Cheese Glossary

A quick reference for cheese terms from dairy farm to cheese board. Use it when a label, rind, or tasting note needs a plain answer.

How to use this glossary

• Learning: pick five new words and look for them on rinds, labels, and menus.
• Tasting: use one texture word and one aroma word.
• Shopping: words like “bloomy,” “washed,” and “alpine” make the counter easier to use.

A tiny tasting cheat sheet

• Fresh/young: milky, lemony, yogurt‑like
• Aged: nutty, brothy, caramel, long finish
• Bloomy rind: mushroom, cream, buttery
• Washed rind: savory, cured‑meat aromas, often gentler on the palate than the smell suggests
• Blue: salty, tangy, peppery; loves sweetness

A

Acidification: Lowering pH of milk through bacterial fermentation or direct acid addition.

Affinage: French term for cheese aging and professional care of maturing cheese.

Affineur: Specialist who ages and cares for cheese, bringing it to perfect ripeness.

Aging: Time period cheese matures, developing flavor and texture.

Alpine: Style of cheese from mountain regions (Swiss, French Alps), typically hard with nutty flavors.

Ammonia: Pungent smell from overripe soft-ripened cheese (Brie, Camembert).

Animal Rennet: Coagulating enzyme from animal stomach lining (traditional).

Annatto: Natural orange coloring from achiote seeds, used in cheddar and other cheeses.

AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée): French protected designation of origin.

Artisan: Small-scale cheese made by hand using traditional methods.

Ash: Vegetable ash coating on some cheeses (chèvre, Morbier), decorative and functional.

B

Bacteria: Microorganisms crucial for cheese flavor, texture, and safety.

Bandaged: Cloth-wrapped cheddar aged traditionally.

Basket: Mold shaping fresh cheese (ricotta baskets).

Bloomy Rind: White, fuzzy rind from Penicillium candidum mold (Brie, Camembert).

Blue: Cheese with blue-green veins from Penicillium roqueforti mold.

Boiling: Cooking curds in whey (Swiss-style cheeses).

Brine: Salt-water solution for washing or soaking cheese.

Brine-Washed: Cheese regularly washed with salt water during aging.

Bucheron: Aged French goat cheese log.

Buffalo: Water buffalo milk, used for authentic mozzarella di bufala.

Butterfat: Fat content in milk and cheese, affects richness.

C

Casein: Primary milk protein forming curds.

Cave: Cool, humid environment for aging cheese, often underground.

Cheddaring: Stacking and turning curd slabs to expel whey and develop texture (cheddar).

Cheesecloth: Loose-weave cloth for draining curds or wrapping cheese.

Chèvre: French for goat; goat cheese.

Coagulation: Milk proteins forming curds through rennet or acid.

Cow’s Milk: Most common milk for cheesemaking.

Cream Line: Layer of cream forming on unhomogenized milk.

Crème Fraîche: Cultured, thick cream, not technically cheese but related.

Crottin: Small, aged French goat cheese.

Cryovac: Vacuum-sealed plastic packaging.

Cultures: Beneficial bacteria added to milk to acidify and develop flavor.

Curd: Solid milk proteins separated from whey.

Curing: See Aging.

D

DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta): Italian protected designation of origin.

Dry Matter: Cheese solids excluding moisture.

Dutch: Style of cheese from Netherlands (Gouda, Edam), typically semi-hard.

E

Enzyme: Protein catalyst; rennet contains enzymes coagulating milk.

Eyes: Holes in Swiss-style cheese from carbon dioxide bubbles (Emmental, Jarlsberg).

F

Farmhouse/Farmstead: Cheese made on farm from that farm’s milk.

Fat Content: Percentage of butterfat in cheese (often “fat in dry matter”).

Fermentation: Bacterial or enzymatic breakdown creating flavor compounds.

Feta: Brined Greek cheese, traditionally sheep’s milk.

FDM (Fat in Dry Matter): Fat percentage excluding moisture.

Firm: Texture between semi-soft and hard.

Flavor Profile: Overall taste characteristics.

Fresh Cheese: Unaged cheese consumed soon after making (chèvre, ricotta, queso fresco).

Fromage: French for cheese.

Fromager/Fromagère: French cheese maker or monger.

G

Goat’s Milk: Tangy milk making distinctive cheese (chèvre).

Grana: Italian term for hard, grainy cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano, Grana Padano).

Grating Cheese: Hard cheese suitable for grating (Parmesan, Pecorino).

Gruyère: Swiss cheese, firm texture, nutty flavor, few or no eyes.

H

Hard Cheese: Aged cheese with low moisture (Parmesan, Pecorino, aged cheddar).

Havarti: Danish semi-soft cheese, mild and creamy.

Hoop: Mold shaping cheese during draining.

Humidity: Moisture level in aging environment, crucial for proper ripening.

I

Inoculation: Adding cultures or mold to milk or cheese.

J

Jersey: Cow breed producing rich, high-fat milk.

K

Kosher: Cheese made according to Jewish dietary laws.

L

Lactase: Enzyme breaking down lactose (milk sugar).

Lactic Acid: Acid produced by bacteria fermenting lactose.

Lactose: Milk sugar; most aged cheese contains little to none.

Ladling: Gently transferring curds to molds without breaking them.

Lancashire: English crumbly white cheese.

Lipase: Enzyme breaking down fats, creating piquant flavor (used in Italian cheeses).

Listeria: Harmful bacteria; raw-milk cheese aged 60+ days considered safe in US.

M

Manchego: Spanish sheep’s milk cheese, firm and nutty.

Milling: Cutting or grinding curds (cheddar process).

Moisture: Water content in cheese, affects texture and aging potential.

Mold (fungus): Beneficial or decorative fungi on cheese (Penicillium, etc.).

Mold (tool): Form shaping cheese.

Monger: Cheese seller/specialist (cheesemonger).

Morbier: French cheese with ash layer through middle.

Mozzarella: Fresh Italian cheese, stretched curd, traditionally buffalo milk.

Munster: Alsatian washed-rind cheese, pungent and orange.

N

Natural Rind: Rind developing without added mold or washing.

Nutty: Common flavor descriptor for aged cheese.

O

Oiling: Rubbing cheese rind with oil during aging.

Ovine: Sheep’s milk.

P

Pasta Filata: Stretched curd technique (mozzarella, provolone).

Pasteurization: Heat treatment killing bacteria in milk.

Paste: Interior of cheese (the part you eat, excluding rind).

Pecorino: Italian sheep’s milk cheese, often aged and salty.

Penicillium Candidum: Mold creating bloomy white rind (Brie, Camembert).

Penicillium Roqueforti: Mold creating blue veins in blue cheese.

Piercing: Making holes in cheese to introduce oxygen for blue mold growth.

Piquant: Sharp, tangy flavor.

Pressing: Applying weight to expel whey and consolidate curds.

Propionibacterium: Bacteria creating eyes in Swiss cheese.

Q

Quark: Fresh, soft German cheese similar to thick yogurt.

Queso: Spanish for cheese.

R

Raw Milk: Unpasteurized milk (US requires 60-day aging for raw-milk cheese).

Rennet: Enzyme coagulating milk into curds.

Renneting: Adding rennet to milk.

Rind: Exterior of cheese, natural or cultivated.

Rind-Washed: See Washed-Rind.

Ripening: Aging process; also enzymatic changes in cheese.

Roquefort: French blue sheep’s milk cheese, aged in specific caves.

Rubbing: Brushing or wiping cheese rind during aging.

S

Salting: Adding salt to curds or brine-soaking cheese.

Scalding: Heating curds to expel more whey (Swiss cheeses).

Semi-Firm: Texture category (young Gouda, Havarti).

Semi-Hard: Texture firmer than semi-soft (cheddar, Gruyère).

Semi-Soft: Texture between soft and semi-hard (young Gouda, Havarti).

Sheep’s Milk: Rich, sweet milk making prized cheeses (Manchego, Roquefort, Pecorino).

Smear-Ripened: See Washed-Rind.

Soft Cheese: High-moisture cheese, often young (Brie, fresh chèvre).

Stilton: English blue cheese, creamy and tangy.

Stirring: Cutting and moving curds in whey.

Stretched Curd: See Pasta Filata.

Surface Mold: Mold growing on cheese exterior.

Sweet Milk: Non-cultured milk (vs. soured).

T

Taleggio: Italian washed-rind cheese, fruity and pungent.

Tasting: Systematic evaluation of cheese flavor, aroma, texture.

Terroir: Environmental factors (climate, soil, pasture) affecting milk and cheese character.

Texture: Physical characteristics (crumbly, creamy, crystalline, etc.).

Thermophilic: Heat-loving bacteria, used in cheeses cooked at higher temperatures.

Triple Crème: Cheese with extra cream added, min. 75% fat in dry matter, very rich.

Truckle: Small wheel of cheese, especially cheddar.

Turning: Flipping cheese wheels during aging for even development.

Tyrosine: Amino acid forming crunchy white crystals in aged cheese (good sign!).

U

Ultrafiltration: Modern technique concentrating milk proteins.

Unpasteurized: See Raw Milk.

V

Vegetarian Rennet: Microbial or vegetable-based coagulant (not from animals).

Velvety: Smooth, luxurious texture.

W

Washed Curd: Rinsing curds with water to remove lactose, creates milder, sweeter cheese (Gouda).

Washed-Rind: Cheese regularly washed with brine, beer, or spirits, developing orange rind and pungent aroma (Taleggio, Époisses, Limburger).

Wheel: Large, round cheese form.

Whey: Liquid separated from curds during cheesemaking.

Wrapping: Covering cheese for aging or storage (cloth, paper, wax, plastic).

X

(No common cheese terms begin with X)

Y

Yeast: Fungi sometimes present on cheese rinds.

Yield: Amount of cheese produced from quantity of milk.

Yogurt: Cultured milk product, related to cheesemaking but not cheese.

Z

Zymology: Science of fermentation.

Quick Reference: Cheese Categories

By Texture/Moisture

Fresh (70-80% moisture):

• Mozzarella, ricotta, chèvre, queso fresco
• Consumed within days/weeks
• No aging

Soft (50-70% moisture):

• Brie, Camembert, fresh chèvre
• Bloomy or washed rinds
• Age 0-8 weeks

Semi-Soft (45-55% moisture):

• Havarti, young Gouda, Fontina
• 1-6 months aging
• Smooth, creamy

Semi-Hard (40-50% moisture):

• Cheddar, Manchego, Gruyère
• 3-12+ months aging
• Firm, sliceable

Hard (<40% moisture):

• Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, aged Gouda
• 12-36+ months aging
• Grating texture

By Milk Type

Cow (Vache): Most common, versatile Goat (Chèvre): Tangy, digestible Sheep (Brebis/Ovine): Rich, sweet, prized Buffalo: Creamy, authentic mozzarella

By Rind Type

Bloomy: White, fuzzy (Penicillium candidum) - Brie, Camembert Washed: Orange, sticky, pungent - Taleggio, Époisses Natural: Self-formed, often crusty - Some cheddars Blue: Moldy interior, no distinct rind - Roquefort, Stilton None: Fresh cheese - Mozzarella, ricotta

Common Abbreviations

• AOC: Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée
• DOP: Denominazione di Origine Protetta
• PDO: Protected Designation of Origin
• PGI: Protected Geographical Indication
• FDM: Fat in Dry Matter
• ACS: American Cheese Society
• CCP: Certified Cheese Professional

Use this glossary when you need a term checked fast. It can help with labels, shopping, and tasting.