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.

🇬🇧 United KingdomSuffolk Gold A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Suffolk with a buttery taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy 🇮🇹 ItalyProvatura A fresh pasta filata cheese from Lazio, shaped like an egg and made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇦🇷 ArgentinaCremoso A mild, semi-soft Argentine cow's milk cheese with no rind.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy

🇨🇦 CanadaFriulano A rindless Canadian cow's-milk cheese with a salty hazelnut flavour, aged to improve its character.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty

🇨🇷 Costa Rica and 1 morePalmitoQueso palmito A Costa Rican stretched-curd cheese shaped like a knotted ball of string cheese.Cow · Fresh · Salty

🇺🇸 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 🇨🇦 CanadaDragon's Breath Blue A soft, wax-coated blue cheese from Nova Scotia with a pungent aroma and briny liquid.Cow · Bloomy rind · Pungent and funky 🇬🇧 United KingdomDorset Drum A small cylindrical farmhouse cheddar from west Dorset, clothbound and matured for six to nine months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandDer Scharfe Maxx A pungent Swiss hard cheese made from thermized cow's milk in Thurgau.Cow · Hard · Pungent and funky

🇮🇹 ItalyProvola A semi-hard stretched curd cheese from southern Italy, often smoked or aged.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel

🇮🇹 ItalyBela Badia A soft cow's-milk cheese from the Puster Valley with small irregular holes.Cow · Semi-soft · Milky and fresh

🇮🇹 ItalyStracciata A fresh, tattered cow's-milk pasta filata cheese from the Molise region of Italy.Cow · Stretched curd · Milky and fresh 🇬🇧 United KingdomSuffolk Bang A hard, heavily salted skimmed-milk cheese from Suffolk, England.Cow · Hard · Salty 🇬🇧 United KingdomChevington cheese A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Northumberland with a mould-ripened rind.Cow · Semi-soft

🇮🇩 IndonesiaDangke A fresh cottage cheese from South Sulawesi made with buffalo or cow milk and papaya leaves.Buffalo · Fresh · Tangy and lactic

🇩🇪 GermanyHirtenkäse A German hard cheese aged for eight months, known for its golden color and savory flavor.Cow · Hard · Nutty 🇬🇧 United KingdomLittle Derby A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from England with a washed red wine rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇨🇿 Czech Republic and 1 moreGran Moravia A hard, long-aged cow's-milk grana-style cheese from the Czech Republic.Cow · Hard · Nutty

🇨🇦 CanadaBleu d'Élizabeth A thermized cow's milk blue cheese from Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick, Quebec.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy 🇨🇦 CanadaLe Douanier A semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a wash-rinsed rind and a central edible line from Quebec.Cow · Semi-soft · Nutty

🇵🇱 PolandHomogenized cheeseserek homogenizowany A smooth Polish fresh cheese made from acid-set curd and cream.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh

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

🇮🇳 IndiaChhena Podaଛେନାପୋଡ଼ A baked Odisha dessert of caramelised cottage cheese and sugarCow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreThe Laughing CowLa vache qui rit A pasteurized processed cheese spread sold in individual wedges since 1921.Cow · Processed 🇫🇷 FranceBoursin A soft, herb-flecked French spread made from pasteurized cow's milk and cream.Cow · Fresh · Herbal and grassy

🇬🇧 United KingdomStinking Bishop A washed-rind Gloucestershire cheese ripened in perry from the Stinking Bishop pear.Cow · Washed rind · Tangy and lactic

🇫🇷 FranceBrie de Melun A small, strong cow's-milk cheese from Seine-et-Marne with an AOC label.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic

🇦🇷 ArgentinaProvoleta A firm Argentine pulled-curd provolone cheese shaped for grilling and served with spices.Cow · Stretched curd · Savoury and brothy

🇪🇬 EgyptEgyptian cheeseجبنة (gebna) A broad category of cheeses central to Egyptian cuisine, ranging from fresh white types to aged blue varieties.Cow · Fresh · Salty

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreMozzarella A semi-soft Italian stretched-curd cheese made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Semi-soft · Milky and fresh

🇺🇸 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

🇬🇧 United KingdomLancashire cheese A cow's-milk cheese from England with three main styles: creamy, tasty, and crumbly.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty

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

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreFromage blanc A mild, acid-set fresh cheese from northern France and southern Belgium, similar to yogurt.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh

🇬🇧 United KingdomCheddar A pressed cow's-milk cheese from England, defined by the cheddaring process and long aging.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty

🇨🇭 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.

Provola: Enzian44, CC BY 3.0, source
Emmental: Manuel2, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
Vacherin Mont d'Or: Arnaud 25, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fromage blanc: Pancrat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Friulano: VerifiedCactus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Monterey Jack: Daniel Olsen ( talk ), CC BY 1.0, source
Stracciata: Desipere, Public domain, source
Bela Badia: Boboseiptu, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Provel cheese: J. Vivano & Sons, Inc., Public domain, source
Dangke: RianHS, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hirtenkäse: Heinrich von Zügel, Public domain, source
Bleu d'Élizabeth: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Homogenized cheese: Kaworu1992, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Paskha: Mitrius, Public domain, source
The Laughing Cow: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0, source
Stinking Bishop: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
Provoleta: Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Brie de Melun: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mozzarella: Photograph by Greg O'Beirne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cheddar: Gary Bembridge, CC BY 2.0, source
Chhena Poda: http://recipes.oriyaonline.com/content_images/chhena%20poda.JPG, FAL, source
Lancashire cheese: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
Palmito: LittleT889, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Der Scharfe Maxx: Balise42, CC BY 4.0, source
Egyptian cheese: Tour d'Afrique, CC BY 2.0, source