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.
🇵🇭 PhilippinesKesong putiKesong putî
A soft, unaged Filipino white cheese made from carabao or cow milk and curdled with acid.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇷🇸 SerbiaPulemagareći sir
A rare Serbian cheese made from donkey and goat milk, known for its crumbly texture and earthy taste.Other · Fresh · Nutty
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreZiger
A fresh Swiss whey cheese, often eaten plain or fried with salt and pepper.Mixed · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇬🇷 GreeceXynomizithraΞινομυζήθρα
A soft, sour Greek whey cheese from Crete made with sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇧🇹 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
🇮🇳 IndiaBandel cheese
A small, smoked cow's-milk cheese from West Bengal with a crumbly texture and tangy taste.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 4 moreBaladi cheeseجبنة بلدي
A soft, white Middle Eastern cheese made from mixed milks and sold in brine.Mixed · Fresh · Salty
🇨🇳 ChinaRubing乳饼
A firm, acid-set fresh goat cheese from Yunnan that holds its shape when cooked.Goat · Fresh · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyPrescinsêua
A sour, semi-liquid cow's milk cheese from Liguria used in savory pies and focaccia.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇧 United KingdomCrowdiegruth
A soft, fresh Scottish cow's-milk cheese set by lactic acid without rennet.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇹🇳 TunisiaRigouta
A fresh Tunisian whey cheese from Béja, made with Sicilo-Sarda sheep milk.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇳🇱 NetherlandsGraskaas
A fresh Dutch cheese crafted from the first spring milkings of pasture-bound cows.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
🇨🇷 Costa RicaTurrialba cheese
A fresh Costa Rican cow's milk cheese with protected origin status.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇬🇷 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
🇮🇹 ItalyPadraccio
A fresh, spherical sheep and goat milk cheese wrapped in fern leaves from Basilicata.Sheep · 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
🇮🇹 ItalyStracciata
A fresh, tattered cow's-milk pasta filata cheese from the Molise region of Italy.Cow · Stretched curd · Milky and fresh
🇳🇵 NepalTibetan cheese
A family of dairy products from Tibet, ranging from fresh curds to extra-hard aged blocks.Mixed · Fresh · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyHyblean ricottaRicotta iblea
A whey cheese from Sicily made with Modicana cow's milk and used in local pastries.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇷🇴 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
🇮🇹 ItalyRicotta di fuscella
A fresh cow's milk ricotta from Campania, shaped in a truncated cone basket.Cow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇩 IndonesiaDangke
A fresh cottage cheese from South Sulawesi made with buffalo or cow milk and papaya leaves.Buffalo · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇨🇷 Costa Rica and 1 morePalmitoQueso palmito
A Costa Rican stretched-curd cheese shaped like a knotted ball of string cheese.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreCokelekçökelek
A fresh acid-set cheese from Turkey and Azerbaijan made from fermented buttermilk or yogurt.Mixed · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 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
🇮🇳 IndiaChhena Podaଛେନାପୋଡ଼
A baked Odisha dessert of caramelised cottage cheese and sugarCow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceBoursin
A soft, herb-flecked French spread made from pasteurized cow's milk and cream.Cow · Fresh · Herbal and grassy
🇪🇬 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.
- Fromage blanc: Pancrat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Schabziger: Flyout, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Turrialba cheese: Ana BR, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caprino: Number55, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kesong puti: Shubert Ciencia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Katiki Domokou: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Reblec: F Ceragioli, 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
- Bandel cheese: Rangan Datta Wiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Prescinsêua: Own work, CC0, source
- Brousse: Roland Darré, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Baladi cheese: Jon Lebensold, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rubing: Pratyeka, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rigouta: Habib M ' henni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stracciata: Desipere, Public domain, source
- Tibetan cheese: Alpha, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hyblean ricotta: Micniosi, Public domain, source
- Dangke: RianHS, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Palmito: LittleT889, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cokelek: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Homogenized cheese: Kaworu1992, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Paskha: Mitrius, Public domain, source
- Chhena Poda: http://recipes.oriyaonline.com/content_images/chhena%20poda.JPG, FAL, source
- Egyptian cheese: Tour d'Afrique, CC BY 2.0, source