I don’t know about you, but when I walk by the cheese section at my grocery story I think it ALL looks good! But then I wonder, “is it?” And how do I know what they all are?

So I’ve done some research for you. (And me!) Here’s a handy list you can print and carry around. Try a new one every couple weeks or so and cross it off if you don’t like it!

ENGLISH CHEESES
Cheddar Cheese is chief among the kinds of cheeses made in England is. It is rich, double-thick cream cheese, ranging from a pale to a dark yellow, although when uncolored it may be white. Such cheese, when fresh, has a milk flavor, but when it is well ripened it has a characteristic sharp taste. New Cheddar cheese is soft, but not waxy, in texture and may readily be shaved or broken into small pieces. When it is well ripened, it may be grated. English Cheddar cheese is not unlike American Cheddar Cheese, or, as it is commonly called, American cream cheese. In fact the American variety is made according to the method used for the English. Owing to its characteristics, flavor, and abundance, Cheddar cheese, both English and American, is the kind that is used most extensively in the United States.

English Dairy Cheese, is similar to Cheddar cheese, although it has a reddish color and, on account of the method of manufacture, it is harder. This kind of cheese lends itself well to cooking, as it may be easily grated.

Cheshire Cheese, a well-known English variety, is a dry cream cheese made from whole cow’s milk. It is deep yellow or red in color, similar in flavor to Cheddar cheese, and is used in much the same manner.

Stilton Cheese, is a hard cheese made from cow’s milk to which cream has been added and which is coagulated with rennet. Mold
is introduced into this cheese, so that it resembles Roquefort cheese.

DUTCH CHEESE
Edam Cheese is a hard rennet cheese of a red color and is mild in flavor. This kind of cheese is molded into the shape of a ball, the outside of which is usually dyed red, and will keep for a long period of time. Edam cheese is one of the important products of the Netherlands, and while it is seldom used in cookery in the homes of this country, it is served at the table. Usually a section of the top is cut off to serve as a lid while the inside is scooped out as needed. Sometimes, after most of the cheese has been removed, the hollow shell is stuffed with macaroni or rice that has been cooked and seasoned and
the food then baked in the shell.

FRENCH CHEESES
Gruyere Cheese is well liked. It is usually made of skim milk, has a yellow color and a mild, sweetish flavor, and contains large holes like those found in Swiss and Emmenthal cheeses, varieties that are very similar to it. Like these cheeses, Gruyere cheese may be used in cooking or served without cooking, being used considerably in the making of sandwiches.

Brie Cheese is a French variety of very soft cheese, with a strong flavor and odor. It is made from whole or partly skimmed cow’s milk coagulated by means of rennet. This kind of cheese is used mostly as an accompaniment to other foods.

Camembert Cheese is also a soft cheese. It is made by practically the same process as Brie cheese and is used in the same way. This cheese has a typical odor. Its rind is thick and dry, but its center is very soft, being sometimes almost liquid.

Neufchatel Cheese is a soft rennet cheese made from cow’s milk. It is made at Neufchatel-en-Bray, France, and not at Neufchatel, Switzerland. This variety of cheese is wrapped in tin-foil and sold in small packages. It is used chiefly for salads, sandwiches, etc. As it does not keep well after the package is opened, the entire contents should be used at one time.

Roquefort Cheese is a hard, highly flavored cheese made from sheep’s milk coagulated with rennet. It has a marbled appearance, which is due to a greenish mold that is introduced. Roquefort cheese is frequently served with crackers at the end of a meal, and is well liked by many persons.

ITALIAN CHEESES
Parmesan Cheese that is used extensively for flavoring soups and macaroni dishes. This cheese, is very hard and granular and, provided it is well made, it will keep for years. Owing to its characteristics, it may be easily grated. It can be bought by the pound and grated as it is needed, or it can be secured already grated in bottles.

Gorgonzola, another Italian cheese, is not unlike Roquefort in appearance and in use, but it is made from whole cow’s milk
coagulated with rennet. Into this cheese is also introduced a mold that gives its center a streaked or mottled appearance.

SWISS CHEESES
Possibly the best known cheese imported from Switzerland is the variety known as Swiss, or Switzer Cheese. This kind of cheese has different names, depending on the district of Switzerland in which it is made. Nevertheless all of them are similar and have a mild, sweet flavor. Swiss cheese may be readily recognized by its pale yellow color and the presence of large holes, although it resembles Gruyere cheese very closely.

Emmenthal Cheese is a variety of fairly hard cheese that originated in Switzerland, but is now made in many other countries. It is similar to Swiss cheese, being made from whole cow’s milk and characterized by large holes about 3 inches apart.

Sapsago Cheese is a skim-milk cheese made in Switzerland. It is a very hard cheese, and therefore suitable for grating. In the process of making this cheese, melilot, a clover-like herb, is added, and this gives the cheese a green color and a peculiar flavor.

BELGIAN CHEESE
Limburg or Limburger Cheese is a soft rennet cheese made from whole cow’s milk. It is very strong in taste and smell, due to putrefactive germs that are added to the milk in its manufacture.

DOMESTIC CHEESE
In the United States, efforts that have been exerted to make cheeses similar to some of those produced in Europe have to a certain extent been successful. American cheese makers have succeeded in making several soft cream cheeses that resemble Neufchatel, some of which are spiced or flavored with pimiento, olives, etc. In addition, Limburg and Swiss cheeses have been successfully manufactured in Wisconsin, and Brie, Neufchatel, and Camembert have been copied and are produced in New York. Pineapple cheese, while of American origin, is really very much like English Cheddar cheese, except that it is harder. But while these fancy cheeses are desired by some persons and have a moderately large sale, the cheese for which there is the most demand in America is the so-called American Cheddar cheese, which, as has been stated, is made according to the method used for English Cheddar cheese.