Dairy
Cheese
Cheese is coagulated milk transformed by rennet or acid, drained of whey, and often pressed, salted, and aged into an enormous family of textures and flavours. Species of milk, culture selection, mould, rind treatment, and maturation time create everything from fresh chèvre to granite-hard Grana and pungent washed-rind classics. It is eaten table-ready, melted, grated, fried, or crumbled into cooking. Protected designations, farmhouse methods, and industrial production coexist, making cheese one of the most regionally expressive dairy products in global cuisine.
Also known as: Paneer / Chhena, Jibneh, Bryndza / Tvorog, Brunost / Getost
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Nutrition and pairings
Nutrition
Typical values per 100 g edible portion. Nutrient names open the reference page.
Nutrition Facts
Per 100 g edible portion
Amount per 100 g
- Total Fat 10.7 g
- Saturated Fat 7.24 g
- Trans Fat 0.21 g
- Monounsaturated Fat 3.12 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 0.33 g
- Cholesterol 28.1 mg
- Sodium 74.1 mg
- Salt 0.21 g
- Total Carbohydrate 5 g
- Dietary Fibre 0 g
- Total Sugars 2.5 g
- Complex / starch 0 g
- Protein 4 g
- Water 78 g
- Energy 132 kcal
- Water 78 g
- Carbohydrates 5 g
- Sugars 2.5 g
- Monosaccharides 3.24 g
- Disaccharides 5.57 g
- Protein 4 g
- Animal Protein 8.17 g
- Fat 10.7 g
- Saturated Fat 7.24 g
- Monounsaturated Fat 3.12 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 0.33 g
- Trans Fat 0.21 g
- Vitamins 360 mg
- Vitamin A 345 µg
- Vitamin B1 — Thiamine 0.04 mg
- Vitamin B2 — Riboflavin 0.2 mg
- Vitamin B3 — Niacin 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B5 — Pantothenic Acid 0.39 mg
- Vitamin B6 0.05 mg
- Vitamin B7 — Biotin 1.9 µg
- Vitamin B9 — Folate 7.5 µg
- Vitamin C 2 mg
- Vitamin D 0.5 µg
- Vitamin E 0.09 mg
- Vitamin K 0.5 µg
- Minerals 401 mg
- Major Minerals 394 mg
- Trace Minerals 6.4 mg
- Salt 0.21 g
- Sodium Chloride 0.21 g
- Cholesterol 28.1 mg
Vitamins
vitamin-c: 2 · vitamin-b12-cobalamin: 2 · vitamin-a: 345 · vitamin-b1-thiamine: 0.04 · vitamin-b2-riboflavin: 0.2 · vitamin-b3-niacin: 0.1 · vitamin-b5-pantothenic-acid: 0.39 · vitamin-b6: 0.05 · vitamin-b7-biotin: 1.9 · vitamin-b9-folate: 7.5 · vitamin-d: 0.5 · vitamin-e: 0.09 · vitamin-k: 0.5 ·
Minerals
Sodium: 74.14 · Potassium: 195 · Calcium: 125 · Iron: 1 · Zinc: 0.4 · Iodine: 5 ·
Dairy contributes complete protein, saturated fat, and lactose unless cultured or strained.
In the kitchen
Culinary partners and combinations that usually underperform with Cheese.
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Archaeological sieve residues indicate early cheese-making in Neolithic Europe as a way to store milk nutrients.
Dairy civilisations across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central Asia developed regional cheese traditions.
Roman agricultural writers documented rennet coagulation, pressing, and salting techniques foundational to European cheese.
Monastic communities refined aged, blue, and washed-rind cheeses that still define French and Alpine dairying.
Factory cheese production, cheddar blocks, and later pasteurised milk industrialised supply while farmhouse makers persisted.
Appellation systems expanded legal protection for named cheeses, anchoring origin, method, and milk type in law.
Artisan revival, raw-milk debates, and global specialty retail broadened consumer access to traditional and new cheeses.