Semi-hard cheeses
Cheddar, Edam, Manchego and the tommes: pressed, firm and aged for months.
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
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.
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreEmmentalEmmentaler
A yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese with natural holes, aged for several months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇦🇺 AustraliaCheer
A mature cheddar cheese made in Australia by Warrnambool Cheese and Butter.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇳🇴 NorwayNøkkelost
A Norwegian cow's-milk cheese flavoured with cumin and cloves, aged for three months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇦🇹 AustriaLüneberg
A saffron-tinted cow's-milk cheese from the Austrian Alps, bridging Swiss and German styles.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇮🇪 IrelandWicklow Farmhouse Cheese
A range of handmade cow's milk cheeses from Arklow, Ireland, spanning soft bries to hard cheddars.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇮🇳 IndiaKalimpong cheese
A mild, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from a West Bengal hill station, started by a Jesuit priest.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreTilsitTilsiter
A semi-hard smear-ripened cow's milk cheese from East Prussia with a dark yellow rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 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
🇫🇷 FranceBeaufort
A firm, hole-free Alpine cow's milk cheese from the French Savoie region.Cow · Alpine · Buttery and creamy
🇫🇷 FranceAbondance
A semi-hard raw cow's milk cheese from Haute-Savoie aged on spruce boards.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreTête de Moine
A semi-hard Swiss cow's milk cheese shaved into rosettes with a special tool.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomDouble Gloucester
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from England with a savoury flavour and natural rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceFourme d'AmbertForma d'Embèrt
A narrow cylindrical blue cheese from the Auvergne region of France.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceLaguioleLa Guiòla
A semi-hard pressed cow's milk cheese from the Aubrac plateau in southern France.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇫🇷 FranceSalersSalèrn
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from the Auvergne, aged in caves for up to four years.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇵🇹 PortugalSão Jorge CheeseQueijo São Jorge
A hard cow's-milk cheese from the Azores with a spicy aroma and protected origin status.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇳🇱 NetherlandsLeyden cheeseLeidse kaas
A semi-hard Dutch cow's-milk cheese flavoured with cumin and caraway seeds.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇸🇰 SlovakiaParenica
A semi-firm Slovak cheese made from steamed curds, often smoked and woven into spirals.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyCastelmagno
A semi-hard Italian cheese from Piedmont with blue veining and a sharp taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalyMonte Veronese
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from Verona with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇨🇭 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
🇮🇹 ItalySalvaSalva cremasco
A washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Lombardy, aged for several months.Cow · Washed rind · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyFormaggio di fossa
A sharp Italian cheese aged in sealed underground pits for a distinct anaerobic fermentation.Cow · Semi-hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇬🇷 GreeceMetsovoneΜετσοβόνε
A semi-hard smoked pasta filata cheese from the Greek village of Metsovo.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalySpressa delle Giudicarie
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the Giudicarie valley in Trentino-Alto Adige.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇧🇷 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
🇪🇸 SpainCasín cheesequeso Casin
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from southern Asturias with a protected origin status.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyCacioricotta
A southern Italian cheese made from milk and whey using a hybrid method.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇧🇷 BrazilCanastra cheese
A raw cow's-milk cheese from Brazil's Serra da Canastra highlands.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomDorset Drum
A small cylindrical farmhouse cheddar from west Dorset, clothbound and matured for six to nine months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇬🇧 United KingdomLittle Derby
A semi-hard cow's milk cheese from England with a washed red wine rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇦🇷 ArgentinaProvoleta
A firm Argentine pulled-curd provolone cheese shaped for grilling and served with spices.Cow · Stretched curd · Savoury and brothy
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreEmmentalEmmentaler
A yellow Swiss cheese with natural holes and a mild savoury taste.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
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
- Salers: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Beaufort: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Emmental: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Formaggio di fossa: Zeugma fr ( talk ) (Antoine FLEURY-GOBERT), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Double Gloucester: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Castelmagno: Marco Plassio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Laguiole: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Monte Veronese: La Casara Caseificio Dal 1920, CC BY 2.0, source
- São Jorge Cheese: VulcaoAtlantico, CC BY 4.0, source
- Emmental: Manuel2, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Tête de Moine: The original uploader was Stucki at French Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Kalimpong cheese: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vacherin Fribourgeois: Tombat24, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abondance: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Parenica: Stanislav Doronenko, Public domain, source
- Fourme d'Ambert: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caciocavallo: Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Leyden cheese: Edwtie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Metsovone: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Casín cheese: Shalbat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cacioricotta: Andrew Green, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Canastra cheese: [https://www.flickr.com/people/8100764@N03 Marcelo Costa ], CC BY 2.0, source
- Provoleta: Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source