Semi-soft cheeses
Havarti, young Gouda, Port Salut and Monterey Jack: supple, mild and good for slicing.
Semi-soft cheeses sit between the soft and the firm: supple, moist and easy to slice, usually with a thin natural or waxed rind and a mild, buttery flavour. They are ripened for a few weeks to a few months. Havarti, young Gouda, Port Salut, Saint-Paulin, Fontina, Butterkäse, Monterey Jack and Colby belong here, and so does Kalimpong cheese from the hills of West Bengal.
What makes a cheese semi-soft
Semi-soft cheeses are pressed lightly or not at all, and their curd is often washed: some of the whey is drawn off and replaced with water, which lowers the acidity and gives a sweet, mild paste. This washed curd is a different thing from a washed rind. The cheeses hold more moisture than cheddar but less than Brie, and most are eaten at one to three months, when they slice cleanly and melt smoothly. Some have small, irregular holes, called eyes, from gas made by the cultures.
Families of the style
Havarti from Denmark and Butterkäse, butter cheese, from Germany are the soft table cheeses of northern Europe. Port Salut and Saint-Paulin descend from the monastery cheese of Port-du-Salut in western France. Fontina from the Aosta Valley is the melting cheese of fonduta. In the United States, Monterey Jack and Colby, both nineteenth-century creations, are everyday slicing cheeses, and Wisconsin brick cheese is the traditional topping of Detroit-style pizza, melted right to the edge of the pan.
Kalimpong and the hills
Kalimpong cheese was started by Father André Butty, a Jesuit parish priest in the hill town of Kalimpong in West Bengal. It is a small wheel, white, slightly acidic and a little crumbly in the centre when young, with a smooth edible rind, and it grows stronger if left to ripen. It is made in small quantities and sold in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kolkata's New Market. In nearby Sikkim, Gouda-type cheese is made in the same hills, and Japan's Hokkaido dairies make many semi-soft cheeses for the table.
Worth knowing
- Havarti: Danish washed-curd cheese, mild and buttery
- Port Salut: Orange-rinded French cheese of monastic origin
- Fontina: Aosta Valley cheese for fonduta
- Monterey Jack: Californian slicing and melting cheese
- Colby: Wisconsin's mild, open-textured cheese
- Butterkäse: German butter cheese, soft and mild
- Brick cheese: Wisconsin cheese of Detroit-style pizza
- Kalimpong cheese: Small Himalayan wheel begun by a Jesuit priest
Good to know
- Semi-soft cheeses dry fast once cut, so wrap the cut face closely in paper.
- They slice best cold and taste best at room temperature.
- They are good melters for toasties, quesadillas and gratins.
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-soft 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
🇺🇸 United StatesMorcella
A Minnesota sheep-milk cheese coated with morel mushrooms and aged in autumn.Sheep · Semi-soft · Earthy and cellar
🇮🇳 IndiaKalari
A semi-soft cow or buffalo milk cheese from Jammu and Kashmir, dried and sautéed until gooey.Cow · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇾🇪 YemenYemeni cheeseجبنة تعز
A smoked semi-hard sheep or goat milk cheese from Taiz Governorate in Yemen.Sheep · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇪 IrelandCarrigaline Farmhouse Cheese
A semi-soft Irish cow's milk cheese made with vegetarian rennet in County Cork.Cow · Semi-soft
🇮🇪 IrelandGubbeen
A washed-rind semi-soft cow's milk cheese from County Cork, Ireland.Cow · Semi-soft · Mushroomy
🇮🇪 IrelandSt Tola
Handmade goat's milk cheese from Inagh, County Clare, ranging from fresh logs to aged wheels.Goat · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇬🇧 United KingdomStinking Bishop
A washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from Gloucestershire, ripened in perry.Cow · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇹🇷 TurkeyTelemeteleme peyniri
A semi-soft white cheese from Turkey made with mixed milks and fig sap.Mixed · Semi-soft · Tangy and lactic
🇹🇷 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
🇸🇾 SyriaTresseجبنة مشللة
A braided Syrian string cheese with a nutty aroma and springy texture.Cow · Semi-soft · Nutty
🇬🇪 GeorgiaDambalkhachoდამბალხაჭო
A pungent, semi-soft Georgian cheese aged in clay pots with sour buttermilk curdsCow · Semi-soft · Pungent and funky
🇺🇸 United StatesBergenost
A triple-cream Norwegian-style butter cheese from New York with green wax.Mixed · Semi-soft · Buttery and creamy
🇺🇸 United StatesLiederkranz
A pungent American smear-ripened cow's milk cheese created in 1891 as a Limburger variant.Cow · Semi-soft · Pungent and funky
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreBlue cheese
A family of cheeses defined by blue-green mold veins created through deliberate inoculation and piercing.Cow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇧🇪 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 4 moreFontinafontine
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Italy's Aosta Valley, known for its nutty flavor and excellent melting quality.Cow · Semi-soft · Nutty
🇫🇷 FranceMorbier
A semi-soft French cow's milk cheese marked by a thin dark ash line running through its center.Cow · Semi-soft
🇮🇹 ItalyTaleggiotalegg, taegg or taècc
A semi-soft washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Lombardy with a pinkish rind and fruity tang.Cow · Semi-soft
🇮🇹 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
🇫🇷 FrancePort Salut
A mild semi-soft cow's milk cheese with an orange rind, made in France since the nineteenth century.Cow · Semi-soft
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreBel Paese
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Italy with a mild buttery flavor and pale yellow color.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 du Vercors-Sassenage
A mild, semi-soft cow's milk blue cheese from the French Alps.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 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
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreSireneбяло саламурено сирене
A crumbly, brined white cheese from Bulgaria made with sheep or goat milk.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇪🇸 SpainTorta del CasarTorta del Casal
A creamy sheep's milk cheese from Extremadura, coagulated with cardoon and aged for at least two months.Sheep · Semi-soft · 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomDunlopcàise Dhùn Lùib
A mild Scottish cheese from Ayrshire made with unskimmed cow's milk.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWeisslackerWeißlacker
A pungent German cow's-milk cheese aged seven months with a whitewashed rind.Cow · Semi-soft · Pungent and funky
🇪🇸 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
🇮🇹 ItalyToma
A soft to semi-hard Italian cow's milk cheese prized for melting.Cow · Bloomy rind
🇬🇧 United KingdomWensleydale
A medium, crumbly British cheese originally from sheep's milk in North Yorkshire.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 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
🇵🇹 PortugalCastelo BrancoQueijo de Castelo Branco
A soft Portuguese cheese from the Beira Baixa district, made with goat or sheep milk.Mixed · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceChabichou
A cylindrical French goat cheese with a natural rind, aged for two to three weeks.Goat · Semi-soft · Tangy and lactic
🇧🇪 BelgiumPassendale
A semi-soft cow's-milk cheese from Belgium with a golden paste and mild, slightly sweet flavor.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇵🇹 PortugalSerpa cheeseQueijo Serpa
A semi-soft, washed-rind sheep's milk cheese from Portugal's Alentejo region.Sheep · Semi-soft
🇪🇸 SpainValdeónQueso de Valdeón
A Spanish blue cheese from León wrapped in sycamore or chestnut leavesCow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇫🇷 FranceAisy cendré
A washed-rind cow's-milk cheese rolled in wood ash and aged for two weeks.Cow · Washed rind · Smoky
🇪🇸 SpainGarrotxa
A semi-soft Catalan goat cheese with a powdery gray rind and earthy flavor.Goat · Semi-soft · Earthy and cellar
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Toma: Yozh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dunlop: Rosser1954 Roger Griffith, Public domain, source
- Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kalari: Zeeshanqazi786, CC0, source
- Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage: Damouns, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Minas cheese: The original uploader was Hellkt at German Wikipedia . ( Original text, Public domain, source
- Mahón: Slastic, Public domain, source
- Bel Paese: Jon Sullivan, 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
- Castelo Branco: Adriao, Public domain, source
- Chabichou: Mark Baker, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aisy cendré: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sirene: Иван, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feta: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Valdeón: Tamorlan, CC BY 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
- Stinking Bishop: Gilgongo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Van herbed cheese: Tanyel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tresse: عمرو بن كلثوم, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dambalkhacho: ბექა ბაიაშვილი (Beqabai), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bergenost: Jon Sullivan, CC0, source
- Mozzarella: Popo le Chien, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Torta del Casar: MollySVH, CC BY 2.0, source
- Morbier: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fontina: Dominik Hundhammer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bleu de Gex: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Asiago: Shabicht, CC0, source
- Taleggio: FakirNL, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blue cheese: No machine-readable author provided. Brookie assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Limburger: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Saint-Paulin: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Port Salut: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Wensleydale: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Weisslacker: Langinger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abbaye de Tamié: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Garrotxa: Government of Catalonia, Attribution, source