Semi-Soft Cheeses Category

Semi-Soft Cheeses

These cheeses are great for snacking or desserts, and a few are heat-tolerant enough to be good cooking cheeses.


Many cheeses lose character when frozen, but many semi-soft cheeses can be frozen and thawed without losing too much flavor, though some become crumbly. For best results, first cut the cheese into small (1/2 pound) chunks, and wrap each chunk in an airtight package. Thaw in the refrigerator, and use the cheese soon after it's thawed.


Most semi-soft cheeses are made with cow's milk. Cheeses made with sheep's milk, like Fiore Sardo or Ossau-Iraty, have more butterfat, which make them richer and creamier. Cheeses made with goat's milk, like Syrian cheese, tend to have a tangy, earthy, and sometimes barnyard flavor.

asadero, Chihuahua®, Oaxaca cheese, queso asadero
asadero
This stringy Mexican cheese melts nicely, so it's great on quesadillas. It is made from goat and cow's milk.
Learn more
Beaumont cheese
This French cow's milk cheese has a mild, nutty flavor
Learn more
Bel Paese
Bel Paese
This is a mild, semi-soft Italian cow's milk cheese that's good with apples, pears, and fruity red wines. It's also shredded and used to make pizza, risotto, and pasta dishes.
Learn more
bierkäse, beer cheese, beer kaese, bierkaese, Weisslacker
bierkäse
This is a soft, stinky cow's milk cheese. German like to put it on rye bread along with some sliced onion, and have it with beer. It's too overpowering to serve with wine.
Learn more
brick cheese
brick cheese
This is a pungent American washed-rind cow's milk cheese.
Learn more
Caciocavallo, Cacciocavallo
Caciocavallo
This Italian cheese is similar to provolone. This can be made from cow’s milk or sheep’s milk.
Learn more
casero cheese
casero cheese
This is a mild white Mexican cow's milk cheese.
Learn more
Chaubier cheese
Chaubier cheese
This mild French cheese is made with a blend of cow and goat milk.
Learn more
corsu vecchio cheese
corsu vecchio cheese
This sheep's milk cheese comes from Corsica.
Learn more
Esrom, Danish Port Salut
Esrom
This Danish cow's milk cheese is semi-soft and only slightly pungent. It's a great melting cheese and a popular ingredient in casseroles.
Learn more
Gouda, baby Gouda, mature Gouda, medium Gouda, old Gouda, smoked Gouda
Gouda
This Dutch cow's milk cheese has a mild, nutty flavor. Varieties include smoked Gouda, the diminutive baby Gouda, and Goudas flavored with garlic and spices. Goudas are also classed by age. A young Gouda is mild, an aged Gouda = medium Gouda = mature Gouda is more assertive, and an old Gouda = very aged Gouda is downright pungent.
Learn more
Haloumi, Halloumi
Haloumi
This salty, crumbly cheese from Cyprus stands up well to heat and can even be fried or grilled. It is made with combination of sheep and goat’s milk. Look for it in Middle Eastern markets.
Learn more
Havarti
Havarti
This mild Danish cow's milk cheese is perfect for slicing into sandwiches. It's often flavored with spices and chilies.
Learn more
jack cheese, California jack, Mexican jack, Monterey jack, Sonoma jack,
jack cheese
This California semi-soft cow's milk cheese resembles Muenster. It has a mild, nondescript flavor, but it's good cheese to slice into sandwiches or melt into casseroles. It also goes by California jack, Monterey jack, Sonoma jack, and Mexican jack, depending on where it was produced. Efforts to boost the flavor have produced Pepper Jack = Jalapeno Jack. Don't confuse this with aged jack, which is a grating cheese.
Learn more
Lagerkaese
This is a strong even stinky cow's milk cheese.
Learn more
Laguiole
Laguiole
This is a mild French semi-soft cow's milk cheese.
Learn more
Lappi
Lappi
This is a mild semi-soft cow's milk cheese from the Lapland region of Finland. It's a good melter and works well in fondues
Learn more
Limburger
Limburger
This is a very stinky and salty German washed rind cow's milk cheese. It's too strong to serve with most wines, so it's often served with beer. Use within a few days after purchasing. For best flavor, serve at room temperature.
Learn more
morbier cheese
morbier cheese
This creamy and mild cow's milk cheese has a dark stripe running up the middle, a reference to earlier times when a layer of ash was added to the cheese to protect it from insects. Morbier has a rich, earthy flavor. It's a good melting cheese, but you might want to cook with a cheaper cheese like Lappi or Havarti.
Learn more
mozzarella, buffalo milk mozzarella, cow's milk mozzarella
mozzarella
Mozzarella is a soft, white Italian cheese. The most common type is low-moisture mozzarella, which is often sold in bricks or firm balls, or is shredded and sold in bags. Don't confuse it with fresh mozzarella = high-moisture mozzarella, which is a fresh cheese used for salads and appetizers, and is often sold in tubs of water. Low-moisture mozzarella is one of the few cheeses that doesn't turn rubbery or ooze oil if cooked too long or too hot, so it's a key ingredient in pizzas and casseroles. It's also stretchy--the long white strings that you often see draped over the sides of pizza boxes are usually mozzarella. It can also be frozen and thawed without too much damage to its texture. Buffalo milk has a much higher fat content than cow's milk, so buffalo milk mozzarella, or mozzarella di bufalo, is creamier and also more expensive than cow's-milk mozzarella = fior di latte.
Learn more
Muenster, Munster, Münster
Muenster
When produced in Europe, Muenster is a mild-mannered member of the normally stinky washed-rind Cow's milk cheese family, though it becomes more pungent as it ages. It's delicious with dark breads and beer or Gewurztraminer wine. American muensters are much milder.
Learn more
Oka
Oka
This Canadian semi-soft cow's milk cheese has a mild, nutty flavor and melts nicely.
Learn more
Ossau-Iraty cheese, Ossau-Iraty-Brebis-Pyrenees
Ossau-Iraty cheese
This little-known Basque cheese is made from raw sheep's milk, and it's creamy, nutty, and mellow.
Learn more
pasta filata, plastic curd cheeses, pulled curd cheeses, spun curd cheeses
pasta filata
These cheeses are stretched and pulled like taffy before being molded, which gives them a springy, elastic consistency. It is made from cow or buffalo milk. Unlike many cheeses, they stand up well to cooking. This category includes mozzarella, Provolone, Scamorza, string cheese, and Caciocavallo.
Learn more
pepper jack, jalapeno jack
pepper jack
This a version of jack cheese with spicy peppers mixed in. It is made from cow's milk.
Learn more
Port Salut cheese, Port du Salut
Port Salut cheese
Port Salut is a mild French semi-soft cow's milk cheese. Don't confuse with Danish Port Salut, which is also called Esrom cheese.
Learn more
provolone
provolone
This Italian cow's milk cheese is like mozzarella, only firmer and more flavorful. It's often used in sandwiches and on on pizza. Provolone dolce is aged for up to three months. Provolone Valpadana is aged longer, and has a sharper flavor.
Learn more
queso Chihuahua®, queso Menonita
queso Chihuahua®
This is a soft mild white cow's milk cheese.
Learn more
Saint Paulin cheese
Saint Paulin cheese
This French semi-soft cow's milk cheese is creamy and mild.
Learn more
Samsoe
This versatile Danish semi-soft cow's milk cheese is mild and nutty. It is similar to Emmentaler.
Learn more
Scamorza, Scamorze
scamorza
This cow's milk cheese is similar to mozzarella or pasta filata, only smaller and firmer. It's often smoked.
Learn more
smoked Gouda, Gouda, smoked
smoked Gouda
This is the smoked version of the Dutch Gouda cow's milk cheese.
Learn more
Taleggio
Taleggio
This creamy Italian cow's milk cheese is one of the better stinky cheeses--not too tame, not too wild. It's great on crackers or bread, but it's also a good melting cheese and works well in casseroles and even on pizza. The rind is edible, but not to everyone's liking.
Learn more
Tilsit, Tilsit Havarti, Tilsiter
Tilsit
This is a good sandwich cheese. It is made from cow's milk.
Learn more
Tomme Crayeuse cheese
Tomme Crayeuse cheese
This soft French cow's milk cheese is rich and buttery. Don't eat the rind.
Learn more
Tomme de Savoie cheese, tomme de montagne
Tomme de Savoie cheese
This is a mild and pleasant French cow's milk cheese that's semi-soft when young, firmer when aged.
Learn more
Tybo
This mild Danish cow's milk cheese is great on sandwiches.
Learn more
Urgelia cheese, Queso de l'Alt Urgell y la Cerdanya
Urgelia cheese
This creamy Spanish cheese is a member of the washed rind (a.k.a. stinky) cheese family, but it's mild and subtle.
Learn more