What is the most popular Italian cheese?
The Complete Guide to Italian Cheeses (and the 13 Kinds to Know)
- Burrata. Tasting notes: A close relative to mozzarella, burrata is a richly creamy cheese from the south of Italy.
- Mascarpone. Tasting notes: Smooth and rich, mascarpone is the creamiest cheese on our list. ...
- Mozzarella. ...
- Ricotta. ...
- Stracciatella. ...
- Fontina. ...
- Gorgonzola. ...
- Scamorza. ...
- Taleggio. ...
- Grana Padano. ...
What are the most popular cheeses?
- Cow cheeses
- Red, white and blue cheeses
- Goat and sheep cheeses
What are the names of soft cheeses?
Semi-soft Cheeses
- Halloumi. Halloumi is a cheese made in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Famagusta, Paphos, and Kyrenia since ancient times.
- Roquefort. Roquefort is one of the greatest cheeses of France, made from full-fat, unpasteurized sheep's milk. ...
- Stilton. ...
- Oaxaca Cheese. ...
- Fontina. ...
- Scamorza. ...
- Limburger. ...
- Pepper Jack. ...
- Reblochon. ...
- Taleggio. ...
What are some cheeses in Italy?
- Mozzarella ( Basilicata)
- Silana mozzarella ( Calabria)
- Mozzarella della mortella ( Campania)
- Mozzarella di Brugnato ( Liguria)
- Cow's mozzarella ( Molise)
- Mozzarella or fior di latte ( Apulia)
- Mozzarella ( Sicily ).
What are the four Italian cheeses?
The four most popular Italian cheeses for grating as an ingredient or garnish are Asiago, Grana Padano, Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) & Pecorino, with Parmesan leading the pack. Italian cheese makers still tend for the most part to use milk from their own areas, contributing to a strong local character to the cheeses.
What are the names of some Italian cheeses?
A Guide to The Best Italian CheesesMozzarella. ... Gorgonzola. ... Parmigiano-Reggiano. ... Mascarpone. ... Ricotta. ... Stracchino. ... Bel Paese.
What is the name of Italian cream cheese?
Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese whose rich, naturally sweet essence almost puts it in the category of dessert.
What Italian cheese is like Brie?
Young gorgonzola is creamy and Brie-like in texture; as the cheese ages, it becomes harder and crumbly. All gorgonzola is wonderfully garlicky and peppery.
What is the most popular cheese in Italy?
The most popular Italian cheeses include mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, gorgonzola and ricotta. Some of these cheeses work best slathered on crusty Italian bread as appetizers, while others are integral parts of main courses, pasta toppers, or even desserts!
Which is famous Italian cheese?
Popular Italian cheeses include mozarella, Parmesan, Grana Padano, and ricotta. Italy produces cow's milk cheese, sheep's milk cheese, and buffalo milk cheese. Also, the textures encompass soft cheese, semisoft cheese, hard cheese, and semihard cheese.
How many types of Italian cheese are there?
Italy is the country with the highest variety of cheeses in the world, with over 2500 traditional varieties, among which are about 500 commercially recognized cheeses and more than 300 kinds of cheese with protected designation of origin (PDO, PGI and PAT).
What is Italian style cheese?
Italian blend grated cheese contains both grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano; some blends also contain mozzarella and provolone. Although grating cheese yourself is always the first choice for freshness and great flavor, using a cheese blend is a convenient time-saver.
What is Italian sweet cheese?
Mascarpone is the sweetest Italian cheese – a spreadable fresh cheese with a subtly sweet, tangy, and rich buttery flavor. It's the very essence of tiramisu.
What cheese is creamier than Brie?
If you're looking for a cheese that's even milder than brie, chevre is the way to go. What is this? Chevre is a type of goat cheese but is extremely creamy in texture.
What cheese is better than Brie?
Fromage D'affinois This soft-ripened, pasteurized cow's milk cheese has such an interesting level of flavor making it a potential Brie alternative cheese. Fromage D'affinois has a light, smooth and silky texture that many people find better than Brie cheese.
Which Italian cheese melts the best?
Provolone. This Italian cheese has a creamy, well-rounded flavor. Slices are ideal for melting.
How many types of Italian cheeses are there?
Italy is the country with the highest variety of cheeses in the world, with over 2500 traditional varieties, among which are about 500 commercially recognized cheeses and more than 300 kinds of cheese with protected designation of origin (PDO, PGI and PAT).
Which Italian cheese melts the best?
Provolone. This Italian cheese has a creamy, well-rounded flavor. Slices are ideal for melting.
What cheese is only made in Italy?
Parmesan cheeseParmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan cheese has had more imitators than almost any other product. Its unique taste is now appreciated in every corner of the world, but true parmesan has its origins only in the “Reggiano” region of Italy.
What is hard Italian cheese called?
Parmigiano-reggianoParmigiano-reggiano A hard, nutty cheese made from raw cow's milk and aged for two to three years. By law, only the cheese that is produced in Parma, Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Modena and southern Mantova can be given this name.
Fennel-citrus salad with burrata
Tasting notes: Smooth and rich, mascarpone is the creamiest cheese on our list. In fact, it’s more like a double cream than a cheese in its taste, texture, and production.
Make classic tiramisu with Lisa
Use mascarpone for these dishes: Mascarpone is most famously used in tiramisu but doubles as a rich substitute for whipped or double cream (or works in combination with the two, like in this chocolate-chip icebox cake recipe ). Thanks to its high fat content, it can simply be spooned over simple desserts and pairs well on its own with ripe fruit.
Cherry parfait with chocolate cookies
Tasting notes: Mozzarella is arguably the most popular of all of the Italian cheeses (though our good friend Parmesan might beg to differ). Traditionally mozzarella was made out of buffalo milk, but today many producers opt for less expensive cow’s milk.
Italian sandwich with prosciutto di Parma
How mozzarella is made: Mozzarella cheese is manufactured through the ‘filata’ or stretched-curd procedure, in which the cheese is rested and kneaded until it turns into a soft and fibrous mass that is then formed into balls or braids. Fresh mozzarella is usually sold in a brine which helps preserve its freshness and prevent them from drying out.
Grilled zucchini Caprese sandwich
Tasting notes: Ricotta is arguably the most popular soft cheese in Italy. The curd-style cheese is crumbly in texture with a rich, creamy flavor.
Asparagus and herb frittata
Types of ricotta: As well as the types of ricotta made with different types of milk, in regions of Italy you can also find baked ricotta (ricotta infornata), which has a dark crust and is served as an antipasto, smoked ricotta which takes on woody notes, and firm salted ricotta (ricotta salata) which is excellent grated onto pasta dishes, such as Sicilian pasta alla norma—recipe below!.
Ricotta and spinach gnudi
Tasting notes: Stracciatella is a creamy fresh cheese that is somewhere between curd and liquid in texture. You might know it better as the soft creamy center of burrata.
2. Gran Padano
The next one that made our Italian cheeses list is the Grana Padano. This is another sharp Italian cheese, but it’s aged for less, and it’s much lighter in taste than the Parmigiano Reggiano. Many people tend to confuse Grana Padano with Parmigiano because the way this cheese is being used is really similar.
3. Pecorino Romano
One of the most delicious Italian cheese types, which is also a sharp Italian cheese is definitely the Pecorino. Especially the Pecorino Romano that’s the base ingredient of many great dishes, such as Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe and Pasta alla Carbonara. Both of them are withing the most famous Roman pasta dishes.
4. Mozzarella
Mozzarella is the best Italian cheese for pizza, and it is indeed the most famous soft Italian cheese out there. What you should know firsthand is that there are different varieties of Mozzarella. The cheapest version is made with cow milk, and this is used mostly on pizza too.
5. Gorgonzola
Gorgonzola is the best, most famous, and most delicious Italian blue cheese. When it comes to the best Italian cheese at appetizer, there will be something made with Gorgonzola, or there will be someone who’s bringing specifically this type of Italian cheese for a homemade, shared appetizer.
6. Ricotta
If you’re looking for creamy, sweet soft Italian cheese, you’ve found one! Ricotta is a very popular Italian cream cheese that’s being used in different salty and sweet dishes, pastries, and salads. This cheese has a crumbly texture, with a rich, yet delicate flavor.
7. Mascarpone
We are not quite finished with soft Italian cheese types, so here comes another big favorite, the Mascarpone. This is also well-known Italian cream cheese, since we all know and tried at least once (if not every few weeks) the famous Italian dessert, the Tiramisu.
8. Fiore Sardo
Fiore Sardo is another important type of sharp Italian cheese we must mention. The area of origin is the island of Sardinia, and it’s an Italian hard cheese that we, who live in Italy love to bring home with us when we’re returning from our summer vacations in Sardinia.
Blue Cheese
As the name suggests, blue cheese has bluish-green veins of mold that makes it highly distinctive from other kinds of cheeses. Some of the most popular types and varieties of blue cheese include Italian Gorgonzola, English Stilton, and French Roquefort cheese.
Boursault
This is a popular triple-cream cheese that is made from pasteurized cow’s milk and has originated from the French region of Val-de-Marne. This cheese was initially invented in the 1950s by a man named Henri Boursault.
Boursin
This cheese is also made from pasteurized cow’s milk and has a crumbly, creamy texture that is said to be similar to that of cream cheese. It comes in a variety of different flavors that are often infused with herbs and spices. Some of its popular flavors include maple bourbon, pepper, basil & chive, red chili pepper, and cranberry & spice.
Brie
This is one of the most well-known and popularly consumed types of soft cheese. It originates from the French region of Brie, as also the name suggests.
Buchette
This is a raw-milk goat cheese that has originated from an area named ‘Anjou’ in the Loire Valley, France. In the English language, the cheese literally means “a small log from Anjou” because it actually looks like a wood log.
Buffalo Mozzarella
Also called ‘Mozzarella di Bufala’ in Italian, the Buffalo Mozzarella cheese is made from the milk of Italian Mediterranean Mozzarella. It originates from Campania, Italy, more specifically from the provinces of Salemo and Caserta.
Camembert
Pronounced as ‘CAH-muhn-BARE’, this is another super famous French soft cheese that was first made in the 18 th century in Camembert, Normandy in northern France.
Soft Italian Cheese
Of course, everyone has heard of mozzarella, a creamy and mild soft cheese that originates in Italy and is now a food staple throughout the world, particularly on pizzas.
Italian Semi-Soft Cheese
Mozzarella cheese was first made in Naples from the milk of water buffaloes. Legend has it that it was discovered when cheese curds accidentally fell into a bucket of hot water. It is a semi-soft cheese – it can be made into blocks of cheese, but it is easily broken down with your fingers and grated.
Hard Italian Cheeses
Many have heard of and also used parmesan cheese. However, few know that it is really just a version of a very famous Italian cheese called Parmigiano Reggiano.
Other Italian Cheese Types
Gorgonzola is a soft and crumbly, blue-veined cheese that is traditionally produced in Piedmont and Lombardy in northern Italy. With a surprisingly low-fat content (25-30%), Gorgonzola is a much healthier option than many other soft, creamy kinds of cheese.
