Fresh cheeses
Paneer, ricotta, quark, cottage cheese and queso fresco: unripened, mild and eaten within days.
Fresh cheeses are eaten within days of making, with no ripening at all. Milk is set with acid or rennet, the curd is drained, and what remains is soft, moist and mild. Paneer and chhena in India, quark and tvorog in Central and Eastern Europe, cottage cheese in Britain and North America, fromage frais in France and queso fresco across Latin America all belong here. They are the oldest and simplest cheeses, and the easiest to make at home.
How they are made
Fresh cheese starts with warm milk and something to curdle it. Paneer and chhena are set with heat and acid, usually lemon juice, vinegar or sour whey, so no rennet is needed, a point that matters to many vegetarian households. Quark and fromage frais are set slowly by lactic bacteria, sometimes helped by a drop of rennet. The curd is cut or ladled, drained in cloth or moulds, and sometimes pressed. Because nothing is aged, the cheese keeps the taste of the milk itself: sweet, clean and lightly sour.
Paneer, chhena and the Indian thread
India is one of the great fresh-cheese cultures of the world. Paneer is pressed into a firm block that holds its shape in curries such as palak paneer and on tandoor skewers. Chhena is the same kind of curd left unpressed and kneaded smooth, the base of Bengali and Odia sweets such as rasgulla, sandesh and chhena poda. Surti paneer from Gujarat is a softer buffalo-milk cheese set with rennet and kept in its whey, and the Parsi topli nu paneer, moulded in small baskets, is a wedding favourite.
Around the world
Every dairy culture has its own fresh cheese. Tvorog is the farmer's cheese of Russia and Ukraine, eaten with sour cream and fried into syrniki. Queso fresco and queso blanco are crumbled over beans and tacos in Mexico and Central America. Cottage cheese has loose, washed curds in a light dressing of cream. Ethiopian ayib is a crumbly cheese made from soured milk after the butter has been churned, served beside spicy stews. Ricotta, strictly a whey cheese, is eaten fresh in the same way.
Worth knowing
- Paneer: Pressed, acid-set cheese of India, cooked in curries and grilled
- Chhena: Unpressed curd kneaded smooth for the sweets of Bengal and Odisha
- Quark: Lactic fresh cheese of Germany, spread on bread and baked into cheesecake
- Cottage cheese: Loose, washed curds dressed with a little cream
- Queso fresco: Salted, crumbly fresh cheese of Mexico and Central America
- Tvorog: East European farmer's cheese for syrniki and Easter paskha
- Surti paneer: Soft buffalo-milk cheese of Surat, kept in whey
- Topli nu paneer: Parsi basket-moulded cheese served at weddings
Good to know
- Keep fresh cheese covered in the fridge and use it within a few days of making or opening.
- Shop-bought paneer softens if it sits in hot water for a few minutes before it goes into a curry.
- Drain watery fresh cheese in a muslin-lined sieve before baking with it.
- Freezing changes the texture: firm paneer copes better than soft curd.
Sources and further reading
- Paneer on Wikipedia
- Chhena, Wikipedia
- Quark (dairy product), Wikipedia
- Cheese, Encyclopaedia Britannica
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.
Fresh on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreBasket cheesesepet peyniri
A fresh, unsalted or lightly salted whey and curd cheese shaped in reed baskets from the Aegean coast.Goat · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇲🇽 MexicoPanela cheeseQueso panela
A fresh, white Mexican cow's-milk cheese that holds its shape when fried.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePot cheese
A soft, crumbly, unaged cow's-milk cheese popular in North America and Austria.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRicotta
A fresh Italian whey cheese made by reheating leftover proteins from other cheesemaking batches.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United StatesHoop cheese
A simple fresh cow's milk cheese pressed in a wooden ring to remove wheyCow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇪🇬 EgyptAreeshجبنة قريش
A soft, crumbly Egyptian cheese made from skimmed buffalo or cow milk.Buffalo · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna
A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreGvina levanaגבינה לבנה
A soft, unripened cow's-milk cheese spread on bread in Israel.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇳 India and 4 morePaneer
A fresh, non-melting acid-set cheese made from cow or buffalo milk in South Asia.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreQuarkTvorog
A fresh, acid-set cow's milk cheese with a smooth texture and mild taste.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyBurrata
A fresh Italian cheese with a solid mozzarella pouch filled with cream and stracciatella.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreCottage cheese
A fresh, unaged curd cheese made from skimmed milk and dressed with cream.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreTvorogтворог
A soft, white fermented cow's milk curd from Central and Eastern Europe.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 FranceBrocciu
A fresh Corsican cheese made from sheep milk and whey, drained in rush baskets.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKhoa
A soft South Asian cheese made by simmering whole milk until thick and dry.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreBuffalo mozzarellamozzarella di bufala
A fresh, soft pasta filata cheese made from Italian Mediterranean buffalo milk.Buffalo · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇷🇴 Romania and 4 moreUrdaurdă
A fresh whey cheese from Southeast Europe and Hungary, made by boiling leftover milk liquid.Mixed · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreCheese curds
Fresh, squeaky pieces of cheddar-style curd eaten in North America.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChhenaଛେନ୍ନା / ছানা
A fresh, acid-set cow or buffalo milk cheese from eastern India and Bangladesh.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMizithraμυζήθρα
A fresh Greek whey cheese made from sheep or goat milk, eaten soft or dried for grating.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreStracciatella
A fresh Italian shredded curd cheese mixed with cream, made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 FrancePetit suisse
A fresh, creamy French cow's milk cheese from Normandy, often sold in small cups.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 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 KingdomCaboc
A Scottish cream cheese made from double cream and rolled in toasted oatmeal.Cow · Fresh · Buttery and creamy
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreZiger
A fresh Swiss whey cheese, often eaten plain or fried with salt and pepper.Mixed · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇨🇳 ChinaRubing乳饼
A firm, acid-set fresh goat cheese from Yunnan that holds its shape when cooked.Goat · Fresh · Salty
🇳🇱 NetherlandsGraskaas
A fresh Dutch cheese crafted from the first spring milkings of pasture-bound cows.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇹🇳 TunisiaRigouta
A fresh Tunisian whey cheese from Béja, made with Sicilo-Sarda sheep milk.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇨🇷 Costa RicaTurrialba cheese
A fresh Costa Rican cow's milk cheese with protected origin status.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyCaprino
An Italian goat's-milk cheese made in fresh or aged styles across several regions.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇷 GreeceKatiki DomokouΚατίκι Δομοκού
A fresh, soft goat and sheep milk cheese from central Greece.Goat · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyReblecRéblèque
A fresh Aosta Valley cheese made from surfaced cream and raw milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇫🇷 FranceBrousse
A lumpy whey cheese from Provence and Corsica made from cow, sheep or goat milk.Cow · Whey · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyRicotta di fuscella
A fresh cow's milk ricotta from Campania, shaped in a truncated cone basket.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyStracciata
A fresh, tattered cow's-milk pasta filata cheese from the Molise region of Italy.Cow · Stretched curd · Milky and fresh
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreBrânză de vaci
A fresh, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from Romania and Moldova, similar to quark.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyProvatura
A fresh pasta filata cheese from Lazio, shaped like an egg and made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyTuma
A fresh, unsalted sheep's milk cheese from southern Italy, eaten within days of curd formation.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇵🇱 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
🇪🇬 EgyptEgyptian cheeseجبنة (gebna)
A broad category of cheeses central to Egyptian cuisine, ranging from fresh white types to aged blue varieties.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇫🇷 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Brocciu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buffalo mozzarella: Luigi Versaggi, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Paneer: Sonja Pauen - Stanhopea, CC BY 2.0 de, source
- Mizithra: grongar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ricotta: 8w9d, CC0, source
- Petit suisse: Chtfn, CC BY 2.5, source
- Faisselle: Véronique PAGNIER, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fromage blanc: Pancrat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Urda: Mngck, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Schabziger: Flyout, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Basket cheese: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Turrialba cheese: Ana BR, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ġbejna: Chattacha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tvorog: Loyna, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Stracciatella: Florixc (original version) ; Off-shell (reprocessed version), CC0, source
- Quark: SKopp, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cheese curds: Jonathunder, GFDL 1.2, source
- Cottage cheese: F ASTILY (T ALK ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Burrata: Popo le Chien, CC0, source
- Caprino: Number55, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khoa: Miansari66, Public domain, source
- Chhena: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Katiki Domokou: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Reblec: F Ceragioli, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brousse: Roland Darré, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rubing: Pratyeka, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rigouta: Habib M ' henni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stracciata: Desipere, Public domain, source
- Panela cheese: Pyb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Homogenized cheese: Kaworu1992, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Paskha: Mitrius, Public domain, source
- Egyptian cheese: Tour d'Afrique, CC BY 2.0, source