The 4 Main Milk Types Used in Cheesemaking - Or Can You Milk a Pig?

The short answer is maybe- but I wouldn’t recommend it.

When it comes to cheese milks, there are 4 major types: cow, goat, sheep, and water buffalo; pretty much in order from most to least common. Milk can also be blended- cow/goat, cow/sheep, etc.

Milk blending can stretch milk from smaller-producing animals by mixing it with larger producers, such as cow’s milk. It can also be used as a way to offload milk or share production across farms: if you’re a goat herder and don’t produce a ton of milk BUT there’s a sheep farmer across the way, you could combine your milks together and create something new!

‘Ok, you know a lot about cheese, Kristen, super!’ I hear you ponder. ‘Why is this even worth mentioning?!’

Milk type can influence a lot of things in cheese- fat content, protein styles (for those who are lactose-intolerant!), flavors, etc.

‘You Are What You Eat’ is nowhere more true than in cheese- the types of grasses the animals eat can directly influence the flavors of the milk; which is then passed on to the cheese. Fresh spring grasses, summer greens and fall grass/hay each impart their own unique flavors onto the cheese.

*Fun Fact: some cheeses are only made at specific times of year BECAUSE of the grasses consumed in certain seasons! Traditional Swiss cheesemakers, for example, practice transhumance: a practice where they travel to high-altitude summer chalets where the animals graze on mountainous summer grasses, and whose flavors are imparted to the cheeses produced. Look for these cheeses in the fall/winter!

The different animal milks also can influence butterfat content. Butterfat content refers to the amount of fat content in the cheese. We could get into the entire technical breakdown of how butterfat is found in/added to cheese and what that means for the final cheese (a separate post, for those interested!), but simply: the higher the butterfat, the creamier and more luscious the cheese. Triple cremes, double cremes, etc. refer to the percentage of butterfat found in the cheese. Often mild and decadent, I can easily eat these cheeses with a spoon. I won’t dissuade you from doing the same.

Finally, the milk types influence PROTEINS. For my lactose-intolerant friends, I encourage them to try goat or sheep milk cheeses (whose proteins are different than cow’s milk and often more easily digestible). I also usually aim for more aged cheeses. Why? Well- as cheese ages, the milk proteins convert into sugars; thereby making the cheese easier for the stomach to process. Intolerance is a spectrum- you might have more available to choose from than you think!

While those are the 4 MAIN types of milk used to make cheese, there’s TECHNICALLY nothing to say you couldn’t make cheese from any milk-producing mammal. While much less common (and often expensive), you can find cheeses made from reindeer, moose, yak, horse, alpaca, camel, and donkey (one of the most rare and expensive cheeses)!!

As for pig, it’s apparently very difficult to obtain because they don’t produce a lot of milk and also sows are aggressive when pregnant- I don’t plan to try myself.

What type of milk is your most-loved?

Cheese 101: The 5 Types of Cheese

The 5 Types of Cheese You’ll Meet on Your Quest for THE ONE
Or A Cheese By Any Other Name Might Still Be As Stinky

When I talk about types of cheese, I’m not talking about yellow and white cheddar. No. That’s not really a thing (honestly- it’s, at best, a hopefully-natural coloring). I’m not even referring to difference in styles like gouda, manchego, brie, etc.

We’re talking ultra basics- the 5 Types of Cheese. They are Fresh, Bloomy/Soft-Ripened, Pressed/Cooked, Washed, and Blue.

Fresh cheeses are pretty much what they sound like: younger, fresh cheeses with no to minimal aging. You’re thinking ricotta, fresh mozzarella, chevre (fresh goat cheese, usually in logs or pyramids). Rind-less, soft, and generally pretty mild.

Bloomy/Soft-Ripened cheeses are where you find your brie, camembert, more aged goat etc. Pretty much anything with those softer, white, fuzzy rinds. Theses cheeses age from the outside-in; the older they are, the softer their interiors. Some are fully oozy, some have what we’d call a chalky interior (goat cheeses can be like this). They range from mild to medium in terms of..um..potency. The more full-flavored ones can be mushroom-y or cruciferous. Think broccoli.

Pressed/Cooked is a somewhat broad category. These are generally where most of your firmer cheeses hang out: cheddar, gouda, parmesan. To put it simply: these are cheeses where, during the production process, the curds are ‘cooked’ (meaning agitated in heated whey) or pressed. Cooking and/or pressing both release whey, resulting in a denser cheese. They are often aged longer, which removes even more moisture. The longer the age, the drier the cheese.

Washed cheeses are what they say they are: cheeses that are washed in a brine, wine, spirit, etc. This happens during the aging process, and alters the depth of flavor in the cheese. These cheeses are what most people thing of when they imagine ‘stinky’ or ‘funky’ cheeses. Not all are super pungent- the washing medium and the length of aging have a lot to do with how forceful they smell. That being said, I once heard a man ask for a cheese, describing it as “somewhere between a foot and a fart.” ...It is what it is.

Blue cheese is, in my humble opinion, the green tea of cheese: generally you love it or hate it. The blue-green streaks are mold, which enter the cheese either through naturally forming cracks or by needling- a process that pokes a variety of channels into the cheese with long needles. Blue cheese can be either creamy or firm and crumbly.

Some cheeses might fit into more than one category, depending on how it’s produced or aged. You can have a blue cheese that is washed, and fresh mozzarella curds are cooked. Generally: when finding cheese organized by category, look for the most dominant feature.

Why bother even knowing the different types of cheese at all? Well, when you’re looking to make yourself a cheese plate, it’s nice to get a variety. I usually recommend either one soft/bloomy, one pressed/cooked, and one blue (unless blue is your current nemesis); or one from each major category if you’re throwing a party. It’s also helpful when you’re asking your cheesemonger for something- easiest way to get what you want is to speak the language!

What is your favorite type of cheese?