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.
🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna
A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇹🇷 TurkeyGolot cheese
A granular, pressed Turkish whey cheese from the Eastern Black Sea region.Mixed · Semi-hard · Salty
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreBondostbond-ost
A firm Swedish cow's-milk cheese aged in brine for six to eight weeks.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇨🇾 Cyprus and 3 moreHalloumiχαλούμι
A squeaky, brined cheese from Cyprus that holds its shape when fried.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreEdamEdammer
A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese aged in distinctive red wax spheres.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇫🇷 FranceComté
A hard, cooked-pressed cow's milk cheese from eastern France, aged up to three years.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKashkavalkaşkaval
A semi-hard yellow cheese from cow, sheep, or goat milk, popular across the Balkans and Turkey.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇳🇴 NorwayGamalostgammelost
A firm, sour Norwegian cheese made from skimmed cow's milk and aged for several weeks.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreAkkawiجبنة عكاوي
A white brined cow's milk cheese from the Levant named after Acre.Cow · Brined · Salty
🇫🇷 FrancePicodon
A small, spicy goat cheese from southern France with a rind that turns golden as it ages.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇸🇰 Slovakia and 1 moreKorbáčikkorbáčik (Slovak), korbacz (Polish)
A braided string cheese from the Orava region of Slovakia and Poland.Cow · Stretched curd · Salty
🇪🇸 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
🇪🇸 SpainIboresQueso Ibores
A firm, salty goat cheese from Extremadura with a natural or paprika-rubbed rind.Goat · Semi-hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceTomme des PyrénéesToma de Pirenèus
A rustic pressed cheese from the French Pyrenees, made from cow, sheep or goat milk.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇵🇱 PolandRedykołka
A smoked, salted sheep's milk cheese from Poland's Podhale region, shaped like animals or hearts.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainSan Simón da Costa
A pear-shaped, smoked cow's milk cheese from Galicia with a smooth brown rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇲🇽 MexicoCotija
A salty, aged cow's milk cheese from Michoacán that crumbles but does not melt.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇧🇷 BrazilQueijo Coalho
A squeaky, semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Brazil, often grilled on sticks.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇧🇷 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
🇮🇱 IsraelTzfat Cheeseגבינה צפתית
A semi-hard salty cheese from Safed, originally made with sheep's milk and molded in baskets.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇳🇱 NetherlandsBoerenkaas
A Dutch semi-hard raw milk cheese with TSG protection, often spiced and farm-made.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇪🇸 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
🇮🇹 ItalyCaprino
An Italian goat's-milk cheese made in fresh or aged styles across several regions.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇳🇱 NetherlandsParrano
A semi-firm Dutch cow's milk cheese aged five months with a nutty, salty-sweet profile.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 1 moreMaaslander
A mild Dutch cow's milk Gouda with reduced salt and distinctive striped rinds.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇧🇷 BrazilQueijo prato
A mild, semi-hard Brazilian cow's milk cheese with a yellow paste and low salt content.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainMurcian wine cheesequeso de Murcia al vino
A fatty goat cheese from Spain with a red-wine-stained rind and Protected Designation of Origin status.Goat · Semi-hard · Salty
🇨🇦 CanadaFriulano
A rindless Canadian cow's-milk cheese with a salty hazelnut flavour, aged to improve its character.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇪🇬 EgyptEgyptian cheeseجبنة (gebna)
A broad category of cheeses central to Egyptian cuisine, ranging from fresh white types to aged blue varieties.Cow · Fresh · Salty
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mahón: Slastic, Public domain, source
- Friesian Clove: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Akkawi: Paul Joseph, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ibores: No machine-readable author provided. Ardo Beltz assumed (based on copy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gamalost: Quick fix, CC BY 2.0, source
- Redykołka: MOs810, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tomme des Pyrénées: Julie333411, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Korbáčik: Mariuszjbie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Comté: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Edam: Yvwv, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- San Simón da Costa: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Halloumi: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ġbejna: Chattacha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Golot cheese: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Murcian wine cheese: Shalbat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Picodon: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caprino: Number55, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kashkaval: Nnikolce, Public domain, source
- Cotija: Leslie Seaton, CC BY 2.0, source
- Queijo Coalho: Carioca, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tzfat Cheese: Myself, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mallorca: Tamorlan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Friulano: VerifiedCactus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Egyptian cheese: Tour d'Afrique, CC BY 2.0, source