Everyday use: cheeses that mark them
The cheeses of the working kitchen, reached for every day.
Most cheese is not for feasts but for every day: the block of cheddar in a British fridge, paneer bought fresh from an Indian dairy, Gouda sliced each morning in the Netherlands, feta on a Greek table at every meal and queso fresco in a Mexican kitchen. These are the working cheeses, chosen because they are reliable, easy to find and good in many dishes.
The everyday cheese of each country
Each country has its default cheese. In Britain and Ireland it is cheddar; in the Netherlands, Gouda; in Greece, feta, eaten with almost every meal; in Turkey, beyaz peynir; in Mexico, queso fresco and Oaxaca; in Brazil, queijo Minas; in India, paneer, and in many cities, processed cheese. Greece is among the countries that eat the most cheese per person in the world, and a large share of it is feta.
Buying and keeping
Buy fresh cheeses in small amounts and use them quickly; firm cheeses keep for weeks if they are well wrapped. Wrap cut cheese in waxed paper or cheese paper and then a loose bag, so it can breathe without drying out. Keep it in the vegetable drawer of the fridge, where it is cool and a little humid. Grate the leftover ends of hard cheese and freeze them for cooking, and save Parmigiano rinds for soup.
Making it at home
Paneer is made at home in many Indian kitchens: milk brought to the boil, lemon juice or vinegar stirred in, and the curds tied in muslin and pressed under a heavy pan. The same method makes queso blanco in Latin America. Quark, strained yoghurt cheese and ricotta are just as easy. Making a fresh cheese at home takes less than an hour and shows how all cheese begins: milk, a way to set it, and time.
Worth knowing
- Cheddar: The everyday cheese of Britain and Ireland
- Gouda: Sliced each morning in the Netherlands
- Feta: On the Greek table at every meal
- Beyaz peynir: Turkey's daily white cheese
- Queso fresco: Crumbled over Mexican food
- Minas cheese: Brazil's daily fresh cheese
- Paneer: Bought fresh or made at home in India
Sources and further reading
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.
Everyday use on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇪 IrelandSt Tola
Handmade goat's milk cheese from Inagh, County Clare, ranging from fresh logs to aged wheels.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino
A family of Italian hard sheep's-milk cheeses with protected status.Sheep · Hard · Buttery and creamy
🇮🇹 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 1 morePecorino Romano
A hard, salty sheep's-milk cheese from Italy, aged at least five months and protected by EU law.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇬🇧 United KingdomCaerphilly
A hard, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from South Wales with a mild lemony taste.Cow · Hard · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Sardoberveghinu sardu
A hard, pressed sheep's milk cheese from Sardinia with two distinct age profiles.Sheep · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇭🇷 CroatiaPag cheesePaški sir
A hard sheep's-milk cheese from Croatia's Pag island, aged up to eighteen months.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇪🇸 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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreRumiجبنة رومى
A hard, salty Egyptian cow or buffalo milk cheese with a pungent aroma.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇲🇽 MexicoCotija
A salty, aged cow's milk cheese from Michoacán that crumbles but does not melt.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇧🇷 BrazilColony cheesequeijo de colônia
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from southern Brazil with a yellow crust and creamy interior.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇩🇪 GermanyNieheimer Käse
A sour milk cheese from North Rhine-Westphalia ripened in hops and flavored with caraway.Cow · Hard · Tangy and lactic
🇽🇰 Kosovo and 2 moreSharr cheeseDjathë i Sharrit / Шарски сир
A hard, salty cow and sheep milk cheese from the Šar Mountains of Kosovo.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇨🇿 Czech Republic and 1 moreGran Moravia
A hard, long-aged cow's-milk grana-style cheese from the Czech Republic.Cow · Hard · Nutty
🇮🇹 ItalyCanestrato
A hard Italian cheese from sheep and goat milk, aged in traditional baskets.Mixed · Hard · Salty
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
- Caerphilly: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Mahón: Slastic, Public domain, source
- Pecorino Romano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Pecorino Sardo: The original uploader was Frankie816 at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Pecorino: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pag cheese: Silverije, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rumi: summer photo hobby, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sharr cheese: ThinkTank123, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- St Tola: HighKing, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grana Padano: Claudia Castaldi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cotija: Leslie Seaton, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nieheimer Käse: Tsungam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source