Cheese Glossary

Types Of Cheese, Terms & Definitions Every Cheese Lover Should Know

Page 10: Cheese Terms Beginning With S

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SEMI-HARD CHEESE

A classification of cheese based upon body. The descriptions semi-hard and hard refer mainly to moisture content, not to texture. The cheeses in this category actually include a broad range of textures, from semi-firm to very firm and from cheeses that are only weeks old to those aged up to several months or more. Because these cheeses contain less moisture than the soft and soft-ripened types, they hold their shape much better. Examples include young Asiago, Cheddar, Colby, Edam, Fontinella, Gouda, Manchego, Provolone and Queso Blanco.

SHARP
Sharp is a descriptive flavor term, referring to the fully developed flavor of aged cheeses, such as traditional Cheddar and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The flavor is actually sharp and biting, but not excessively so. The more the cheese is aged, the sharper the flavor becomes.

Queso Blanco. Read more about Hispanic
cheese. Photo by Claire Freierman | THE NIBBLE.

SILKY or SATINY
These texture descriptors refer to the mouthfeel of soft cheeses. They can be spreadable or sliced cheeses like a ripe Brie or Camembert.

SKIMMING
The removal of fat content from the milk. When part or all of the cream has been removed from milk, the milk is referred to as skimmed (although the more popular consumer term is now fat free). Cheeses made from skimmed milk generally have less fat; some (but not all) remain quite flavorful. Skimmed milk cheeses have less than 20% fat, semi-fat cheeses have 20% to 41% fat, and whole milk fat cheeses have 42% or more fat content.

SOFT-FRESH CHEESE
Also called fresh cheese, a category of cheeses with high moisture content that are typically direct set with the addition of lactic acid cultures. Cheeses in this category include Cottage Cheese, Cream Cheese, Feta, Mascarpone, and Neufchatel, Ricotta and Queso Blanco. These cheeses must be consumed quickly; they are not made to age.

SOFT-RIPENED CHEESE or SEMI-SOFT CHEESE

Cheeses in this category span a wide variety, all made with whole milk, and melt well when cooked. They include Blue Cheeses, Brick, Fontina, Havarti, Monterey Jack and Muenster. Bloomy-rind examples include Brie, Camembert, St. Andre and Teleme. Soft-ripened cheeses are uncooked, unpressed cheese, which, as a result, are creamy or even runny when fully ripe. They ripen from the outside in, and have been allowed to mature to various degrees. Some soft-ripened cheeses ripen (or age) inside of a fluffy white rind (see bloomy rind cheeses) and become softer and creamier as they age. The rind is edible and is produced by spraying the surface of the cheese with Penicillium candidum. Other soft cheeses may have a reddish washed rind or no rind.

Brie, perhaps the most popular soft cheese. This Brie, from Normandy, is available at iGourmet.

All cheeses in this category have a high moisture content. Mild when young, they usually develop a fuller, more mature flavor as they age.

STARTER CULTURE

Also called a “friendly” culture, starter cultures are added to milk at the start of the cheesemaking process. The cultures change the lactose or milk sugar, the carbohydrate in milk, into lactic acid. This equalizes the pH so the milk protein will form curds when the rennet is added. The cultures used by the cheesemaker are a closely guarded secret as they contribute to the distinct qualities of each cheese.

STRACCHINO
Stracchino is a type of Italian cow’s-milk cheese, about 50% milkfat, found in the Italian region of Lombardy. (Stracchino Crescenza has a somewhat higher milk fat content and a slightly creamier texture.) Eaten very young (i.e., minimally aged), it has a soft, creamy texture and a mild and delicate flavor—not unlike American cream cheese, but slightly more acidic. It is sold in a square or rectangular form. Stracchino can be used on pizza, in risotto, on focaccia, baked, or drizzled with honey for dessert. The name derives from the Italian word stracca, which means “tired.” The belief is that the milk from tired cows is richer in fats and more acidic; according to legend, these qualities were discovered in the milk of “tired” cows that were moved up and down the Alps to different pastures. Gorgonzola is in the stracchino family, but aged.

STRONG
A cheese with a penetrating aroma and flavor.

SUPPLE
A descriptive term describing a cheese’s texture, e.g., firm but not hard; pliable and resilient. Fontina is an example.

SURFACE RIPENED
A cheese that ripens from the exterior when a special bacteria, mold or yeast is applied to the surface. Bloomy-rind cheeses, like Brie and Camembert, and washed-rind cheeses, such as Pont L’Eveque and Taleggio, are surface-ripened.

SWISS CHEESE

Swiss cheese is the generic name used in the United States for several related varieties of cheese, originally made in Switzerland. Emmentaler is the cheese Americans think of as the generic Swiss cheese. While Americans believe that Swiss cheese has holes, properly known as eyes, not all kinds of Swiss cheese do.* There are 450 known Swiss cheeses, classified into five categories: extra-hard, hard, semi-hard, semi-soft and soft. Cow’s milk is used in 99% of the cheeses produced. The categories of Swiss cheese include:

Tilsiter is a semi-hard Swiss cheese. This Tilsiter is available at iGourmet.

Extra-Hard: Sbrinz
Hard: Emmentaler (or Emmenthaler or Emmental), Gruyère/Greyerzer, Sapsago, Vacherin Fribourgeois
Semi-Hard: Appenzeller, Bündner Bergkäse, Mutschli, Raclette cheese, Tête de Moine, Tilsiter
Semi-Soft: Vacherin Mont d’Or
Soft: Gala

*Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Emmentaler cheese: Streptococcus thermophilis, Lactobacillus, and Propionibacter shermani. In a late stage of cheese production, P. shermani consumes the lactic acid excreted by the other bacteria, and releases carbon dioxide gas. This forms the bubbles that appear to be “holes” when the cheese is sliced. The cheese industry calls these holes or tunnels “eyes.” Swiss cheese without eyes is known as “blind.”

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