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EveryCheese

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

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.

Dinner on EveryCheese

The cheeses written up so far, best known first.

StyleFreshBrinedStretched curdBloomy rindLacticWashed rindSemi-softSemi-hardAlpineHardBlueSmokedWheyDriedProcessed
MilkCowGoatSheepBuffaloYakCamelMixedOther
FlavourMilky and freshButtery and creamyNuttySweet and caramelTangy and lacticSaltySharp and tangy-agedSavoury and brothyEarthy and cellarMushroomyPungent and funkySmokyHerbal and grassyPiquant and spicy
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreMoose cheese A rare cheese made from moose milk, produced in Sweden and Russia.Other · Fresh 🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRicotta A fresh Italian whey cheese made by reheating leftover proteins from other cheesemaking batches.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇲🇽 MexicoPanela cheeseQueso panela A fresh, white Mexican cow's-milk cheese that holds its shape when fried.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇮🇹 ItalyMascarpone A soft, unripened Italian cream cheese made by acid-set coagulation of heavy cream.Cow · Fresh 🇮🇳 India and 4 morePaneer A fresh, non-melting acid-set cheese made from cow or buffalo milk in South Asia.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇸🇰 Slovakia and 5 moreBryndza A tangy, crumbly sheep's milk cheese from Central and Eastern Europe.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇫🇷 FranceBrocciu A fresh Corsican cheese made from sheep milk and whey, drained in rush baskets.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreBuffalo mozzarellamozzarella di bufala A fresh, soft pasta filata cheese made from Italian Mediterranean buffalo milk.Buffalo · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreCircassian cheeseадыгейский сыр A fresh, basket-molded cow's milk cheese from the North Caucasus that holds its shape when heated.Cow · Fresh 🇬🇷 GreeceAnthotyrosΑνθότυρος A traditional Greek whey cheese made from sheep or goat milk, available in fresh and dry forms.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel 🇵🇾 ParaguayParaguay cheesekesú Paraguái A soft, creamy cow's-milk cheese from the eastern wetlands of Paraguay.Cow · Fresh · Salty 🇧🇹 BhutanDatshiདར་ཚི A fresh Bhutanese cottage cheese made from cow milk, central to daily meals and curries.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇮🇹 ItalyPrescinsêua A sour, semi-liquid cow's milk cheese from Liguria used in savory pies and focaccia.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇮🇳 IndiaBandel cheese A small, smoked cow's-milk cheese from West Bengal with a crumbly texture and tangy taste.Cow · Fresh · Salty 🇨🇳 ChinaRubing乳饼 A firm, acid-set fresh goat cheese from Yunnan that holds its shape when cooked.Goat · Fresh · Salty 🇮🇹 ItalyProvatura A fresh pasta filata cheese from Lazio, shaped like an egg and made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇮🇹 ItalyStracciata A fresh, tattered cow's-milk pasta filata cheese from the Molise region of Italy.Cow · Stretched curd · Milky and fresh 🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreBrânză de vaci A fresh, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from Romania and Moldova, similar to quark.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇮🇩 IndonesiaDangke A fresh cottage cheese from South Sulawesi made with buffalo or cow milk and papaya leaves.Buffalo · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇫🇷 FranceBoursin A soft, herb-flecked French spread made from pasteurized cow's milk and cream.Cow · Fresh · Herbal and grassy

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven cheeses you may not know, the cheese days of the week ahead, and one dish explained step by step.