Ever wonder exactly what little Miss Muffet
was eating on that tuffet of hers? Or why some cheddar is orange and
some is white? We’d like to make it as easy as possible for
you to choose cheese more knowledgably. You’ll find the essential
vocabulary to use when chatting about cheese—and serving tips
too!
aged
a cheese that has been cured longer than six months; typically has fuller, sharper flavor.
annatto
yellow-orange natural vegetable dye added to some Cheddars.
baby
a smaller quantity of cheese; a mini-wheel or cylinder-like shape.
bloomy rind
edible cheese rind covered with a harmless, flavor-producing white Penicillium mold.
brine
a salt-and-water solution in which some cheese varieties are washed or dipped during the cheesemaking process; Feta is packed and stored in brine.
buttery
a descriptive term for cheese with a high fat content, such as the double and triple creams.
chevres
the plural form of the French word for goat, used to classify all goat cheeses.
consistency
the degree of hardness or softness of cheese; classifications include soft, semi-soft, semi-firm, firm, and hard.
curd
curdled milk from which cheese is made.
eye
a hole within cheese caused by trapped gas as a result of fermentation during the curing process; typical of Swiss-type cheeses.
fondue
a Swiss dish often made with melted cheese
grana
the Italian term for hard-grating cheese.
piquant
a cheese with an appealing sharpness, flavor or aroma.
rennet
an extract from calves' stomachs that contains rennin, an enzyme that aids in separating curds from whey.
rind
the outer surface of cheese.
whey
the thin, watery part of milk that separates from the coagulated curds during the cheesemaking process.
