Cheeses for snacks
Cheese curds, string cheese, crackers and cheese eaten between meals.
Cheese is a natural snack: portable, filling and good with almost anything. Quebec's squeaky cheese curds, string cheese in a lunch box, Dogra kalari fried in its own fat in Jammu, hard churpi chewed on Himalayan paths, kurt in Central Asian bazaars, cheese straws at tea time and paneer pakoras on a rainy Indian afternoon all fill the space between meals.
Squeaky and stringy
Fresh cheddar curds squeak against the teeth when they are only hours old, because their protein network is still springy. Wisconsin, Quebec and Ontario sell them by the bag, and they are fried in batter at fairs. String cheese, mozzarella pulled into sticks, peels into threads and is a staple of North American lunch boxes. The squeak fades within a day or two in the fridge, though a few seconds of gentle warming can bring some of it back.
Fried snacks
Many cheese snacks are fried. Indian paneer pakoras are dipped in spiced gram-flour batter, and in Jammu, kalari is fried until crisp outside and stretchy within, then eaten with salt or in a kalari kulcha. Venezuelan tequeños wrap sticks of white cheese in dough. Italian mozzarella in carrozza and arancini hide cheese inside bread or rice, and Turkish sigara böreği rolls white cheese and parsley in thin pastry like a cigarette.
Chewed and nibbled
Hard churpi is held in the mouth for an hour, softening slowly, and kurt and aaruul are eaten as a salty, sour snack across Central Asia and Mongolia. Cheese straws, made with grated cheddar or Parmesan, are a tea-time snack in Britain and a party staple in the American South. In the Netherlands, cubes of Gouda with mustard are served with a drink, and in Spain, a few slices of Manchego come with a glass of wine.
Worth knowing
- Cheese curds: Squeaky fresh curds of Quebec and Wisconsin
- String cheese: Mozzarella sticks that peel into threads
- Pakora: Paneer dipped in gram-flour batter and fried
- Kalari: Jammu cheese fried in its own fat
- Tequeño: Venezuelan cheese stick in dough
- Mozzarella in carrozza: Fried mozzarella sandwich of Naples
- Sigara böreği: Turkish cheese pastry rolled like a cigarette
- Chhurpi: Hard Himalayan cheese chewed slowly
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.
Snacks on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇪🇬 EgyptMishمش (meš)
A fermented Egyptian salty cheese aged in buttermilk brine until sharp and pungent.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇹🇷 TurkeyGolot cheese
A granular, pressed Turkish whey cheese from the Eastern Black Sea region.Mixed · Semi-hard · Salty
🇨🇾 Cyprus and 3 moreHalloumiχαλούμι
A squeaky, brined cheese from Cyprus that holds its shape when fried.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreProcessed cheese
A meltable cheese blend made with emulsifying salts for stability and long shelf life.Mixed · Processed · Salty
🇦🇲 Armenia and 4 moreChechilչեչիլ
A brined, stringy pasta filata cheese from the Caucasus region.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreSireneбяло саламурено сирене
A crumbly, brined white cheese from Bulgaria made with sheep or goat milk.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇹🇷 TurkeyBeyaz peynir
A salty Turkish brine cheese made from sheep, cow, or goat milk.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreDomiatiجبنه دمياطى
A soft, salty Egyptian white cheese salted before coagulation.Buffalo · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKopanistiΚοπανιστή
A soft, spicy Greek cheese from the Cyclades, made by kneading ripening curds.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇦🇲 ArmeniaMotalմոթալ
A soft, brined Armenian cheese aged in leather bags with wild thyme.Sheep · Brined · Milky and fresh
🇵🇭 PhilippinesKesong putiKesong putî
A soft, unaged Filipino white cheese made from carabao or cow milk and curdled with acid.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainTupíformatge de tupí
A soft, creamy Catalan cheese fermented in a ceramic jar with strong liquor.Mixed · Tangy and lactic
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 4 moreBaladi cheeseجبنة بلدي
A soft, white Middle Eastern cheese made from mixed milks and sold in brine.Mixed · Fresh · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyCaprino
An Italian goat's-milk cheese made in fresh or aged styles across several regions.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreCokelekçökelek
A fresh acid-set cheese from Turkey and Azerbaijan made from fermented buttermilk or yogurt.Mixed · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalyCanestrato
A hard Italian cheese from sheep and goat milk, aged in traditional baskets.Mixed · Hard · Salty
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
- Beyaz peynir: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sirene: Иван, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kopanisti: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Domiati: MartinKassemJ120, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Motal: Barseghian Lilia, CC0, source
- Halloumi: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Golot cheese: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mish: Reem Al-Kashif, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chechil: Valen1988, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caprino: Number55, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Processed cheese: Rainer Z ..., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kesong puti: Shubert Ciencia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Baladi cheese: Jon Lebensold, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cokelek: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source