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EveryCheese

Semi-hard cheeses

Cheddar, Edam, Manchego and the tommes: pressed, firm and aged for months.

A drum: a tall cylinder or truckle, often bound in cloth. Stilton and clothbound cheddar are made in drums.

Semi-hard cheeses are the firm, pressed cheeses that fill most of the world's cheese counters: cheddar, Edam, Manchego, Cantal, Red Leicester, the tommes of the French mountains and the many farm cheeses made in their image. The curd is cut small, sometimes warmed, drained and pressed into wheels or blocks that ripen for two months to a year or more, turning from mild and springy to firm, flaky and deep.

Pressing and ripening

After the milk is set and cut, the curd is stirred and sometimes warmed to drive off whey. It is packed into moulds and pressed, which closes the texture and lowers the moisture so the cheese can age. Rinds may be natural, rubbed with oil, bound in cloth, coated in wax or sealed in plastic for rindless blocks. Gouda and Edam are made by washing the curd, which keeps them sweet, while cheddar has a step of its own. Edam is shaped into balls and, for export, often coated in red wax.

Cheddaring

Cheddar is named after the Somerset village of Cheddar, near the caves of the Mendip Hills. Its signature is cheddaring: slabs of curd are stacked and turned on the floor of the vat until they become smooth and fibrous, then milled into chips, salted and pressed. Traditional farmhouse cheddars are bound in muslin, rubbed with lard and aged for a year or more. The method travelled with British settlers to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and cheddar is now made almost everywhere.

Southern and mountain styles

Spain's Manchego, made from the milk of Manchega sheep in La Mancha, is pressed in moulds that print a zigzag on the rind, a pattern once left by plaited esparto grass. France's Cantal and Salers are among the oldest cheeses of the Auvergne. The tommes of Savoie and the Pyrenees are smaller mountain cheeses with grey, dusty rinds. In Mexico, queso Chihuahua, first made by Mennonite farmers, follows the same broad method and melts well in queso fundido.

Worth knowing

  • Cheddar: Somerset-born cheese now made around the world
  • Edam: Dutch ball cheese, often in red wax
  • Manchego: Sheep's milk cheese of La Mancha with a zigzag rind
  • Cantal: Ancient pressed cheese of the Auvergne
  • Tomme de Savoie: Grey-rinded mountain cheese of the Savoie
  • Red Leicester: English cheese coloured with annatto
  • Chihuahua cheese: Mennonite cheese of northern Mexico

Good to know

  • Keep cut semi-hard cheese wrapped in paper inside a loose bag in the vegetable drawer of the fridge.
  • Cut from a block with a wire or a long, thin knife for clean slices.
  • Grate it cold, but serve it at room temperature.
  • Waxed cheeses keep for months unopened.

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.

Semi-hard on EveryCheese

The cheeses written up so far, best known first.

MilkCowGoatSheepBuffaloYakCamelMixedOther
FlavourMilky and freshButtery and creamyNuttySweet and caramelTangy and lacticSaltySharp and tangy-agedSavoury and brothyEarthy and cellarMushroomyPungent and funkySmokyHerbal and grassyPiquant and spicy
🇦🇹 AustriaLüneberg A saffron-tinted cow's-milk cheese from the Austrian Alps, bridging Swiss and German styles.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh 🇮🇪 IrelandBay Lough Cheese A self-taught Irish cheddar-style cheese aged in waxed wheels.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇮🇪 IrelandWicklow Farmhouse Cheese A range of handmade cow's milk cheeses from Arklow, Ireland, spanning soft bries to hard cheddars.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty 🇦🇹 AustriaChorherrenkäse A mild, semi-hard Austrian cow's milk cheese with a buttery taste and white rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Buttery and creamy 🇳🇱 Netherlands and 5 moreEdamEdammer A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese aged in distinctive red wax spheres.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇫🇷 FranceComté A hard, cooked-pressed cow's milk cheese from eastern France, aged up to three years.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇳🇱 NetherlandsMaasdam A semi-hard Dutch cow's milk cheese with holes, aged for one to three months.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreCaciocavallo A stretched-curd cheese from southern Italy shaped like a teardrop and aged to develop a hard rind.Cow · Stretched curd · Nutty 🇫🇷 FranceLaguioleLa Guiòla A semi-hard pressed cow's milk cheese from the Aubrac plateau in southern France.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇳🇱 Netherlands and 1 moreLeerdammer A Dutch semihard cow's-milk cheese with holes and a sweet nutty taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel 🇳🇱 NetherlandsLeyden cheeseLeidse kaas A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese flavoured with cumin and caraway seeds.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy 🇬🇧 United KingdomLancashire cheese A cow's-milk cheese from England with creamy, nutty, or crumbly varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSwiss cheese A yellow, medium-hard cheese with characteristic holes, produced globally in various styles.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇸🇪 SwedenHerrgårdsost A semi-hard Swedish cow's milk cheese with a waxed rind and nutty flavor.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 🇫🇷 FranceTome des Bauges A pressed cow's-milk cheese from the French Alps with a grey-brown rind and hazelnut aroma.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇸🇪 SwedenGrevé A semi-hard Swedish cow's-milk cheese with a nutty, slightly sweet flavour.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇸🇪 SwedenPrästost A semi-hard Swedish cow's-milk cheese with a mild, nutty flavour and a washed rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇪🇸 SpainMajorero A semi-hard goat milk cheese from Fuerteventura with a nutty, buttery taste.Goat · Semi-hard · 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 🇮🇹 ItalyFormai de Mut dell'Alta Valle Brembana A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the high pastures of Lombardy, Italy.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel 🇳🇱 NetherlandsBoerenkaas A Dutch semi-hard raw milk cheese with TSG protection, often spiced and farm-made.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty 🇳🇱 NetherlandsParrano A semi-firm Dutch cow's milk cheese aged five months with a nutty, salty-sweet profile.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇺🇸 United StatesBrick cheese A Wisconsin cow's-milk cheese shaped like a brick with an orange rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel 🇫🇷 FranceP'tit Basque A small, medium-firm sheep's milk cheese with a basket-weave rind, aged 70 days.Sheep · Semi-hard · Earthy and cellar 🇮🇹 ItalyPallone di Gravina A firm pasta filata cow's milk cheese from southern Italy, aged for at least a year.Cow · Stretched curd · Nutty 🇨🇦 CanadaFriulano A rindless Canadian cow's-milk cheese with a salty hazelnut flavour, aged to improve its character.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty 🇬🇧 United KingdomCheddar A pressed cow's-milk cheese from England, defined by the cheddaring process and long aging.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty 🇬🇧 United KingdomLancashire cheese A cow's-milk cheese from England with three main styles: creamy, tasty, and crumbly.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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