Winter 2026 · 888 guides to the world's cheeses
Around the world in cheese
French Cheese: The Complete Guide
Picture Normandy’s pastures, then follow the milk towards the Loire’s goat dairies, the Jura’s shared cheesemaking traditions and the sheep country of the Pyrenees.
Brie
Cream, butter, hazelnut: bring a fully ripe wedge of Brie de Meaux close and those are the aromas its specification tells you to expect.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Break into a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano and flakes fall away, revealing a finely granular cheese, pale straw to straw in colour.
From milk to cheese
Cow, Goat, Sheep and Buffalo Milk Compared
Your knife meets resistance.
Starter Cultures Explained
Inside a ripening Cheddar, a starter cell breaks open.
Cutting the Curd: Why the Size of the Pieces Matters
At dairy Boselli, a spino breaks the set milk for Parmigiano Reggiano into minute granules.
Did you know?
Did you know? In the Roquefort legend, a shepherd leaves bread and sheep’s milk curd in a cave after being distracted by a passing young woman. He returns to find mould has transformed his lunch.
Roquefort: Legend, Early Privileges and the 1925 Appellation LawDid you know? In Mantua, the Po divides the cheese territories: Parmigiano Reggiano is made on the right bank and Grana Padano on the left.
Parmigiano Reggiano vs Grana PadanoHalloumi is cooked in whey above 90 °C for at least 30 minutes before being folded. The fold traditionally helped it fit into storage containers while holding mint leaves between the layers.
Feta vs HalloumiAt the table
The Rind Question
Your questions about cheese, answered plainly: what to cut off, what to keep, and what your fridge is doing wrong.
Can I cut mould off hard cheese in England, Northern Ireland or Wales?
The Food Standards Agency advises against eating food containing mould and gives no separate exception for hard cheese. See the FSA's Home food fact checker.
What temperature should I store cheese at?
The FSA recommends 0 to 5 °C in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland gives the same range for Scotland. Follow any colder storage instruction on the pack and check the fridge with a thermometer.
Hard and semi hard cheeses are the most straightforward choices, especially for cooking, though they may become crumbly. The US National Center for Home Food Preservation says cottage cheese, ricotta and cream cheese do not freeze well.
Stories, legends and journeys
Cheese Around the World: How Different Countries Eat It
Curds dry in the Mongolian sun, on their way to becoming aaruul, a portable food suited to nomadic life.
Cheese Festivals Around the World
A herd of goats arrives at Rocamadour's cheese festival.
Cheese Travel: Visiting Dairies and Caves
Milk moves through the vats at La Maison du Gruyère in Pringy, Switzerland.
Know your cheese
How to Tell Cheese Styles Apart: Milk, Rind, Texture and Method
Watch mozzarella curd being worked and stretched in hot water.
Cow's Milk Cheese
Picture a drum of Blue Stilton, its curd settling under its own weight, without a press.
Smoked Cheese Explained
Your knife slips through the golden skin of a Puglian scamorza.