Sweet and caramel
Caramel and brown butter: aged Gouda, brunost, Parmigiano crystals and Mimolette.
Some cheeses taste distinctly sweet, of caramel, butterscotch, brown butter or toffee. In a few the sweetness is real sugar, as in brunost, made by boiling whey until its milk sugar caramelises. In most it comes from long ageing, as in old Gouda, Mimolette and Parmigiano Reggiano, where breakdown products and crystals give a sweet, savoury depth. And the fresh cheese in Indian sweets carries the sugar of its syrup.
Caramel from whey
Brunost and the other Scandinavian whey cheeses, such as mysost and the spreadable prim, are cooked for hours until the lactose in the whey browns, as milk sugar and proteins react in the heat. The result tastes of fudge and dulce de leche, with a sour, goaty edge in geitost. India's khoa, milk reduced slowly in an open pan until it is a thick paste, is a close relative in method, though it is not a cheese, and it is the base of many sweets alongside chhena.
Old Gouda and Mimolette
Gouda aged for two years or more turns hard and deep amber, with crunchy crystals and a flavour of butterscotch and toasted nuts. Dutch cheesemakers sell it as oude, old, and overjarig, over a year. Mimolette, the orange ball cheese of the Lille area, coloured with annatto, is aged with cheese mites that leave its rind rough and cratered, and old Mimolette tastes of hazelnut and caramel. Long-aged Parmigiano Reggiano and Comté have a similar sweetness behind their savoury depth.
Sweet with fresh cheese
Many of the world's sweets are made from fresh cheese. Chhena is shaped and cooked in syrup for rasgulla, baked with sugar and semolina for chhena poda, and cooked with sugar for sandesh. Ricotta fills Sicilian cannoli and cassata, quark and tvorog make German and Russian cheesecakes, and akkawi lies beneath syrup and pastry in kunafa. In these the cheese gives body and a gentle tang that keeps the sugar in balance.
Worth knowing
- Brunost: Norwegian caramelised whey cheese
- Gouda: Butterscotch-sweet when very old
- Mimolette: Orange ball cheese aged with mites
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Sweet and savoury when long-aged
- Rasgulla: Chhena balls in light syrup
- Sandesh: Bengali sweet of chhena and sugar
- Chhena poda: Baked cheese sweet of Odisha
- Knafeh: Levantine cheese pastry in syrup
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.
Sweet and caramel on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRicotta
A fresh Italian whey cheese made by reheating leftover proteins from other cheesemaking batches.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇪 IrelandCoolea
A wax-rinded cow's milk cheese from County Cork with sweet, caramelly notes.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇳🇱 NetherlandsRoomano
An aged hard cow's-milk cheese from Friesland with less butterfat than standard Gouda.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇳🇴 NorwayFløtemysost
A mild brown cheese from Norway made with cow's milk and cream.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreGruyère
A hard, pressed Swiss cheese made from raw cow's milk, aged for several months.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreQuarkTvorog
A fresh, acid-set cow's milk cheese with a smooth texture and mild taste.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 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 2 moreAsiago
A pressed cow's milk cheese from the Veneto plateau, sold fresh or aged.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKhoa
A soft South Asian cheese made by simmering whole milk until thick and dry.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 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 du Vercors-Sassenage
A mild, semi-soft cow's milk blue cheese from the French Alps.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 1 moreLeerdammer
A Dutch semihard cow's-milk cheese with holes and a sweet nutty taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMonterey Jack
A mild, semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from California with a creamy texture and slight sweetness.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇬🇧 United KingdomRed Leicester
A hard, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from England, aged for months and coloured with annatto.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇬🇷 GreeceGravieraγραβιέρα
A hard Greek cheese made from sheep or cow milk, aged for months and marked with a crisscross rind.Sheep · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSwiss cheese
A yellow, medium-hard cheese with characteristic holes, produced globally in various styles.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇬🇧 United KingdomDunlopcàise Dhùn Lùib
A mild Scottish cheese from Ayrshire made with unskimmed cow's milk.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇸🇪 SwedenGrevé
A semi-hard Swedish cow's-milk cheese with a nutty, slightly sweet flavour.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇬🇧 United KingdomWensleydale
A medium, crumbly British cheese originally from sheep's milk in North Yorkshire.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceSaint-PaulinSaint Paulin
A semi-soft French cow's milk cheese with a washed orange rind and buttery flavour.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy
🇮🇹 ItalyMonte Veronese
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Verona with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇧🇪 BelgiumPassendale
A semi-soft cow's-milk cheese from Belgium with a golden paste and mild, slightly sweet flavor.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreFromage blanc
A mild, acid-set fresh cheese from northern France and southern Belgium.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyPiave
A hard Italian cow's milk cheese from the Veneto region with a sweet flavor and PDO status.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceFaisselle
A fresh, very soft French cheese strained in a faisselle mold, made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇷🇴 RomaniaNăsal
A smear-ripened cow's-milk cheese from Romania aged in a natural cave.Cow · Washed rind · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyRobiola
A soft-ripened Italian cheese from Piedmont and Lombardy, made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 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
🇨🇳 ChinaRushan乳扇
A stretched cow's milk cheese from Yunnan dried into thin yellow sheets.Cow · Dried · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalySquacquerone
A soft, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from Romagna with a short maturation.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreDubliner
A hard, granular Irish cow's-milk cheese aged for at least a year.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyDolcelatte
A mild, sweet Italian blue cheese made from cow's milk with a soft texture.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sweet and caramel
🇬🇧 United KingdomDerby
A mild, semi-firm cow's milk cheese from Derbyshire with a buttery taste and smooth texture.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy
🇺🇸 United StatesBrick cheese
A Wisconsin cow's-milk cheese shaped like a brick with an orange rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyReblecRéblèque
A fresh Aosta Valley cheese made from surfaced cream and raw milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇳🇱 NetherlandsParrano
A semi-firm Dutch cow's milk cheese aged five months with a nutty, salty-sweet profile.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇮🇹 ItalyRicotta di fuscella
A fresh cow's milk ricotta from Campania, shaped in a truncated cone basket.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyProvola
A semi-hard stretched curd cheese from southern Italy, often smoked or aged.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyHyblean ricottaRicotta iblea
A whey cheese from Sicily made with Modicana cow's milk and used in local pastries.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇩🇪 GermanyHirtenkäse
A German hard cheese aged for eight months, known for its golden color and savory flavor.Cow · Hard · Nutty
🇦🇹 AustriaMondseer
A semi-hard Austrian cow's milk cheese with a washed rind and mild sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇬🇧 United KingdomOxford Blue
A soft, creamy English blue cheese with spicy and chocolate notes, made in Oxfordshire.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇳 IndiaChhena Podaଛେନାପୋଡ଼
A baked Odisha dessert of caramelised cottage cheese and sugarCow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇵🇱 PolandHomogenized cheeseserek homogenizowany
A smooth Polish fresh cheese made from acid-set curd and cream.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 morePaskhaпа́сха
A sweet, molded East Slavic Easter cheese made from tvorog and dairy.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇺🇸 United StatesMonterey Jack
A mild, semi-hard cow's milk cheese from California with a creamy texture and slight sweetness.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Provola: Enzian44, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dunlop: Rosser1954 Roger Griffith, Public domain, source
- Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Piave: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage: Damouns, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Năsal: Vlad Trifa, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Monterey Jack: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ricotta: 8w9d, CC0, source
- Leerdammer: M.Minderhoud, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grevé: Ankara, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Monte Veronese: La Casara Caseificio Dal 1920, CC BY 2.0, source
- Red Leicester: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Faisselle: Véronique PAGNIER, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gruyère: Rolf Krahl ( Rotkraut ), CC BY 4.0, source
- Fromage blanc: Pancrat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Comté: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Coolea: Gary Soup, CC BY 2.0, source
- Asiago: Shabicht, CC0, source
- Quark: SKopp, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Graviera: Catlemur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Khoa: Miansari66, Public domain, source
- Maasdam: Arz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Swiss cheese: Renee Comet (photographer), Public domain, source
- Saint-Paulin: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wensleydale: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Dolcelatte: Richard Rutter, CC BY 2.0, source
- Formai de Mut dell'Alta Valle Brembana: MOs810, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reblec: F Ceragioli, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Derby: Compro, Public domain, source
- Robiola: Andrea Marchisio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rushan: Zhangmoon618, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Squacquerone: WILO-MA, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dubliner: B137, CC0, source
- Monterey Jack: Daniel Olsen ( talk ), CC BY 1.0, source
- Hyblean ricotta: Micniosi, Public domain, source
- Hirtenkäse: Heinrich von Zügel, Public domain, source
- Oxford Blue: Amanda Slater, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Homogenized cheese: Kaworu1992, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Paskha: Mitrius, Public domain, source
- Chhena Poda: http://recipes.oriyaonline.com/content_images/chhena%20poda.JPG, FAL, source