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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 2 moreGorgonzola A creamy Italian blue cheese from Lombardy with two distinct styles.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty 🇺🇸 United StatesAmablu A creamy American blue cheese aged in sandstone caves since 1936.Cow · Blue 🇫🇷 FranceBleu de Gex A mild French blue cheese from the Jura mountains made with raw cow's milk.Cow · Semi-soft 🇫🇷 FranceFourme d'AmbertForma d'Embèrt A narrow cylindrical blue cheese from the Auvergne region of France.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇫🇷 FranceFourme de MontbrisonFôrma de Montbréson A mild, cylindrical cow's-milk blue cheese from the Forez mountains of France.Cow · Blue 🇩🇪 GermanyCambozola A mild German cow's-milk blue cheese with a creamy texture and white rind.Cow · Bloomy rind · 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 🇫🇷 FranceBleu du Vercors-Sassenage A mild, semi-soft cow's milk blue cheese from the French Alps.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel 🇫🇷 FranceBleu de Bresse A creamy French blue cheese from the Bresse region, aged for a few weeks.Cow · Blue · Earthy and cellar 🇬🇧 United KingdomShropshire Blue A pasteurised cow's milk blue cheese with an orange rind and sharp flavour.Cow · Blue · 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 🇪🇸 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomBuxton Blue A cylindrical English cow's-milk blue cheese with russet veining, made under PDO rules.Cow · Blue · Savoury and brothy 🇬🇧 United KingdomStichelton A raw-milk blue cheese made in Nottinghamshire using traditional unpasteurised methods.Cow · Blue · Buttery and creamy 🇵🇱 PolandRokpol A pungent, salty Polish blue cheese made from cow's milk.Cow · Blue · Pungent and funky 🇮🇹 ItalyDolcelatte A mild, sweet Italian blue cheese made from cow's milk with a soft texture.Cow · Bloomy rind · 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomDovedale A soft, brine-dipped cow's milk blue cheese from the English Peak District.Cow · Blue · Savoury and brothy 🇬🇧 United KingdomOxford Blue A soft, creamy English blue cheese with spicy and chocolate notes, made in Oxfordshire.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic 🇨🇦 CanadaBleu d'Élizabeth A thermized cow's milk blue cheese from Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick, Quebec.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy 🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish Blue A blue cheese from Cornwall made with cow's milk and awarded top honours in international competitions.Cow · Blue 🇬🇧 United KingdomLymeswold cheese A short-lived English soft blue cheese with a white rind, made from cow's milk.Cow · Bloomy rind · Savoury and brothy

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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