Cheeses for dinner
Gratins, pastas, curries and the evening meal.
At dinner, cheese is cooked into the main dish: melted into pasta, baked in gratins, simmered in curries and stews, and grated over soups. Palak paneer and matar paneer in India, macaroni cheese in Britain and North America, lasagne and risotto in Italy, Käsespätzle in southern Germany and Austria, ema datshi in Bhutan and aligot in France are dinners in which cheese does the heavy lifting.
Paneer at the evening table
Paneer holds its shape in sauce, which makes it the centre of many North Indian dinners: palak paneer with spinach, matar paneer with peas, shahi paneer in a cream and nut gravy, kadai paneer with peppers, and paneer butter masala. For many vegetarian households, paneer fills the place meat might take elsewhere. In Bengal, chhena is cooked into a curry called chhanar dalna, and in Odisha into chhena tarkari, both made with potatoes and warm spices.
Pasta, rice and dumplings
Italy cooks Parmigiano, pecorino and Fontina into risotto, lasagne, cacio e pepe and baked pasta. Macaroni cheese, baked with cheddar, is a family dinner in Britain and the United States. In southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Käsespätzle layers soft egg noodles with mountain cheese and fried onions. Polish pierogi ruskie fill dumplings with potato and twaróg, and Georgian khinkali have a cheese-filled version beside the classic meat.
Cheese stews of the mountains
Bhutan's ema datshi cooks green or dried chillies with datshi into a sauce eaten with red rice, and kewa datshi does the same with potatoes. In Nepal and Sikkim, churpi is cooked with greens and tomatoes. France's aligot, from the Aubrac, beats young tomme into mashed potato until it stretches in long ribbons, and Savoy's tartiflette bakes Reblochon over potatoes, onions and lardons. These are dishes made to feed people after a cold day outside.
Worth knowing
- Palak paneer: Paneer in spinach
- Matar paneer: Paneer with peas in tomato gravy
- Macaroni and cheese: Baked pasta in cheese sauce
- Käsespätzle: Egg noodles layered with mountain cheese
- Ema datshi: Bhutanese chillies with cheese
- Aligot: Stretchy cheese and potato of the Aubrac
- Tartiflette: Reblochon baked over potatoes
- Pierogi: Polish dumplings with potato and twaróg
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.
Dinner on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇳 IndiaKalimpong cheese
A mild, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from a West Bengal hill station, started by a Jesuit priest.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreEmmentalEmmentaler
A yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese with natural holes, aged for several months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreTilsitTilsiter
A semi-hard smear-ripened cow's milk cheese from East Prussia with a dark yellow rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇳🇱 NetherlandsMaasdam
A semi-hard Dutch cow's milk cheese with holes, aged for one to three months.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇫🇷 FranceBeaufort
A firm, hole-free Alpine cow's milk cheese from the French Savoie region.Cow · Alpine · Buttery and creamy
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreAkkawiجبنة عكاوي
A white brined cow's milk cheese from the Levant named after Acre.Cow · Brined · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceSalersSalèrn
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from the Auvergne, aged in caves for up to four years.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇺🇸 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreOaxaca cheesequeso Oaxaca
A semi-hard, stringy cow's milk cheese from southern Mexico, made using the pasta filata method.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇪🇸 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
🇮🇹 ItalyCastelmagno
A semi-hard Italian cheese from Piedmont with blue veining and a sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇺🇸 United StatesColby
A semi-hard American cow's-milk cheese with a mild flavor and orange hue from annatto.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyValtellina CaseraCasera de la Valtolina
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the Sondrio province of Italy, aged for a complex flavour.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalySalvaSalva cremasco
A washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Lombardy, aged for several months.Cow · Washed rind · Savoury and brothy
🇺🇸 United StatesColby-Jack
A mild American semi-hard cheese made by blending Colby and Monterey Jack curds.Cow · Semi-hard
🇲🇽 MexicoCotija
A salty, aged cow's milk cheese from Michoacán that crumbles but does not melt.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇮🇹 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
🇧🇷 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
🇪🇸 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
🇮🇹 ItalyProvola silana
A semi-hard stretched-curd cheese from the Sila mountains of southern Italy.Cow · Semi-hard
🇳🇱 NetherlandsParrano
A semi-firm Dutch cow's milk cheese aged five months with a nutty, salty-sweet profile.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇺🇸 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
🇦🇷 ArgentinaProvoleta
A firm Argentine pulled-curd provolone cheese shaped for grilling and served with spices.Cow · Stretched curd · Savoury and brothy
🇺🇸 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.
- Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Valtellina Casera: Distretto Agroalimentare di Qualità della Valtellina, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mahón: Slastic, Public domain, source
- Salers: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Beaufort: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Monterey Jack: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Akkawi: Paul Joseph, CC BY 2.0, source
- Emmental: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Castelmagno: Marco Plassio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Colby-Jack: Stephen Shep, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kalimpong cheese: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maasdam: Arz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oaxaca cheese: Javier Lastras, CC BY 2.0, source
- Colby: Jeff the quiet, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cotija: Leslie Seaton, CC BY 2.0, source
- Formai de Mut dell'Alta Valle Brembana: MOs810, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mallorca: Tamorlan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Monterey Jack: Daniel Olsen ( talk ), CC BY 1.0, source
- Provoleta: Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source