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EveryCheese

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.

StyleFreshBrinedStretched curdBloomy rindLacticWashed rindSemi-softSemi-hardAlpineHardBlueSmokedWheyDriedProcessed
FlavourMilky and freshButtery and creamyNuttySweet and caramelTangy and lacticSaltySharp and tangy-agedSavoury and brothyEarthy and cellarMushroomyPungent and funkySmokyHerbal and grassyPiquant and spicy
🇫🇷 FranceCamembert A soft-ripened cow's milk cheese from Normandy with a white mould rindCow · Bloomy rind · Earthy and cellar 🇫🇷 France and 3 moreBrie A soft, pale French cow's-milk cheese with a white mould rind, aged for about five weeks.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty 🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreGruyère A hard, pressed Swiss cheese made from raw cow's milk, aged for several months.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel 🇫🇷 FranceBeaufort A firm, hole-free Alpine cow's milk cheese from the French Savoie region.Cow · Alpine · Buttery and creamy 🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreFontinafontine A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Italy's Aosta Valley, known for its nutty flavor and excellent melting quality.Cow · Semi-soft · Nutty 🇫🇷 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 🇫🇷 FranceBleu de Bresse A creamy French blue cheese from the Bresse region, aged for a few weeks.Cow · Blue · Earthy and cellar 🇫🇷 FranceDélice de Bourgogne A soft triple-cream cow's milk cheese from Burgundy with a bloomy rind.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic 🇬🇧 United KingdomStichelton A raw-milk blue cheese made in Nottinghamshire using traditional unpasteurised methods.Cow · Blue · Buttery and creamy 🇩🇪 GermanyHirtenkäse A German hard cheese aged for eight months, known for its golden color and savory flavor.Cow · Hard · Nutty 🇫🇷 FranceBrie de Melun A small, strong cow's-milk cheese from Seine-et-Marne with an AOC label.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic

Photo credits on this page

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

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