Category: Cheese Glossary
Cheese Glossary: The Letter G
The cheese glossary continues with the letter G!
Gamey
This refers to flavors and aromas which strongly reflect the animal from which the milk came. Goat’s cheese, for example, is often described as gamey.
Glaeslet cracks
The parallel cracks that appear in Swiss cheese with no eyes.
Gouda
Gouda is a yellow cow’s milk cheese with a red or yellow wax coating. It is made by culturing and heating the milk until the curd separates from the whey. Some of the whey is then drained, and water is added. This is called “washing the curd”, and creates a sweeter cheese, as the washing removes some of the lactic acid. As it ages it develops a caramel sweetness and sometimes has a slight crunchiness from salt-like calcium lactate or tyrosine crystals. Gouda was named for the province in south Holland where it was originally developed.
Grainy
A descriptive term for the gritty texture which is desirable in certain hard-grating cheeses, such as Parmesan and Romano. It should not go so far as to be mealy. Grainy can also describe a wheat-reminiscent taste found in some cheeses.
Grana
This comes from the Italian word for grain and refers to a group of hard, grainy cheeses. These include Asiago, Grana Padano and Sapsago.
Gruyere
Gruyere (groo-yair) is one of our favorite imported cheeses. Some call it a French cheese while others insist it is from Switzerland. It originated in the Alpine region between Switzerland and France in the eleventh century. It was named after the town of Gruyères in Switzerland, and originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne. Before 2001, when gruyere cheese gained Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status as a Swiss cheese, some controversy existed whether French cheeses of a similar nature could also be labeled Gruyere cheese. French gruyere-style cheeses must have holes according to French agricultural law, whereas holes are usually not present in Swiss gruyere.
Gruyere Cheese is sweet but slightly salty. It has a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when it is young, becoming more assertive, earthy, and complex. When fully aged, after five months to a year, it tends to have small holes and cracks which impart a slightly grainy mouthfeel. It is a good melting cheese.
As always, let us know if you have any questions or words for us to define in the cheese glossary in the comments below. We hope that this series is helping you to learn more about cheese. If you ever have questions that need a more in-depth answer and you are local then do pop into the store. We always love to have a chat about cheese with our amazing customers!
Cheese Glossary: The Letter F
The cheese glossary continues with the letter F!
Farmer’s cheese
Farmer’s Cheese is a mild, unripened white cheese made by adding rennet to cow’s milk. When the milk coagulates it separates into solid curds and liquid whey, which is drained off. The result at this stage is sometimes referred to as pot cheese. Further pressing out of the moisture results in a more firm and crumbly Farmer’s Cheese. It is often used in recipes including Blintzes and Pierogies. One popular local use is to lightly fry Farmers Cheese and eat it in a sandwich, but our favorite is to slice it very thin and roll it with our flavorful smoked meats. It is also known as a cheese that has fewer calories and less fat and cholesterol than many other cheeses.
Farm-made
This means a cheese that has been made on a farm with that farm’s own milk. If you have a chance to try a farm-made cheese it can often offer a specific taste unique to that area. This is also called farmhouse, farmstead, or fermier cheese.
Fermentation
The process of converting carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids using microorganisms including bacteria and yeasts. In cheese, the carbohydrates are converted to organic acids.
Fermented
This can be used to describe the smell of cheese as having the quality of fermented alcohols.
Feta
A Greek cheese made from goat’s and sheep’s milk. It is a fresh cheese that is usually sold submerged in brine. It has a salty, tangy taste and a high moisture content. It is often used in salads and combines well with fruit, but can also be baked.
Finish
This can refer to several things:
- The ripening process involved in cheesemaking. Finishing methods include spraying the surface with Penicillium, washing rinds or turning the cheese.
- The packaging of cheese. This might include hard, natural rind, a bandage of cheesecloth and wax or vacuum packaging.
- The aftertaste of cheese, just as ‘finish’ is used in descriptions of wine.
Firm
Cheese varieties which are relatively inelastic and unyielding in texture. Firm cheeses include Cheddar and Romano Pecorino.
Force Ripening
Speeding up the ripening of a cheese by using a warmer environment than normal to naturally ripen the cheese or by changing the enzymes added.
Formaggio
The Italian word for cheese!
Fresh
Typically these are cheeses that have not been aged or cured. They usually have a delicate, tangy flavor from the lactic curdling. Fresh cheeses can be better for melting as they have so much moisture. These include Ricotta and Mascarpone. Some cheeses that are described as ‘fresh’ have been cured for a very short time, such as Feta.
Friable
This means a cheese that crumbles easily.
Fromage
The French word for cheese!
Fruity
A description of the sweet, fragrant aroma or flavor of some cheeses.
As always, let us know if you have any questions or words for us to define in the cheese glossary in the comments below.
Cheese Glossary: The Letter E
It’s time for the letter E in our cheese glossary!
Earthy
A description of flavor – hearty, rustic taste and aroma. Many sheep’s and goat’s milk cheeses will taste earthy.
Edam
Edam cheese was first produced in the Netherlands after the town in which is made. It has a pale yellow interior and is usually encased within a crust of red paraffin wax. Its flavor is mild, salty and nutty at the early stage. It becomes sharper with aging. It is comparatively low in fat content when compared with other cheeses.
Emmental
A yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese that originated in the area around Emmental in Switzerland. It has a mild, slightly fruity taste. It has large holes produced by the fermentation process which introduces air bubbles into the cheese.
Emulsifier
A substance or mixture used to create a smooth body and texture, particularly in processed cheeses.
Enzymes
Protein or protein-like compounds that act as catalysts in the breakdown of many substances. They act on the proteins such as casein in cheese to separate them from the whey. The ones used in cheesemaking include rennet and pepsin.
Esters
Fatty acid compounds responsible for flavor in cheese.
Epoisses de Bourgogne
This is a soft cow’s milk cheese produced in the village Époisses, France. It has a creamy, chewy and firm texture and a very pungent smell. It is categorized as a smear-ripened cheese washed in marc de Bourgogne and takes on a red-orange color as it takes 6 weeks to mature fully. Its flavor is spicy, sweet and salty.
Eyes
A hole within cheese caused by the formation of trapped gas as a result of fermentation
during the curing process. Eyes are typically found in Swiss-type cheeses. The natural bacteria consumes the lactic acid in the cheese. This releases carbon dioxide gas, which forms bubbles that become the holes in the cheese. Our Amish swiss cheese, made in Northeastern Ohio, is especially flavorful because of the longer aging process that it undergoes, at a higher temperature than younger cheeses. This produces larger eyes, which is sometimes seen as an indicator for better flavor.
Extra aged
A cheese that has been aged for between 2 and 7 years. It does not have to have a specified year. You will find that extra aged cheeses are highly flavored with deep, savory notes. They can sometimes become slightly crumbly as they age.
Are you enjoying the cheese glossary? What has been your favorite thing to learn about so far? Let us know in the comments below!
Cheese Glossary: The Letter D
Today our cheese glossary continues with the letter D!
Daisy
A cheese style, traditionally a 22-pound wheel of Cheddar, coated with wax and cheesecloth.
Danby
A cheese made in Vermont, made from raw goat milk. Danby is a hard, extra-aged cheese made in the style of Italian sardos like Piave and Asiago. It is aged for a minimum of six months and develops into a pure, dense white paste with a firm, smooth texture, and a rich flavour.
Draining
The process of separating the curds (solids) from the whey (liquids). This is the first step towards the cheese really beginning to take shape!
Deli horn
Cheese that has been formed into a small cylinder. This is most common with cheeses such as Colby, Colby Jack, and Pepper Jack.
Dipping
Transferring the curds from the whey into forms to set.
Direct-set
A cheese in which lactic acid is using to coagulate the curds rather than rennet.
Disk
Quite simply, a cheese that is formed in a disk shape. These include Brie and Camembert. Because of the shape, it allows a fairly quick aging process to take place.
Double cream cheese
This is a cheese made with milk that has at least 60% butterfat in it. Cream is added to the milk before the coagulation of the curds takes place.
Dry
A dry cheese is usually rather crumbly. In most cases, this would indicate a defect in the cheesemaking process, as most cheeses should still be moist even if they crumble slightly.
Dry matter
This refers to the dry elements of cheese that would be left if all of the moisture were removed. This includes proteins, milkfat, milk sugars and minerals A cheese with less dry matter will be softer. Most soft cheeses are around 50% dry matter and 50% water.
Do you have a term that you would like us to add to the cheese glossary? Let us know in the comments below!
Cheese Glossary: The Letter C
We continue our cheese glossary with the letter C!
Casein
The main protein present in milk and, therefore, cheese. It makes up around 80% of the protein in cow’s milk, and is also highly present in sheep and buffalo milk.
Cheddar
Cheddar cheese has been produced in England since at least 1170. A pipe roll of King Henry II from that year records the purchase of 10,420 lb. at a farthing per pound. One suggestion is that Romans brought the recipe to Britain from the Cantal region of France, where it was adapted.
Central to the modernization and standardization of Cheddar was the nineteenth century Somerset dairyman Joseph Harding. He has been described as the father of Cheddar because of his technical developments, promotion of dairy hygiene and unremunerated propagation of modern cheese-making techniques.
Made in the classical way, it tends to have a sharp, pungent flavor, often slightly earthy. Its texture is firm, with farmhouse traditional Cheddar being slightly crumbly. The ideal quality of Cheddar was described by Joseph Harding in 1864 as “close and firm in texture, yet mellow in character or quality; it is rich with a tendency to melt in the mouth, the flavor full and fine, approaching to that of a hazelnut.”
“Cheddaring” refers to an additional step in the production of Cheddar cheese where, after heating, the curd is kneaded with salt, then is cut into cubes to drain the whey, then stacked and turned.
Chevre
Chevre (shev-ray) is a term which denotes a cheese made from the milk of goats, with the word chevre meaning goat in French. It is a fresh cheese which resembles cream cheese. This type of chevre tends to be slightly crumbly, creamy, and may have a strong goat flavor. Soft chevre is often herbed or spiced, and may be decorated with flowers or rosemary. Creamy chevres tend to have more complex flavors and an almost buttery feel. It softens beautifully when exposed to heat, although it does not melt in the same way that many cow cheeses do. Firmer chevres with rinds are sometimes baked in the oven to form a gooey warm cheese which is ideal for spreading on bread with roasted garlic, or alone. When chevre is served hot, it is known as chevre chaud.
Colby
Colby cheese is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese native to the United States. Its flavor is more mild and creamy than the flavor of Cheddar. Washing the curds during the cheesemaking process reduces the acid content, making Colby cheese less tangy when it is finished. Colby also has a higher moisture content, and it tends to be much softer than cheddar.
Colby cheese was developed in the late 19th century by Joseph Steinwand, the son of a Wisconsin cheese maker. Steinwand named the cheese for the town in which the family had built their first dairy, and Colby, Wisconsin continues to celebrate Colby cheese today.
Curd
Curds are obtained by coagulating milk by adding an acidic agent such as lemon juice, vinegar or rennet. The milk proteins come together in solid masses separated from the liquid. You will also see curds form if you have milk that has gone past its best.
Cutting
This is the process of cutting into the curds to create more surface area so that the whey (liquid) can come away from the solids.
Cheese
We know what cheese is, of course, but we want our cheese glossary to be as thorough as possible! For the avoidance of doubt or if you are simply intrigued, the dictionary definition of cheese is “a food made from the pressed curds of milk, firm and elastic or soft and semi-liquid in texture”.
As always, if you have words that you would like us to define in our cheese glossary, let us know in the comments!
Cheese Glossary: The Letter B
We continue our Cheese Glossary with the letter B!
A close relation of Swiss cheese, but Baby Swiss is made by substituting water for the milk’s whey in the cheesemaking process. This slows the bacterial action and produces smaller holes and milder flavor than Swiss cheese.
This cheese isn’t actually made from beer! It is a semi-soft combination of Limburger Cheese and Brick Cheese that has a very strong smell and taste. Best enjoyed with rye bread, sliced onion, and a glass of beer.
Brick
A medium-soft cheese made in the form of a large rectangular or brick shape, although it may also be named “brick” because the cheese curds are pressed with clay-fired bricks. It has a sweet, mild flavor when young but matures into a strong ripe cheese.
Bloomy rind
A light white powdery rind that develops on cheeses such as Brie and Camembert. It develops when the surface of the cheese is coated in a Penicillium spore.
Blue cheese
Any cheese that has had a culture of Penicillium added to it. This produces blue veins or spots through the cheese. They are often aged in a temperature- and moisture-controlled environment, such as a cave.
Brined
A cheese that has been brined has matured in saltwater. These include Feta, Halloumi, Gouda, and Gruyere. The salt is used to prevent the growth of bacteria, even in hot conditions. Most brined cheeses will taste clean, salty and acidic. Some brined cheeses are also known as washed rind.
Brushed
Sometimes cheeses are brushed, either by hand or by a machine, to help them stay moist as they ripen.
Burrata
A fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. It has an outer shell of mozzarella, filled with stracciatella and cream. Stracciatella is a cheese made from Italian buffalo milk and is made up of small, creamy shreds.
Butterfat
Which terms would you like to see added to the cheese glossary? Let us know in the comments below!
Cheese Glossary: The Letter A
This is the first of our posts that will help you to understand all of the terms associated with cheese. We decided that because there are so many different words to describe different cheeses, as well as lots of different techniques used in cheese-making, it would be helpful to explain some of these for our wonderful readers and customers. If you have a word that you would like us to add to the cheese glossary, let us know in the comments below.
Acidity
When cheese is made, bacteria digest sugars in the milk to produce lactic acid. Different factors can be used to make cheeses more or less acidic. Cheeses with a high acidity will be sour, sharp or tart in flavor.
Aged
Cheese that is aged has been left for a certain amount of time in specific conditions. The aging process involves using temperature, humidity, molds, bacteria and time to change the cheese. An aged cheese will lose moisture, making it harder than fresh cheeses. One of our favorite aged cheeses is our delicious aged Canadian cheddar.
Affine
Another word meaning to age cheese.
Affineur
This very fancy term indicates a person who ages cheese. They will decide when it is perfectly ripe and ready for you to eat.
American
American cheese is a processed cheese that is orange, yellow, or white in color and mild in flavor. It has a medium-firm consistency, and melts easily which might by why we enjoy it on cheeseburgers.
Amino Acids
These acids form proteins, which react with other compounds to make cheese tasty.
Fresh and delicious Amish butter is produced from butterfat, one of the byproducts of cheese making.
Ammoniated
This is when a cheese begins to smell or taste of ammonia. It means that the cheese has over-ripened and should, therefore, not be eaten.
Annatto
An orange-red food coloring that is derived from the seeds of the achiote tree. It is used to add yellow and orange colors to foods including cheese. In larger quantities, it can add a nutty, peppery flavor as well as a peppery aroma to foods.
A point
This is a French term to express that a cheese has reached its peak ripeness.
Appellation
This is a legally controlled name for a particular food or drinks, usually associated with a specific place. These are associated with products such as cheese and wine. There are several different terms depending on the country, including Appellation d’Origine Protegee (France) and Denominazione di Origine Protetta (Italy). We’ll always indicate if a cheese has a specific origin.
Asiago
Asiago cheese is an Italian cheese named for a region in Italy where it was first produced. Its texture varies from semi-firm to firm depending on how long it is aged; anywhere from three months up to a year.
We hope that you will find this cheese glossary useful in understanding more about cheese! Did we miss any ‘A’ words that you’d like to learn about? Tell us below and we’ll let you know what they mean!