Cow's milk cheeses

Most of the world's cheese: cheddar, Gouda, Brie, Parmigiano, paneer and the great Alpine wheels.

Cow's milk makes most of the world's cheese. It is plentiful, mild and balanced in fat and protein, which lets cheesemakers turn it into everything from paneer to Parmigiano. Its fat carries carotene from grass, so cow's milk cheese is often pale yellow, deeper in summer when the herds graze fresh pasture. Cheddar, Gouda, Brie, Camembert, Emmental, Comté and mozzarella all begin here, and so does most of India's paneer.

Breeds and feed

Breed matters to a cheesemaker. Holstein-Friesians give large volumes of milk, while Jersey and Guernsey milk is richer in fat and protein. Many protected cheeses name their breeds: Comté must be made from the milk of Montbéliarde or French Simmental cows, and some Parmigiano Reggiano dairies work only with the old red Reggiana breed. Feed matters too. The rules for Comté and Parmigiano Reggiano forbid silage, because fermented feed can carry bacteria that spoil a long-aged wheel.

India and the cooperatives

India produces more milk than any other country, from cows and buffaloes together, and a great deal of it becomes paneer and chhena. The cooperative movement that began at Anand in Gujarat in 1946 grew, through the programme known as Operation Flood, into a national network of village dairies, and today it makes paneer, processed cheese and mozzarella on a large scale. Native breeds such as Gir and Sahiwal are kept for their milk, and many families still set paneer at home from the morning's delivery.

One milk, many cheeses

Cow's milk can become soft or hard, fresh or aged for years. It separates its cream easily, which suits both butter and skimmed-milk cheeses, and its curd sets firmly with rennet. Cheeses from the same milk can taste wholly different depending on the cultures, the size of the cut, the cooking, the salting and the cellar. That is why cheddar and Camembert, paneer and Parmigiano, all made from the milk of the same kind of animal, share almost nothing on the plate.

Worth knowing

Cheddar: The most widely copied cheese in the world
Parmigiano Reggiano: Grana of the Po valley, aged at least a year
Gouda: Dutch washed-curd cheese, young to very old
Camembert de Normandie: Raw-milk bloomy rind of Normandy
Comté: Jura wheel of Montbéliarde milk
Emmental: Swiss wheel with large holes
Paneer: India's fresh pressed cheese
Kalimpong cheese: Small Himalayan wheel of West Bengal

Good to know

Pale cheese in winter and golden cheese in summer is normal for pasture-fed herds.
Cow's milk cheeses suit almost any wine, beer or tea: match strength with strength.
Store firm cow's milk cheeses in paper and soft ones in a closed box.

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.

Cow on EveryCheese

The cheeses written up so far, best known first.

🇦🇹 AustriaChorherrenkäse A mild, semi-hard Austrian cow's milk cheese with a buttery taste and white rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreGorgonzola A creamy Italian blue cheese from Lombardy with two distinct styles.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty

🇦🇱 AlbaniaMishavin A soft, crumbly Albanian cheese aged in skins and wood from sheep or cow milk.Sheep · Buttery and creamy 🇮🇹 ItalyCastelrosso A rare semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Piedmont with a gray rind and mild lactic flavor.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy

🇮🇹 ItalyBurrata A fresh Italian cheese with a solid mozzarella pouch filled with cream and stracciatella.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreCottage cheese A fresh, unaged curd cheese made from skimmed milk and dressed with cream.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreCream cheese A soft, unripened cow's-milk cheese made with added cream and eaten fresh.Cow · Fresh · Buttery and creamy

🇫🇷 FranceBeaufort A firm, hole-free Alpine cow's milk cheese from the French Savoie region.Cow · Alpine · Buttery and creamy

🇬🇧 United KingdomCaerphilly A hard, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from South Wales with a mild lemony taste.Cow · Hard · Tangy and lactic

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHavartiflødehavarti A semi-soft Danish cow's-milk cheese with a buttery taste and small irregular eyes.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy

🇫🇷 FranceCoulommiers A soft cow's-milk cheese with a bloomy rind from the Seine-et-Marne department of France.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty

🇩🇪 GermanyCambozola A mild German cow's-milk blue cheese with a creamy texture and white rind.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy

🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreBel Paese A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Italy with a mild buttery flavor and pale yellow color.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreVacherin Mont d'Or A soft, seasonal cow's milk cheese wrapped in spruce bark from the Jura mountains.Cow · Bloomy rind · Earthy and cellar

🇺🇸 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

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCancoillotte A runny French cheese made by melting metton, served hot or cold in the east.Cow · Processed · Milky and fresh

🇪🇸 SpainTetillaQueixo Tetilla A soft, conical cow's-milk cheese from Galicia with a distinctive nipple-like peak.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy

🇫🇷 FranceBrie de Meaux A soft-ripened cow's milk cheese with a white rind from the Brie region of France.Cow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh

🇫🇷 FranceGaperon A dome-shaped Auvergne cheese with a white mold rind and garlic-pepper filling.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy

🇬🇧 United KingdomDunlopcàise Dhùn Lùib A mild Scottish cheese from Ayrshire made with unskimmed cow's milk.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel

🇪🇸 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

🇬🇧 United KingdomWensleydale A medium, crumbly British cheese originally from sheep's milk in North Yorkshire.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel

🇫🇷 FrancePetit suisse A fresh, creamy French cow's milk cheese from Normandy, often sold in small cups.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreStracciatella A fresh Italian shredded curd cheese mixed with cream, made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh

🇫🇷 FranceSaint-PaulinSaint Paulin A semi-soft French cow's milk cheese with a washed orange rind and buttery flavour.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy

🇫🇷 FranceAbbaye de Tamié A soft cow's-milk cheese aged in the cellars of a Savoyard abbey by monks.Cow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh

🇫🇷 FranceChaumesPalhas A soft, washed-rind cow's milk cheese from the Périgord with a tangerine-orange rind.Cow · Bloomy rind · Savoury and brothy 🇵🇾 ParaguayParaguay cheesekesú Paraguái A soft, creamy cow's-milk cheese from the eastern wetlands of Paraguay.Cow · Fresh · Salty 🇬🇧 United KingdomCaboc A Scottish cream cheese made from double cream and rolled in toasted oatmeal.Cow · Fresh · Buttery and creamy

🇫🇷 FranceSaint-Félicien A creamy cow's milk cheese from France with a flower-patterned rindCow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh

🇬🇧 United KingdomStichelton A raw-milk blue cheese made in Nottinghamshire using traditional unpasteurised methods.Cow · Blue · Buttery and creamy

🇫🇷 FranceMottin charentais A cylindrical French soft cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk with a creamy taste.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy

🇫🇷 FranceDélice de Bourgogne A soft triple-cream cow's milk cheese from Burgundy with a bloomy rind.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic 🇬🇧 United KingdomCrowdiegruth A soft, fresh Scottish cow's-milk cheese set by lactic acid without rennet.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic 🇫🇷 FranceExplorateur A soft-ripened triple cream cow's milk cheese from France with a squat cylindrical shape.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy

🇬🇧 United KingdomDerby A mild, semi-firm cow's milk cheese from Derbyshire with a buttery taste and smooth texture.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy

🇨🇦 CanadaBleu d'Élizabeth A thermized cow's milk blue cheese from Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick, Quebec.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy 🇦🇷 ArgentinaCremoso A mild, semi-soft Argentine cow's milk cheese with no rind.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy

🇨🇦 CanadaPikauba A semi-firm washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Quebec with a buttery taste and orange rind.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy

🇨🇦 CanadaLe Riopelle de l'Isle A soft triple-cream cow's milk cheese from Isle-aux-Grues in Quebec.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy

🇺🇸 United StatesProvel cheese A white processed cheese blend of cheddar, Swiss and provolone with liquid smoke, made in St. Louis.Cow · Processed · Buttery and creamy 🇬🇧 United KingdomSuffolk Gold A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Suffolk with a buttery taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 morePaskhaпа́сха A sweet, molded East Slavic Easter cheese made from tvorog and dairy.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel

🇺🇸 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.

Dunlop: Rosser1954 Roger Griffith, Public domain, source
Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Brie de Meaux: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Coulommiers: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Caerphilly: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
Mahón: Slastic, Public domain, source
Monterey Jack: Daniel Olsen ( talk ), CC BY 1.0, source
Beaufort: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bel Paese: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
Monterey Jack: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tetilla: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
Petit suisse: Chtfn, CC BY 2.5, source
Vacherin Mont d'Or: Zubro, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chaumes: Robin dubois, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cancoillotte: Popo le Chien, CC0, source
Mishavin: Tizilohja25, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Stracciatella: Florixc (original version) ; Off-shell (reprocessed version), CC0, source
Cottage cheese: F ASTILY (T ALK ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Gaperon: Pymouss, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gorgonzola: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cream cheese: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Burrata: Popo le Chien, CC0, source
Saint-Paulin: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Wensleydale: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
Cambozola: Jorchr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Abbaye de Tamié: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
Saint-Félicien: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Derby: Compro, Public domain, source
Mottin charentais: Cobber17, CC BY 3.0, source
Délice de Bourgogne: Beprost, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Stichelton: Jeremy Keith, CC BY 2.0, source
Pikauba: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Le Riopelle de l'Isle: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Provel cheese: J. Vivano & Sons, Inc., Public domain, source
Bleu d'Élizabeth: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Paskha: Mitrius, Public domain, source