Wonderful wheels! Photo courtesy of Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont.
May 2005
Updated September 2009
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Cheese Glossary
Types Of Cheese, Terms & Definitions Every Cheese Lover Should Know
Page 2: Cheese Terms Beginning With B
This is Page 2 of a 12-page glossary. Click on the letters below to find terms of interest. When you’re finished with cheese, visit our other food glossaries.
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BARNYARDY
A term often used to describe a cheese’s aroma and sometimes its taste: Aged goat cheeses are often barnyardy. It is considered a positive characteristic of the cheese.
BLEU CHEESE
Bleu is the French spelling of blue. See blue mold cheeses.
BLOOMY RIND or WHITE RIND CHEESES
This class or category of cheese comprises the white cheeses with soft creamy interiors. The rind is composed of one of the greatest cheese molds, Penicillium candidum, which grows naturally as the cheese ages. The mold grows on the outside of the cheese, breaking down the protein and fat inside, making it soft, runny, and more complex. Bloomy rind cheeses are usually made of cow’s milk, resulting in a very creamy and very soft paste. They are aged quickly, resulting in mild and subtle flavors. The most popular cheeses in the world—Brie and Camembert—fall into this category.
Other bloomy-rinded favorites include triple crèmes such as Brillat-Savarin and Pierre Robert, with 75% butterfat. Bloomy rind cheeses are generally aged for two weeks, which produces a mild flavor and subtle aroma. |
Produced in the Normandy region of France, Camembert and Brie are the world’s most famous bloomy rind cheeses. Read about the difference between Brie and Camembert. The Camembert above is available from iGourmet.com. |
BLUE CHEESE, BLUE MOLD or BLUE VEINED CHEESES
A class of cheese unto itself, simply for the mold it carries inside. Penicillium roqueforti, a relative of bloomy mold—but dark blue in color rather than the pristine white—is sharp and powerful. Penicillium roqueforti,
Penicillium gorgonzola or Penicillium glaucum spores
are injected into the cheese, which provide the
blue-green colors and piquant flavor (although some blues are mild). The mold will not thrive until oxygen comes into contact with it, so the cheeses are pierced with pins.
Then air is injected, which causes the cheeses to develop a very high acid content and crumb-like texture. Blues can range from high-moisture to firm and well-aged; the common thread is the addition of the mold spores into the milk during the cheesemaking process.
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 Roquefort is made from sheep’s milk in the caves of Combalou in southern France. It is one of the oldest-known cheeses, celebrated by Roquefort was discovered for its rich aroma in 79 C.E. by Pliny the Elder. This Roquefort is available at iGourmet.com. |
Blue cheeses are found in all categories of cheese with the exception of fresh cheeses, since the mold needs time to develop. Roquefort, Stilton and Gorgonzola are the big three, with Danish Blue the fourth best-known blue. Blues are typically aged for 90 days, which enables them to become more solid. Read more about blue cheese.
BREBIS
The French term for a cheese made from sheep’s milk.
BRILLAT SAVARIN
One of the most famous triple-crème cheeses, from France (photo at right). It is a great pairing with Champagne. |
 This Brillat Savarin is available at iGourmet.com. |
BÛCHE
The French word for log, a popular shape for goat cheese (chèvre), shown in the photo at right. It is made in whole logs (generally 8 ounces) and half logs. Pronounced as a cross between “boosh” and “beesh.”
BUFFALO MOZZARELLA
Mozzarella cheese made from the milk of the water buffalo, rather than cow’s milk. See mozzarella di bufala.
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 Pink peppercorn log of fresh chèvre from Vermont Butter & Cheese Company. Read our review. |
BURRATA
A ball of mozzarella di bufala, filled with scraps of mozzarella and fresh cream, and wrapped in the leaves of asphodel, which indicate the cheese’s freshness. A specialty of the Murgia area of Puglia, Italy, it can be served as mozzarella is served, although the creamy insides beg for fresh, crusty bread or crostini. With a very short shelf life, it is flown to specialty cheese shops in the U.S., but can be hard to find. Some U.S. cheesemakers have begun to make it, including Mozzarella Company. |
 Burrata available at iGourmet.com. |
BRIE & CAMEMBERT
These popular cheeses are essentially the same cheese (the recipe is the same), differing only in the locales in which they are made and the sizes in which they are  created: Camembert, named after the village in northwestern France where it is made, is made in 4.5-inch wheels, while Brie is made in much larger formats, 11 to 11.8 inches (28 to 30 cm). The paste is straw-colored and flavor is buttery and mushroomy. The soft, bloomy rind, made of Penicillium candidum, is fully edible. As a result of the terroir, and of the faster evaporation in a smaller-size cheese, there are nuances of flavor difference. Read our full article on the difference between Brie and Camembert. Brie, named for the province in northern France where it originated, is made from raw cow’s milk cheese. While it is made in many locales today, only two Bries are AOC-protected: Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun. The Melun Brie has very ancient origins—manuscripts suggest that it predates the Roman invasion. At the Vienna Congress of 1815, Brie was declared the “king of cheeses” during a diplomatic banquet; it has also been called the “queen of cheeses,” and fights Roquefort and Parmigiano-Reggiano for the king’s crown.
Photo of Brie, above, courtesy of MurraysCheese.com.
BRINE CURED
Many types of cheese are washed with, or submerged into, a brine bath as part of the cheese making process. The brining solution provides cheese with a slightly salty flavor and helps to limit the growth of unwanted bacteria that can produce a foul taste in the cheese (in other stages of the cheese making process, beneficial bacteria are necessary for producing the positive, character-giving qualities of the cheese). Appenzeller, Feta Gouda and Parmigiano-Reggiano are examples of brine-cured cheeses.
BRUSHED RIND CHEESE
Certain types of natural rind cheeses, both cooked and uncooked varieties, have their rinds brushed during the period they spend ripening. This brushing, done by hand or machine, helps the interior of the cheese to keep moist during the ripening period. It also has an effect on the final flavor of the cheese: Etivaz, an AOC-protected Swiss cheese shown in the photo at right, is brushed with salt. |
 Etivaz is available at iGourmet.com. |
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© Copyright 2005-2009 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Some material copyright Murray’s Cheese. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
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