Fresh cheeses are made by draining cheese curds and sometimes pressing them into shapes. Examples include ricotta, cottage, and cream cheese. Two specific types of fresh cheeses we often employ are goat and feta cheese.
Goat cheese—or chèvre, French for "goat,"—is a fresh, unripened goat's milk cheese that has a fruity flavor early on but develops a sharper and slightly tart quality as it ages. Crumble it over salads, or serve with herbs as a spread on crusty bread. You can also serve goat cheese as a dessert cheese or use it as a topping for pizzas, quesadillas, or open-faced sandwiches.
Feta is a fresh Greek cheese that is tangy and salty as a result of the brine in which it is cured. It's traditionally made from sheep's milk but can also be made from goat's or cow's milk. Its lively quality, along with a crumbly yet creamy texture, lends it to a variety of culinary applications. A choice addition to salads, feta is also good for fillings, sauces, and pasta dishes.
Soft-ripened cheeses are uncooked, unpressed, spreadable cheeses that usually have a thin, edible rind. This category includes Camembert, Saint André, and Explorateur, but perhaps the most popular soft-ripened cheese is Brie.
Brie's soft texture oozes at peak ripeness. Creamy, buttery, rich, and slightly sweet, it is spreadable and completed by its edible white rind. The soft-ripened French cheese is best enjoyed as an appetizer or dessert at room temperature, or can be baked with an array of savory or sweet toppings.
Semisoft cheeses fall between soft-ripened and semifirm cheeses—they're firm enough to slice but creamy in texture. Havarti, Monterey Jack, and Gouda fall into this category.
Semisoft but dense with small holes, fontina is encased by a dark gold, crusty rind. With a fruity overtone, its buttery qualities make it a natural for dessert. Fontina is a good melting cheese, often used in sauces or on pizzas or casseroles.
Semifirm cheeses are pressed, usually aged, cheeses that are dense but not crumbly. They're good for slicing and shredding and often enjoyed on sandwiches. Edam, Jarlsberg, Manchego, and Swiss are common examples. We focus here on cheddar and Gruyère, two varieties we use often.
The salty tang of cheddar cheese can range from mild to sharp, making it versatile for both cooking and snacking. It can be white or dyed orange; either delivers a robust quality that can stand alone or incorporates well into soups, pastas, casseroles, and sandwiches.
Produced in Switzerland, Gruyère possesses a smooth yet pliable texture with a mild nutty or toasty flavor. The semifirm cheese also has fruity or sweet hints and should have a pale yellow interior and slightly browned edges. Flavorful and moist, it is a popular dessert cheese, and also melts well for sauces or fondues. Gruyère is traditional in veal or chicken cordon bleu and is excellent for gratins and soufflés.
Hard (or firm) cheeses are cooked, pressed, and aged to give them a dry, dense texture. They are are often served grated or shaved.
Parmesan cheese is perhaps the most widely used hard cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano is considered the finest of Parmesan. It has an appealing grainy texture and a rich and strong nutty flavor. This grade of Parmesan must be aged at least 12 months and is specific to the Italian province bearing its name—Parma. Wheels are stamped "Parmigiano-Reggiano," and smaller packages bear the mark "Consorzio Parmigiano-Reggiano." The piquant quality makes it a versatile cheese that can be grated and incorporated into soups, salads, and pasta dishes.
Blue cheeses range in texture from semisoft to semifirm. Most are made from cow's milk, but Roquefort, a French variety, is made from sheep's milk. Blue cheeses are produced by inoculating cheese with mold spores to produce pungent blue or green veins that run throughout the cheese.
Among blues, Gorgonzola is moist, creamy, savory, earthy, and slightly spicier than its relatives. You'll sometimes find it marketed in two versions, designating the length of time it is aged. Dolce is milder and sweeter, having only aged about two to three months; naturale is aged six months and acquires a strong aroma and sharper flavor. A pleasing addition to salads, it is excellent paired with apples, pears, figs, and peaches, and works well with pastas, sauces, and meat and poultry dishes.
