Cheese Is Cheese Is Cheese! Of Course It’s Not!
There are over 1,000 varieties of cheese from many different countries. Therefore, labelling it “just cheese” is misleading at best and incorrect at worst. Cheese originates from various animals, including cows, goats, sheep, and even water buffalo, with cows being the most common source worldwide.
The Making of Cheese
The production of most cheeses is a lengthy and complex process. There are basically nine steps to making cheese:
- Preparing the milk – Regardless of the source, the milk must be fresh and handled carefully to avoid contamination.
- Acidification – Adding bacterial cultures begins the fermentation process.
- Coagulation – This is the process by which the liquid milk starts to solidify.
- Cutting the curds – The mass is then cut into cubes.
- Heating and stirring – This step is to determine the texture and firmness of the final cheese.
- Draining the whey – Now, the solid curds and the liquid whey are separated.
- Salting – This is to preserve the product.
- Shaping and pressing – The cheese is formed into its final shape.
- Ageing and ripening – To enhance the flavour and aroma of the cheese.
Note: The above is a very brief summary of the steps in the cheese-making process. For an interesting and comprehensive description, please refer to Food and Beverage Service Knowledge.
Cheese Varieties
There are various ways to categorize or classify cheese. The most common criteria are moisture content, fat content, and the curing or ripening methods. And of course, the animal from which the milk came to produce the cheese and its country or region of origin are considered.
Most people can easily understand the terms: fresh, soft, semi-soft, firm, hard, and blue when it comes to cheese. These terms refer to the texture, aging, and moisture content of the specific cheese.
(AI-generated image by Craig P. – 03/10/25)
- Fresh – mild flavour, moist, creamy texture
Examples: Mozzarella, Ricotta, Goat Cheese, Feta - Soft – high moisture content, soft and easily spreadable
Examples: Cottage Cheese, Cream Cheese, Gorgonzola, Brie - Semi-soft – between creamy soft cheese and crumbly hard cheese
Examples: Havarti, Pepper Jack, Limburger, Stinking Bishop - Firm – low moisture content, slightly crumbly texture
Examples: Cheddar, Gouda, Provolone, Monterey Jack - Hard – longer aging process
Examples: Parmesan, Swiss, Colby - Blue – with mould added
Examples: Oxford Blue, Roquefort, Danish Blue
Note: Depending on the source, some of these cheeses may overlap with different categories.
Cheese Pairings
During my research, I discovered some interesting pairings of cheeses with other foods and drinks, particularly with fruits and wines. I don’t drink wine, so you’re on your own there.
Here are some combinations with fruits: Blue Cheese – figs or watermelon; Cheddar Cheese – apples; Goat Cheese – fresh berries, cherries, or dried apricots; Gouda – peach, blackberries; Parmesan – strawberries.
Actually, I find this whole pairing thing somewhat pretentious and very open to individual taste. You should combine whatever flavours you enjoy together. It’s as simple as that.
(AI-generated image by Craig P. – 04/10/25)
And Then There Are the Unsophisticated Consumers
The above is very interesting, but not particularly relevant to the day-to-day consumption of cheese for the average person, at least not in North America. Not everyone is a connoisseur of cheese or even wants to be. Actually, that would be me. I enjoy various kinds of cheese, but perhaps my palate is not sophisticated enough to discern the subtle differences between the different varieties. So, for people like me, everyday cheese is very different.
Kids’ Birthday Parties
When I was growing up in the 1950s and early 1960s, there were no fast-food joints such as McDonald’s or play places. So, mothers would have their kids’ birthday parties at home. We would have hot dogs and a homemade birthday cake. Before icing it, the mother would insert a few coins—pennies, nickels, or dimes—into the cake. It was so exciting if you were lucky enough to get a coin or two in your piece of cake, assuming you didn’t choke on it. There was no cheese at these parties!
Young kids’ birthday parties these days are very different. The parents’ challenge is to have a more interesting, novel, and expensive party than the last one their kid attended. And, it usually does include cheese. Pizza! One of the three main ingredients in pizza is cheese.
No more house parties. That’s just boring. Let’s pay a ridiculous per-child fee to participate in a slightly dangerous activity and then finish up with pizza and juice. The per-adult fee will be less because there is no way they are up for this nonsense, but someone has to be there to take the injured kids to the hospital. Then everyone goes home; no fuss, no muss. However, the total cost of the party was much more than the total value of the crap the kid got for presents.
Slice Cheese – Is It Really Cheese?
Well, it says on the package that it’s cheese, so it must be. It’s processed, don’t you know. Whatever that means.
(AI-generated image by Craig P. – 04/10/25)
Anyway, there is nothing warmer or more comforting on a cold winter afternoon than a grilled cheese sandwich with a hot cup or bowl of tomato soup. It’s a perfect combination. The combination warms your very soul. It is the ultimate comfort food.
The Original Kraft Dinner – Macaroni & Cheese at Its Finest
And finally, I bring you the pièce de résistance in the everyday person’s world of cheeses. That is, of course, that little white packet of orange powder that comes in every box of original Kraft Dinner (KD Original). To find out what is inside that little white packet, check it out at Flavor 365.
For me, the enclosed cheese powder is not cheesy enough. So, I add about a tablespoon of Cheez Whiz to the mix to give it a little more flavour. Try it; you’ll like it!
(Photo by Hana P. – 04/10/25)
Protein
I have recently read that cheese is a good source of protein. The top three cheeses for protein content are Cottage Cheese, Parmesan, and Ricotta. However, you must be careful that the calories don’t outweigh the protein benefits. So, I have cheese every morning for breakfast.
As an older person, I need to include protein in my diet every day. Cottage Cheese is the one I choose. Cottage Cheese is odd in that a person either loves it or hates it. I like it because it goes with many different foods.
So apparently, to some people, including myself, cheese is cheese is cheese. Sorry to all the cheese connoisseurs out there, but that’s just the way it is. Cheese is a comfort food, and that’s all it is.
The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.
Vocabulary
- originate – verb (intransitive); begin, arise, be derived, take its origin; begins with
- solidify – verb (transitive and intransitive); make or become solid; become solid
- curds – noun; a coagulated substance formed by the action of acids on milk, which may be made into cheese or eaten as food; a semi-solid substance in the cheese-making process
- enhance – verb (transitive); heighten or intensify (qualities, power, values, etc.); make greater
- comprehensive – adjective; complete; complete
- criteria – noun (plural); a principle or standard that a thing is judged by; standards
- pretentious – adjective; making an excessive claim to great merit, importance, fashionableness, etc., esp. without good cause; seeming to sound more important than it actually is
- relevant – adjective; bearing on or having reference to the matter in hand; important to what is being discussed
- consumption – noun; the eating, drinking, or ingesting of something; eating (in this context)
- connoisseur – noun; an expert judge in matters of taste; an expert in cheese (in this context)
- palate – noun; the sense of taste; the sense of taste (in this context)
- sophisticated – adjective; worldly, cultured, and refined; discriminating in taste and judgement; sensitive to a high degree (in this context)
- discern – verb (transitive); perceive through the senses, esp. by sight; understand or realize (in this context)
- subtle – adjective; difficult to perceive or detect; very small or insignificant difference
- pièce de résistance – noun; the most important or remarkable item; the most important
- outweigh – verb (transitive); exceed in weight, value, importance, or influence; more than
Comprehension Questions
- How many varieties of cheese are there?
(a) more than 1,000, (b) more than 2,000, (c) more than 3,000, or (d)