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.
🇮🇳 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
🇦🇺 AustraliaCheer
A mature cheddar cheese made in Australia by Warrnambool Cheese and Butter.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreEmmentalEmmentaler
A yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese with natural holes, aged for several months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇳🇴 NorwayNøkkelost
A Norwegian cow's-milk cheese flavoured with cumin and cloves, aged for three months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇦🇹 AustriaLüneberg
A saffron-tinted cow's-milk cheese from the Austrian Alps, bridging Swiss and German styles.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇮🇪 IrelandWicklow Farmhouse Cheese
A range of handmade cow's milk cheeses from Arklow, Ireland, spanning soft bries to hard cheddars.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇩🇪 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
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreCaciocavallo
A stretched-curd cheese from southern Italy shaped like a teardrop and aged to develop a hard rind.Cow · Stretched curd · Nutty
🇪🇸 SpainCabralesqueso de Cabrales
A pungent blue cheese from the Picos de Europa mountains of Asturias, Spain.Mixed · Blue · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreTête de Moine
A semi-hard Swiss cow's milk cheese shaved into rosettes with a special tool.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomDouble Gloucester
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from England with a savoury flavour and natural rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceFourme d'AmbertForma d'Embèrt
A narrow cylindrical blue cheese from the Auvergne region of France.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇵🇹 PortugalSão Jorge CheeseQueijo São Jorge
A hard cow's-milk cheese from the Azores with a spicy aroma and protected origin status.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇳🇱 NetherlandsLeyden cheeseLeidse kaas
A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese flavoured with cumin and caraway seeds.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇸🇰 SlovakiaParenica
A semi-firm Slovak cheese made from steamed curds, often smoked and woven into spirals.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyCastelmagno
A semi-hard Italian cheese from Piedmont with blue veining and a sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇪🇸 SpainGamonéuQueso de Gamonéu
A lightly smoked, mixed-milk cheese from the mountains of Asturias with a moulded rind.Mixed · Smoked · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyMonte Veronese
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Verona with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalySalvaSalva cremasco
A washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Lombardy, aged for several months.Cow · Washed rind · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇪 GeorgiaTeniliტენილი ყველი
A stuffed string cheese from Georgia's Meskheti region, made from sheep's milk and aged in clay pots.Sheep · Stretched curd · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇷 GreeceMetsovoneΜετσοβόνε
A semi-hard smoked pasta filata cheese from the Greek village of Metsovo.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalySpressa delle Giudicarie
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the Giudicarie valley in Trentino-Alto Adige.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇪🇸 SpainCasín cheesequeso Casin
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from southern Asturias with a protected origin status.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyCacioricotta
A southern Italian cheese made from milk and whey using a hybrid method.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇧🇷 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
🇧🇷 BrazilCanastra cheese
A raw cow's-milk cheese from Brazil's Serra da Canastra highlands.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomLanark Blue
A semi-hard blue cheese made from raw sheep's milk in Scotland.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomLittle Derby
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from England with a washed red wine rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceBucheronBûcheron
A semi-aged goat's milk cheese from France shaped like a short log with a white rind.Goat · Bloomy rind · 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
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreEmmentalEmmentaler
A yellow Swiss cheese with natural holes and a mild savoury taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Cabrales: PDPhoto.org, Public domain, source
- Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gamonéu: Jrfdiaz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tenili: Georgian Recipes at Georgia About, CC BY 3.0, source
- Emmental: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Double Gloucester: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Castelmagno: Marco Plassio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Monte Veronese: La Casara Caseificio Dal 1920, CC BY 2.0, source
- São Jorge Cheese: VulcaoAtlantico, CC BY 4.0, source
- Emmental: Manuel2, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Tête de Moine: The original uploader was Stucki at French Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Kalimpong cheese: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Parenica: Stanislav Doronenko, Public domain, source
- Fourme d'Ambert: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caciocavallo: Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Leyden cheese: Edwtie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Metsovone: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Casín cheese: Shalbat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cacioricotta: Andrew Green, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Canastra cheese: [https://www.flickr.com/people/8100764@N03 Marcelo Costa ], CC BY 2.0, source
- Bucheron: Quinn Dombrowski, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Provoleta: Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source