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
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.
Everyday use on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇫🇷 FrancePetit suisse
A fresh, creamy French cow's milk cheese from Normandy, often sold in small cups.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇩🇪 GermanyMilbenkäse
A German quark cheese ripened with living cheese mites in rye flour.Cow · Bloomy rind · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreTomme
A low-fat alpine cheese from France and Switzerland, often made from skimmed milk.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇹🇷 TurkeyTulumtulum peyniri
A traditional Turkish goat's milk cheese ripened inside a goatskin casing.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceSaint-PaulinSaint Paulin
A semi-soft French cow's milk cheese with a washed orange rind and buttery flavour.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy
🇫🇷 FranceAbbaye de Tamié
A soft cow's-milk cheese aged in the cellars of a Savoyard abbey by monks.Cow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreCircassian cheeseадыгейский сыр
A fresh, basket-molded cow's milk cheese from the North Caucasus that holds its shape when heated.Cow · Fresh
🇫🇷 FranceChevrotin
A soft, washed-rind goat cheese from the Savoy Alps with a reddish rind.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalyMonte Veronese
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Verona with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreDomiatiجبنه دمياطى
A soft, salty Egyptian white cheese salted before coagulation.Buffalo · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKopanistiΚοπανιστή
A soft, spicy Greek cheese from the Cyclades, made by kneading ripening curds.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceChabichou
A cylindrical French goat cheese with a natural rind, aged for two to three weeks.Goat · Semi-soft · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 FranceFaisselle
A fresh, very soft French cheese strained in a faisselle mold, made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇬🇧 United KingdomCornish Yarg
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Cornwall wrapped in nettle leaves.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇪🇸 SpainGamonéuQueso de Gamonéu
A lightly smoked, mixed-milk cheese from the mountains of Asturias with a moulded rind.Mixed · Smoked · Savoury and brothy
🇳🇴 NorwayPultost
A soft Norwegian sour milk cheese flavored with caraway seeds and preserved with salt.Cow · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreVacherin Fribourgeois
A Swiss semi-hard washed-rind cheese from the canton of Fribourg with a resiny taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalySilter
A brined, aged cow's-milk cheese from the Brescia mountains of Italy.Cow · Hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇪 GeorgiaTeniliტენილი ყველი
A stuffed string cheese from Georgia's Meskheti region, made from sheep's milk and aged in clay pots.Sheep · Stretched curd · Savoury and brothy
🇦🇲 ArmeniaMotalմոթալ
A soft, brined Armenian cheese aged in leather bags with wild thyme.Sheep · Brined · Milky and fresh
🇬🇷 GreeceAnthotyrosΑνθότυρος
A traditional Greek whey cheese made from sheep or goat milk, available in fresh and dry forms.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceSaint Albray
A soft cow's-milk cheese from France with a flower-shaped rind and hollow center.Cow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh
🇪🇸 SpainSan Simón da Costa
A pear-shaped, smoked cow's milk cheese from Galicia with a smooth brown rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalySalvaSalva cremasco
A washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Lombardy, aged for several months.Cow · Washed rind · Savoury and brothy
🇷🇸 SerbiaPulemagareći sir
A rare Serbian cheese made from donkey and goat milk, known for its crumbly texture and earthy taste.Other · Fresh · Nutty
🇲🇽 MexicoCotija
A salty, aged cow's milk cheese from Michoacán that crumbles but does not melt.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceSaint-Félicien
A creamy cow's milk cheese from France with a flower-patterned rindCow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalySpressa delle Giudicarie
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the Giudicarie valley in Trentino-Alto Adige.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreZiger
A fresh Swiss whey cheese, often eaten plain or fried with salt and pepper.Mixed · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇳🇱 NetherlandsBoerenkaas
A Dutch semi-hard raw milk cheese with TSG protection, often spiced and farm-made.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyCasciotta d'Urbino
A semi-soft Italian cheese from the Marche region made with sheep and cow milk.Mixed · Semi-soft
🇧🇹 BhutanDatshiདར་ཚི
A fresh Bhutanese cottage cheese made from cow milk, central to daily meals and curries.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇩🇪 GermanySpundekäs
A spiced cream cheese spread from Northern Rhenish Hesse in Germany.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇳🇴 NorwaySnøfrisk
A soft, spreadable Norwegian goat cheese with a fresh, sour taste.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇧🇷 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
🇮🇱 IsraelTzfat Cheeseגבינה צפתית
A semi-hard salty cheese from Safed, originally made with sheep's milk and molded in baskets.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇨🇿 Czech RepublicAbertam cheese
A hard, pressed sheep's-milk cheese from the Bohemian mountains of the Czech Republic.Sheep · Hard
🇩🇪 GermanyNieheimer Käse
A sour milk cheese from North Rhine-Westphalia ripened in hops and flavored with caraway.Cow · Hard · Tangy and lactic
🇨🇳 ChinaRubing乳饼
A firm, acid-set fresh goat cheese from Yunnan that holds its shape when cooked.Goat · Fresh · Salty
🇬🇧 United KingdomLanark Blue
A semi-hard blue cheese made from raw sheep's milk in Scotland.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceChavroux
A soft goat's milk cheese sold in small pyramid or cylinder containers.Goat · Bloomy rind · Tangy and lactic
🇹🇳 TunisiaRigouta
A fresh Tunisian whey cheese from Béja, made with Sicilo-Sarda sheep milk.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyBastardo del Grappa
A semi-fat cow's milk cheese from the Veneto foothills with a soft crumbly texture.Cow · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇽🇰 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomTintern
A soft, blended cow's milk Cheddar flavoured with chives and shallots, wrapped in lime green wax.Cow · Semi-soft · Herbal and grassy
🇪🇸 SpainMurcian wine cheesequeso de Murcia al vino
A fatty goat cheese from Spain with a red-wine-stained rind and Protected Designation of Origin status.Goat · Semi-hard · Salty
🇧🇬 BulgariaCherni VitЧерни Вит
A soft sheep's milk cheese from Bulgaria with a naturally green mold crust.Sheep · Salty
🇨🇷 Costa RicaTurrialba cheese
A fresh Costa Rican cow's milk cheese with protected origin status.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Gamonéu: Jrfdiaz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Silter: Sistoiv, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tenili: Georgian Recipes at Georgia About, CC BY 3.0, source
- Friesian Clove: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Anthotyros: Giorgos ab1234, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Circassian cheese: Tetk200, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Petit suisse: Chtfn, CC BY 2.5, source
- Cornish Yarg: Tristan Ferne, CC BY 2.0, source
- Monte Veronese: La Casara Caseificio Dal 1920, CC BY 2.0, source
- Saint Albray: Lyokoï88, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tomme: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Faisselle: Véronique PAGNIER, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tintern: Dave Crosby, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chabichou: Mark Baker, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sharr cheese: ThinkTank123, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kopanisti: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pultost: Jan-Tore Egge, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- San Simón da Costa: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Schabziger: Flyout, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Domiati: MartinKassemJ120, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Motal: Barseghian Lilia, CC0, source
- Turrialba cheese: Ana BR, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vacherin Fribourgeois: Tombat24, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Milbenkäse: Benutzer:Dundak at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chevrotin: Benoît Prieur, CC0, source
- Murcian wine cheese: Shalbat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tulum: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint-Paulin: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abbaye de Tamié: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Saint-Félicien: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cotija: Leslie Seaton, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tzfat Cheese: Myself, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Datshi: Nair A, Choden D, Pradhan M., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Spundekäs: User:Kandschwar , edit by Rainer Z ..., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rubing: Pratyeka, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nieheimer Käse: Tsungam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chavroux: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Bastardo del Grappa: Krenakarore, Public domain, source
- Rigouta: Habib M ' henni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source