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.
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMozzarella
A semi-soft Italian stretched-curd cheese made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Semi-soft · Milky and fresh
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreFetaφέτα
A crumbly Greek brined cheese made from sheep and goat milk.Sheep · Brined · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇪 GeorgiaDambalkhachoდამბალხაჭო
A pungent, semi-soft Georgian cheese aged in clay pots with sour buttermilk curdsCow · Semi-soft · Pungent and funky
🇹🇷 TurkeyVan herbed cheeseVan otlu peyniri
A semi-hard sheep's-milk cheese from eastern Turkey, infused with wild herbs and brined.Sheep · Semi-soft · Salty
🇹🇷 TurkeyTelemeteleme peyniri
A semi-soft white cheese from Turkey made with mixed milks and fig sap.Mixed · Semi-soft · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇪 IrelandSt Tola
Handmade goat's milk cheese from Inagh, County Clare, ranging from fresh logs to aged wheels.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇪 IrelandGubbeen
A washed-rind semi-soft cow's milk cheese from County Cork, Ireland.Cow · Semi-soft · Mushroomy
🇾🇪 YemenYemeni cheeseجبنة تعز
A smoked semi-hard sheep or goat milk cheese from Taiz Governorate in Yemen.Sheep · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇧🇪 Belgium and 2 moreLimburger
A washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from Belgium known for its strong aroma and soft texture.Cow · Semi-soft · Salty
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreAsiago
A pressed cow's milk cheese from the Veneto plateau, sold fresh or aged.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceBleu de Gex
A mild French blue cheese from the Jura mountains made with raw cow's milk.Cow · Semi-soft
🇺🇸 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
🇫🇷 FranceSaint-NectaireSench-Nectari
A semi-soft washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from the volcanic Auvergne region of France.Cow · Semi-soft · Nutty
🇫🇷 FranceTomme de Savoie
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from the French Alps with a thick rind.Cow · Semi-soft
🇫🇷 FranceBleu de Bresse
A creamy French blue cheese from the Bresse region, aged for a few weeks.Cow · Blue · Earthy and cellar
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 moreNabulsi cheeseجبنة نابلسية
A white brined semi-hard cheese from Nablus, flavored with mahleb and mastic.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇧🇷 BrazilMinas cheesequeijo minas
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Brazil with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-soft · Salty
🇬🇧 United KingdomLancashire cheese
A cow's-milk cheese from England with creamy, nutty, or crumbly varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇪🇸 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
🇫🇷 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
🇫🇷 FranceChabichou
A cylindrical French goat cheese with a natural rind, aged for two to three weeks.Goat · Semi-soft · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 ItalyCasciotta d'Urbino
A semi-soft Italian cheese from the Marche region made with sheep and cow milk.Mixed · Semi-soft
🇮🇹 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
🇬🇧 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomDerby
A mild, semi-firm cow's milk cheese from Derbyshire with a buttery taste and smooth texture.Cow · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy
🇮🇹 ItalyBela Badia
A soft cow's-milk cheese from the Puster Valley with small irregular holes.Cow · Semi-soft · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreMozzarella
A semi-soft Italian stretched-curd cheese made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Semi-soft · Milky and fresh
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Minas cheese: The original uploader was Hellkt at German Wikipedia . ( Original text, Public domain, source
- Mahón: Slastic, Public domain, source
- Bleu de Bresse: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Akkawi: Paul Joseph, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lancashire cheese: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Saint-Nectaire: Homer Ectus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tomme de Savoie: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tintern: Dave Crosby, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chabichou: Mark Baker, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feta: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nabulsi cheese: رائد عزمي حموده, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gubbeen: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia .. The author is, Public domain, source
- St Tola: HighKing, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Van herbed cheese: Tanyel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dambalkhacho: ბექა ბაიაშვილი (Beqabai), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mozzarella: Popo le Chien, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bleu de Gex: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Asiago: Shabicht, CC0, source
- Limburger: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Saint-Paulin: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abbaye de Tamié: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Derby: Compro, Public domain, source
- Bastardo del Grappa: Krenakarore, Public domain, source
- Bela Badia: Boboseiptu, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mozzarella: Photograph by Greg O'Beirne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source