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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
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreParmesanParmigiano Reggiano A hard, granular cow's-milk cheese aged at least a year in northern Italy.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇦🇺 AustraliaCheer A mature cheddar cheese made in Australia by Warrnambool Cheese and Butter.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇦🇱 AlbaniaMishavin A soft, crumbly Albanian cheese aged in skins and wood from sheep or cow milk.Sheep · Buttery and creamy 🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreEdamEdammer A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese aged in distinctive red wax spheres.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇫🇷 France and 2 moreBlue cheese A family of cheeses defined by blue-green mold veins created through deliberate inoculation and piercing.Cow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇮🇹 ItalyGrana Padano A hard, grainy Italian cow's-milk cheese aged for at least nine months in the Po Valley.Cow · Hard · Nutty 🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreProvolone A semi-hard Italian stretched-curd cheese aged for at least four months.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreSbrinz A very hard, full-fat cow's-milk cheese from Central Switzerland aged for over two years.Cow · Hard · Savoury and brothy 🇫🇷 FranceFrench NeufchâtelNeufchâtel A soft, grainy Normandy cow's-milk cheese with a bloomy rind, aged for two months.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty 🇺🇸 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 🇫🇷 FranceBleu des CaussesBlau dels Causses A raw cow's milk blue cheese aged in the limestone caves of southern France.Cow · Blue · Savoury and brothy 🇸🇪 SwedenVästerbottenVästerbottensost A hard, salty Swedish cow's milk cheese aged at least a year in VästerbottenCow · Hard · Salty 🇮🇹 ItalyRaschera A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Piedmont with a savory taste and ivory paste.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty 🇬🇧 United KingdomShropshire Blue A pasteurised cow's milk blue cheese with an orange rind and sharp flavour.Cow · Blue · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇮🇹 ItalyCastelmagno A semi-hard Italian cheese from Piedmont with blue veining and a sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreRumiجبنة رومى A hard, salty Egyptian cow or buffalo milk cheese with a pungent aroma.Cow · Hard · Salty 🇩🇪 GermanyMilbenkäse A German quark cheese ripened with living cheese mites in rye flour.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇫🇷 FranceSaint AgurSant Agur A soft, double-cream French blue cheese with olive-green veins and a mild spicy taste.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic 🇸🇪 SwedenÄdelost A pasteurized cow's-milk blue cheese from Sweden with a creamy texture and sharp flavor.Cow · Blue · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇮🇹 ItalySalvaSalva cremasco A washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Lombardy, aged for several months.Cow · Washed rind · Savoury and brothy 🇮🇹 ItalyFormaggio di fossa A sharp Italian cheese aged in sealed underground pits for a distinct anaerobic fermentation.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇪🇸 SpainValdeónQueso de Valdeón A Spanish blue cheese from León wrapped in sycamore or chestnut leavesCow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇬🇧 United KingdomDorset Blue Vinny A hard, crumbly cow's-milk blue cheese from Dorset with a strong taste and protected status.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇳🇱 Netherlands and 1 moreKanterkaas A hard Dutch cow's milk cheese flavored with cumin and cloves, aged in Friesland.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreDubliner A hard, granular Irish cow's-milk cheese aged for at least a year.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreAura A Finnish cow's-milk blue cheese aged for six or twelve weeks.Cow · Blue · Salty 🇳🇴 NorwayKraftkar A Norwegian blue cheese made from cow's milk and cream in Nordmøre.Cow · Blue · Salty 🇦🇹 AustriaMondseer A semi-hard Austrian cow's milk cheese with a washed rind and mild sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel 🇬🇧 United KingdomBanbury cheese A historic English cow's-milk cheese from Oxfordshire, known for its thin rounds and sharp taste.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sharp and tangy-aged 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandDer Scharfe Maxx A pungent Swiss hard cheese made from thermized cow's milk in Thurgau.Cow · Hard · Pungent and funky 🇺🇸 United StatesPinconning cheese A semi-hard American Colby-style cow's milk cheese aged to various sharpness levels.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged

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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