"Each type of cheese reveals a pasture of a different green, under a different sky." - Italo Calvino
All About Cheese
The global cheese market is expected to witness high growth rate over next six years. And it's easy to imagine this when we think of the goodness of dairy products! Perfect for every meal, eaten alone or used in delicious recipes, both sweet and savory. Are you wondering how many types of cheese are there in the world? Difficult questions.
There are thousands of types of cheese, with different characteristics of taste, type of milk, texture, hardness, seasoning, place of origin, production techniques and so on.
Sensibus offers a wide variety of cheeses, a selection that arises from a process of evolution of taste and from the constant search for quality in food, an aspect deeply linked to the territory of origin.
But we also want to guide you in the choice of the right cheese, and give you tips and sugesstions on how to use cheeses.
Read our guide to cheeses and learn how to recognize them, how to enhance their flavor, and start an amazing journey in the places where they are made thanks to the ancient knowhow of dairymen.
Let's start this experience of knowledge and taste with a useful classification of cheeses.
Better a smooth or serrated blade to cut cheese? Should you cut it across or vertically? Here are some tips to make one of the most delicate operations in the kitchen.
Buffalo mozzarella is not the only cheese produced in Italy with water buffalo's milk. Let's see more buffalo cheeses you can use in your recipes or in your cheese board.
What's the difference between Pecorino and Parmigiano? Discover how to distinguish these two Italian cheeses, and how to serve them or use in recipes.
Now, let's start this head-to-head: Pecorino Romano vs Parmigiano Reggiano.
Bloomy rind cheeses are those raw milk cheeses that during the processing are treated with special molds. These molds give the crust a typical soft texture and a whitish color from which the name.
All about how and where to store the cheese to avoid mold, and how long you can keep cheese in the fridge before consuming.
Blue cheeses are produced thanks to the addition of Penicillium Roqueforti or Penicillium Glaucum molds in the cheese paste. Disover Sensibus amazing selection of Blue cheeses!
Hard cheeses deserve a place of honour on our tables and in the kitchen. Percect as table cheese or in recipes they are long aged, crumbly and dry.
Semi-soft cheeses are those whose water content is generally between 36% and 45% and undergo an average aging process. Discover more about semi-soft cheese!
Taleggio, Brie, Camembert, Stracchino are just some examples of soft cheeses. Read our guide to disover everything about soft cheeses.
Main Cheese Types
Soft Cheeses
Stracchino, Robiola, Gorgonzola... These are some of the most common soft cheeses in Italy.
Characterized by a high content of moister (between 45 and 70%) which makes them soft, these cheeses are often subjected to a short aging, which may last from a few days up to a few weeks or two or three months.
Fresh Cheeses
They have delicate flavor and aroma, a white color and soft texture. Fresh cheeses are ready to be eaten immediately after production, without any curing stage or maturation.
Mozzarella, Burrata, first salt, Tomini are some of the most popular fresh cheeses in the world. For their freshness they are particularly appreciated in summer, also in salads and fresh dishes.
Semi-Firm Cheeses
Provolone, Caciocavallo, Toma ... and the list could be endless! Semi-firm cheeses owe their texture and flavor to an aging period which can last up to six months.
They feature a firmer texture than that of soft cheese and a stronger flavor. Their moisture content is between 35 and 45%
Hard Cheeses
And finally herer we are with hard cheeses. Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, just to mention a few. These cheeses can be aged for many months (up to three years) and during ripening are enriched with unique flavors which change according to the regional gastronomies.
Appreciated by all the great cooks, they are excellent as table cheeses or to enrich many dishes.
Main image: Types of Cheese, CC BY-ND 2.0
