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Fifty Best Cheese
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Cheese has been enjoyed for hundreds of years, but only recently has there been a resurgence, enhanced by new artisanal cheese producers from all over the world.
Here are the fifty best cheese classics and newcomers, listed alphabetically from 9 different countries.
Roncal
Navarre, Spain
Spanish DO status, EU PDO
3 millennia of unbroken tradition can't be wrong. In the olden times, 13 villages in the Roncal valley of Navarre got together and decided THEY made the cheese around these parts, and no one else. 3000 years later, neither this fact nor the recipe has changed much. It's a good thing. The cheese is the peak of sheep's milk. It smells like hot buttered popcorn, and tastes perfectly full and meaty with a lightly nutty character. The flavor lingers and builds in the mouth long after the cheese is gone. This is Manchego's older, badass brother, and a testament to the adage: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
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Mahon
Minorca, Spain
Spanish DO; EU PDO
Mahon is one of the most under-sung cheeses in the world. The simple cow's milk cheese may not be much to rave about during the first few months of its life, but after a year spent in the caves of the island's ripener/gatherers, the cheese blossoms into a full, fruity, sharp marvel.
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Leonora
La Mancha, Spain
Central Spanish goat cheese has become a force to be reckoned with in recent years. The rough and sparse landscape is an ideal environment for the creation of creamy goat cheeses with an exceedingly tart note. Leonora is the newcomer to the family, but is rapidly eclipsing the others in terms of consistency. The flavor is always bright, clean, and the texture a perfect balance of whipped and crumbly.
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Cabrales
Asturias, Spain
Spanish DO, EU PDO
This blue will hold your tongue down and make it say uncle. Cabrales is the classic Spanish blue, and the prince of the Austurian cheeses, which include a cabal of wicked little blues. The best versions are made with a blend of goat, cow, and sheep's milk, and are so extensively blued, that they seem to be more mold than cheese. This is almost always the final cheese in a given tasting order. Each bite is an aromatic blast of salt and pepper.
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Montcabrer
Catalonia, Spain
Made by Can Pujol
Usually, goat's milk makes relatively tart cheese. Montcabrer eschews traditional flavor and starts to taste almost like a sturdier cow's milk cheese. The cheese still has a lactic bite, but is also rather sumptuous and unctuous. Of course the goat's milk still adds its own unmistakable touch. This is definitely a cheese for goat lovers looking for new flavors.
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La Serena
Extramadura, Spain
Spanish DO, EU PDO
The unctuous sheep cheeses made in the rough wilds of the Spanish/Portuguese border have a peculiar quality. The addition of Cardoon thistle, the only naturally occurring vegetable rennet, creates a sensationally strong flavor, and super runny texture. The cheese has a strong acrid smell, and a slightly vinegary taste. This one often has a citric bitterness, like lime rinds.
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Ibores
Extramadura, Spain
The rustic perfection of this Spanish classic is unrivaled among its fellow goat tommes. The flavors of Spain's rough and wild west are all here in a flinty, slightly goaty cheese. The flavor is round and olivey, and goes with a wide variety of wines, charcuterie, and other cheese accompaniments.
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Nevat de Oveja
Catalonia, Spain
Made by Can Pujol
Nevat is usually a goat's milk cheese. The goat's milk version is certainly pleasant enough, but the recipe is designed to highlight the power of sheep's milk. The flavor is mellow and unassuming, but if you let a piece of the chalky middle or creamy edge linger on your tongue, the taste will stay and caress your mouth for an eternity.
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Add a comment or suggestion to this list.
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Sun. May 12, 2013 10:07 AM - by: Tom
Fourteen of the fifty best cheeses from the United States?! I don't think so! American Exceptionalism still lives, and it's stronger, smellier, and more blue-veined than ever.
Fri. May 3, 2013 2:49 PM - by: Thomas
It isn't as famous, but cheese from the province of Québec, in Canada, marketed as Fromages d'ici, like OKA, St-Paulin, etc. are extremely god, the best cheeses with the exception of Italy and France
Mon. March 25, 2013 6:20 PM - by: Autumn liddery
Is most cheese from spain? I really need alot from Ireland... i'm writing a historical fiction story with a irish cheese shop.....
Thu. March 7, 2013 9:42 AM - by: awesome
No boursin
Tue. March 5, 2013 8:52 AM - by: Andrea
I suggest an italian cheese: Bitto Heritage. It can be aged well over 10 years old. Stunning!! http://www.bittocheese.com/
Fri. February 8, 2013 12:49 AM - by: Simon Kerr
No Paški Sir?? Surely Croatia's finest deserves a place on the list? http://paskisir.wordpress.com/
Tue. January 22, 2013 12:03 PM - by: Thando
I love all the kinds of cheese ,brrrrrrrrrrrra ba ba ba I'm loving it
Tue. January 15, 2013 7:13 PM - by: Van Si Fudere
Don't like Greek cheese as well. Tasteless...
Tue. January 15, 2013 7:11 PM - by: Manoel Maria
What? Portuguese cheese? They are awful! Portuguese people can only make Bacalhau! Com certeza!
Sun. January 6, 2013 9:13 AM - by: Pedro
I can't believe, any Portuguese cheese?! The best cheeses in the world, like S. Miguel, Serra or Serpa. Unbelievable!!!
Wed. December 19, 2012 7:09 AM - by: Thando
Stop talking about cheese you making me go buy cheese now!!!!
Fri. November 23, 2012 12:46 PM - by: Thando
My friend brought a big yelllow ball and I thought it was cheese
Fri. November 23, 2012 12:04 PM - by: thando
Since you guys are talking about cheese so much I am going to the shops now to buy myself some of that cheese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fri. November 23, 2012 12:02 PM - by: thando
I seriously love cheese
Mon. October 8, 2012 4:09 PM - by: Karl
Lack of Humboldt Fog means I can't take this list seriously.
Tue. October 2, 2012 9:25 AM - by: Stephen
Seriously??? No place for Stilton - The King of British Cheese!
Sun. May 6, 2012 12:56 AM - by: Jens Hansen
Old - very old - Havarti is the king of all cheese. Don't ever touch it with your fingers, as it is dripping wet - use cheese buttons. It crumbles as well and it fills the whole house with flavour. But the taste is beyond belief.
Tue. May 1, 2012 10:40 AM - by: nanna
To Marco: If you live near Houston, Austin, or Dallas you can find many of these cheeses and others at Central Market. I have heard the one in Houston has the largest selection.
Sat. April 28, 2012 4:03 PM - by: Marco
No cheese from Germany? Also, it would be good to list where to buy all these fancy cheese. Most stores here in Texas have only cheese with no flavor at all from Mexico or some rotten milk that tries to be cheese from the US. So where to buy all these gourmet jewels?
Wed. April 18, 2012 10:45 PM - by: Fikret from USA
Not one cheese from Germany on this list comon who made this list,, Germany is the biggest producer of cheese in Europe and they don't get on this list ...please.
Mon. March 26, 2012 4:01 AM - by: Mordecai Stilton
Oh wow this website is BRIElliant. It's filled with GOUDA information. I can't CAMEMBERT the awesomeness. There's no CHEDDAR (Sounds like better) cheesed based website. EDAM it's amazing.
Thu. March 15, 2012 12:21 PM - by: dessiepoo
Dutch gouda and edam are very bland cheeses.
Sun. March 11, 2012 7:02 PM - by: silva
Portugal have many good cheeses, one of the very best and well known in Europe is Queijo da Serra. In my opinion, a lot more homework needed to be done before puting this list together.
Thu. February 16, 2012 6:21 AM - by: Danielle Kaufman
add more cheese What about Edam????
Sat. December 31, 2011 7:24 AM - by: Tim Proctor
You are definitely missing one cheese here. It is Ossau/Iraty AOC brebis. This is a ewes milk cheese from the Pyrenees Atlantique (that's the furthest department in SW France adjoining Spain. One producer Fromagerie Agour of Helette a village in that department produces a 12 month matured Ossau/Iraty brebis that has won the World Cheese Awards title of Supreme Champion in both 2006 and 2011 with gold medals for it's class in the intervening years. Truly one of the worlds best cheeses.
Fri. November 18, 2011 2:43 PM - by: Wallace
What's wrong with Wendsleydale?
Thu. October 27, 2011 12:22 PM - by: Drew Crowley
Great selection of cheeses. Afterall taste is quite an individual phenomenon. I want to at least plug in a good swiss cheese from the Monastery in Engelberg, Switzerland. Ernst Odermatt has made cheese for over 50 years now and if I must choose one of his current 16 base cheeses, I will go with the Truffel Symphonie.
Tue. August 23, 2011 11:24 PM - by: Sarah and cheesr
What about Edam????
Sat. July 23, 2011 9:14 PM - by: Joe
Where's Gouda!?
Thu. June 30, 2011 3:10 PM - by: Brandon
I'd recommend Dofino's cheeses.
Tue. June 21, 2011 6:45 PM - by: Skip
How can they have a list without including Havarti?
Sat. June 18, 2011 12:31 AM - by: Eric
I was a little perplexed that Mimolette cheese didn't make the list.
Wed. April 27, 2011 12:49 PM - by: Brandino!
I would say havarti is my favorite. Other notable mentions: Castello - http://castellocheeseusa.com Dofino - http://www.dofinousa.com Saga Blue Cheese - http://saga-blue.com
Thu. April 14, 2011 5:01 PM - by: Maria
Serra da Estrela --- Creamy sheeps milk---Portugal
Mon. April 11, 2011 11:02 AM - by: carl beluga
You need to add "västerbotten" cheese on your list...one of the best kept secrets in the world of cheese,,,,from northern sweden...similiar to parmesan but a soft cheese...give it a go!
Thu. March 24, 2011 1:53 PM - by: José Nogueira
add to your list the portuguese "Serra da Estrela", surely one of the best sheep milk cheeses in the world.
Sun. March 20, 2011 3:14 AM - by: Remo Prete
Hi from Italy, I love cheeses been all over Europe but then visit the Netherlands and omg Old Amsterdam and Gouda chees are the best I ever tasted so delicious!
Fri. March 18, 2011 4:02 AM - by: Barcode Generate
I never seen this much variety of cheese. Thanks for providing me such type of knowledge. Very interesting. Title : Bar code Maker URL : http://barcodelabelsoftware.net
Mon. February 28, 2011 4:31 PM - by: bob
cheese rocks man yeah
Sat. February 5, 2011 4:47 PM - by: Pita
oh dear...relax y'all, it's just cheese for god's sake!
Tue. February 1, 2011 4:12 AM - by: Tom
I can not stop recommending Jarlberg from Norway and Reypenaer XO Reserve from Nederlands
Wed. January 26, 2011 11:57 PM - by: Manos
National pride even when it comes to cheeses(and im talking about the comments,many of them at least). "Where are the cheeses of my country(or the country i have roots in)? You ... Americans..." PATHETIC.
Sat. January 8, 2011 7:08 AM - by: Martin
I can not stop recommending some more Spanish kings: Torta del casar (really unique!!!) Valdeon Queso de Burgos (The Spanish Ricotta) Tetilla
Tue. December 21, 2010 2:54 PM - by: Jean Lafitte
I know that it's impossible to make a list like this but if you have room for Oregon Blue Vein and American Farmhouse Cheddar I think it's quite a big problem that Comté and Danablu didn't make the list...
Sat. December 18, 2010 9:19 PM - by: Bek
I cant believe some of the USA cheeses are called as such, every knows europeans make the best cheese. Why is there no German/Austrian Cheeses?
Tue. December 14, 2010 8:25 PM - by: Mike
Well, most of the so called American Cheeses you speak of are in fact NOT American cheeses. They are by immigrants who BROUGHT the recipes with them from all over the world. You have to understand America is the Nation with no Nationality. In other-words, the Swiss style cheeses are from Swiss families, the French style, from French families. Being bias about them based on location shows jealousy.
Fri. December 3, 2010 8:39 PM - by: Kristina
The country that makes Cheese Whiz and American Cheese tops the list with 14? Allow me a selection from only France or Switzerland til the day I die and I'll be happy.
Fri. December 3, 2010 5:49 PM - by: Robert
A very good list of cheese for a start. Might I suggest Parrano from the Netherlands.
Sat. November 20, 2010 5:07 AM - by: ymn
I've never even heard most of those american cheese listed above. One of them call ricotta something, I mean is more like italian cheese dupe. That american cheese list is mostly a waste of space on 50 best cheese.
Tue. November 16, 2010 9:06 AM - by: Jake
Yes, 14 American cheeses do deserve to be here--- if not more. European cheeses are only good when used as a laxative.
Fri. November 12, 2010 1:16 AM - by: Andre
I find it kind of strange that there is no Canadian cheese listed here. When in 2009 a Canadian Brie won the worlds best. Thou the cheese listed here are very good. They are a an American view only.
Thu. October 14, 2010 6:02 AM - by: Michael de Leur
Some very good suggestions, but clearly this list is made by a US jury , why? I mean 14 cheeses of the US amongst the 50 best? Come on get real!! Sure they have very very good cheeses but i think it needed more worldwide cheeses like from Denmark, holland (not only gouda cheese they got much more) Belgium and yes New Zealand, wide your horizon please!
Mon. October 11, 2010 1:01 AM - by: Robert
What about Danish and New Zealand cheese - the world's two great dairy countries!
Thu. September 30, 2010 10:44 PM - by: Andre
Cabrales!!!! My favorite blue! Just dirty! Robiola... had to force myself to stop eating half a pound for breakfast! Clean, creamy, nutty... Ossau Iraty Brebis... semi-hard with floral, grassy notes... delicious pecan finish.
Sun. September 19, 2010 5:40 PM - by: cheese lea
i love cheese i am crazy for cheese
Sat. August 14, 2010 11:21 PM - by: shan
who is the biggest rival of nolan cheddar cheese in the US?
Sat. June 26, 2010 8:09 PM - by: mwatkins
I had my first taste of Piave cheese on the recommendation of the owner of Romma Market in Pasadena N. Lake Ave. I was blown away.....I went back the next day and purchased 4 pounds. My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy just for the purpose of exploring cheese and wine. If you're ever in the Pasadena area, please visit this wonderful delightful market.
Fri. June 25, 2010 5:44 AM - by: Halaric
Comte AOC, is fantastic.
Sun. June 6, 2010 9:16 AM - by: Thomas
My all-time favorite cheese is Valio Mustaleima (Valio Blacklabel).. it's a very mature emmental. Very smelly and it "cries" a lot, the taste is mouth-watering. I've also heard that Finland has EU's healthiest milk, yum! http://jaakaappi.fi/static/images/tuotekuvat/6408430031276-i.jpg
Sat. May 29, 2010 8:02 PM - by: kelly U.S.A
Smoked Gouda is so far my best tasting cheese
Fri. March 26, 2010 6:24 PM - by: Connor Ireland
Red hawk should be on this list.
Sat. February 6, 2010 8:48 PM - by: aslam
Thanks
Tue. December 22, 2009 3:53 PM - by: Ken Carpenter
You must list La Sauvagine, a fantastic washed rind cow's milk cheese from Quebec. It might be my favourite cheese of all.
Thu. September 10, 2009 12:00 PM - by: elodie
What about Reblochon from France?? One of the best i LOVE it !
Thu. June 18, 2009 12:00 PM - by: Jeffrey Vandenberghe
Did you know that monks in Belgium not only made fantastic beers but excellent cheeses. This country has over 250 different cheeses. Worth looking into I suggest. Jeffrey