proteins into shorter pieces. Some of these peptides taste bitter or biting, and amino acids, fatty acids and sulphur compounds add their own edges. In cheddar, acidity, salt and these breakdown products together give the familiar tang. Provolone piccante is made with rennet paste from kids or lambs, whose fat-splitting enzymes release sharp, peppery fatty acids. Similar traditional rennets give Pecorino Romano and some other southern Italian cheeses their bite.
Cheddar by age
British cheddar is labelled mild, medium, mature, extra mature and vintage, ranging from a few months old to well over a year. American cheddars run from mild to sharp and extra sharp, and some makers in Wisconsin, Vermont and Canada age blocks for many years. The sharpest are often crumbly, with small white crystals. Clothbound farmhouse cheddars tend to be deep and savoury rather than simply sharp, since the cloth lets the cheese breathe and mellow.
Using sharp cheese
A little sharp cheese goes far. It seasons macaroni cheese, Welsh rarebit, cheese scones and gratins, and stands up to pickles and chutney in a ploughman's lunch. Mixed with a milder melting cheese, it adds depth without turning a sauce grainy. Apples, pears, oatcakes and fruit cake suit it on a board, and strong ale, dry cider and port are classic partners. Very old Gouda and pecorino are good with a drizzle of honey.
Worth knowing
- Cheddar: From mild to vintage and extra sharp
- Provolone: The piccante kind, made with kid or lamb rennet
- Pecorino Romano: Salty and biting
- Gouda: Sharp and sweet when very old
- Asiago: Sharp when aged as stravecchio
- Dry Jack: Aged Monterey Jack of California
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.
Sharp and tangy-aged 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
🇦🇺 AustraliaCheer
A mature cheddar cheese made in Australia by Warrnambool Cheese and Butter.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇦🇱 AlbaniaMishavin
A soft, crumbly Albanian cheese aged in skins and wood from sheep or cow milk.Sheep · Buttery and creamy
🇪🇬 EgyptMishمش (meš)
A fermented Egyptian salty cheese aged in buttermilk brine until sharp and pungent.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceRoquefortRòcafòrt
A raw sheep's milk blue cheese aged in the Combalou caves of southern France.Sheep · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇳🇱 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
🇮🇹 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
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreProvolone
A semi-hard Italian stretched-curd cheese aged for at least four months.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇫🇷 FranceFrench NeufchâtelNeufchâtel
A soft, grainy Normandy cow's-milk cheese with a bloomy rind, aged for two months.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇮🇹 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
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreSbrinz
A very hard, full-fat cow's-milk cheese from Central Switzerland aged for over two years.Cow · Hard · Savoury and brothy
🇪🇸 SpainCabralesqueso de Cabrales
A pungent blue cheese from the Picos de Europa mountains of Asturias, Spain.Mixed · Blue · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇬🇷 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
🇫🇷 FranceBleu des CaussesBlau dels Causses
A raw cow's milk blue cheese aged in the limestone caves of southern France.Cow · Blue · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FrancePicodon
A small, spicy goat cheese from southern France with a rind that turns golden as it ages.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇸🇪 SwedenVästerbottenVästerbottensost
A hard, salty Swedish cow's milk cheese aged at least a year in VästerbottenCow · 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
🇮🇹 ItalyRaschera
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Piedmont with a savory taste and ivory paste.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇬🇧 United KingdomShropshire Blue
A pasteurised cow's milk blue cheese with an orange rind and sharp flavour.Cow · Blue · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalyCastelmagno
A semi-hard Italian cheese from Piedmont with blue veining and a sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreRumiجبنة رومى
A hard, salty Egyptian cow or buffalo milk cheese with a pungent aroma.Cow · Hard · 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
🇸🇪 SwedenÄdelost
A pasteurized cow's-milk blue cheese from Sweden with a creamy texture and sharp flavor.Cow · Blue · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalySalvaSalva cremasco
A washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Lombardy, aged for several months.Cow · Washed rind · Savoury and brothy
🇪🇸 SpainValdeónQueso de Valdeón
A Spanish blue cheese from León wrapped in sycamore or chestnut leavesCow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalyFormaggio di fossa
A sharp Italian cheese aged in sealed underground pits for a distinct anaerobic fermentation.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇬🇧 United KingdomDorset Blue Vinny
A hard, crumbly cow's-milk blue cheese from Dorset with a strong taste and protected status.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 1 moreKanterkaas
A hard Dutch cow's milk cheese flavored with cumin and cloves, aged in Friesland.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreDubliner
A hard, granular Irish cow's-milk cheese aged for at least a year.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreAura
A Finnish cow's-milk blue cheese aged for six or twelve weeks.Cow · Blue · Salty
🇳🇴 NorwayKraftkar
A Norwegian blue cheese made from cow's milk and cream in Nordmøre.Cow · Blue · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceBucheronBûcheron
A semi-aged goat's milk cheese from France shaped like a short log with a white rind.Goat · Bloomy rind · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇬🇧 United KingdomBanbury cheese
A historic English cow's-milk cheese from Oxfordshire, known for its thin rounds and sharp taste.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇦🇹 AustriaMondseer
A semi-hard Austrian cow's milk cheese with a washed rind and mild sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇺🇸 United StatesPinconning cheese
A semi-hard American Colby-style cow's milk cheese aged to various sharpness levels.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandDer Scharfe Maxx
A pungent Swiss hard cheese made from thermized cow's milk in Thurgau.Cow · Hard · Pungent and funky
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Dorset Blue Vinny: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Cabrales: PDPhoto.org, Public domain, source
- Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shropshire Blue: Benoît Prieur, CC0, source
- French Neufchâtel: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pecorino Romano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Formaggio di fossa: Zeugma fr ( talk ) (Antoine FLEURY-GOBERT), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Västerbotten: Nata Uploaded by File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske), CC BY 2.0, source
- Castelmagno: Marco Plassio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Agur: Micah Anderson, Public domain, source
- Pecorino Sardo: The original uploader was Frankie816 at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Rumi: summer photo hobby, CC BY 2.0, source
- Der Scharfe Maxx: Balise42, CC BY 4.0, source
- Parmesan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feta: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ädelost: Jorchr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Edam: Yvwv, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Valdeón: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mishavin: Tizilohja25, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kanterkaas: AlexanderVanLoon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mish: Reem Al-Kashif, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sbrinz: Roy Egloff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Raschera: F Ceragioli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Roquefort: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Milbenkäse: Benutzer:Dundak at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Picodon: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Grana Padano: Claudia Castaldi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Blue cheese: No machine-readable author provided. Brookie assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bleu des Causses: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bryndza: Kagor, GFDL, source
- Provolone: Lenore Edman, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kefalotyri: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dubliner: B137, CC0, source
- Aura: Suvi Korhonen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kraftkar: Bernt Rostad, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bucheron: Quinn Dombrowski, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Banbury cheese: Unknown author, Public domain, source