Know your cheese terminology

Walk into the cheese section of any market, especially at an upscale gourmet-type store, and you are going to see a tremendous variety of cheeses available. And that selection doesn't even come close to scratching the surface of the number of cheeses that are out there. It can be difficult to figure out the differences between each product until you've tried all of them, but here is a quick guide to cheese terminology that might help you sort through the basic types of cheese.

Fresh - High moisture cheeses that have not been aged, like cottage cheese, cream cheese, feta, mascarpone and ricotta.

Soft-Ripened - These have hard rinds and soft interiors, like brie and camembert. They often have edible rinds made by "spraying the cheese with Penicillium candidum mold before a brief aging period."

Semi-Soft - Cheeses that are neither hard, nor runny, but that are high in moisture and creamy in texture, like Monterey Jack, fontina or havarti. They are often easy to grate and slice.

Firm/Hard - Less creamy than soft cheeses, but ranging in texture from slightly elastic to brittle. These are also good grating cheeses and tend to melt well. The category includes Asiago, cheddar, Gruyere, Swiss and Parmesan.

Blue - Cheeses with added mold that have strong flavors and are characterized by blue or blue-green veins, like Danish blue or gorgonzola.

Pasta Filata - Cooked and pulled cheeses like Mozzarella and provolone fall into this category and the cheeses can be hard of soft when finished.

Natural Rind - Long-aged cheeses develop a rind as they sit, like English Stilton or Lancashire.

Washed-Rind - These are washed with brines to encourage the growth of bacteria and rind-formation. These are frequently also semi-soft cheeses inside the rind and have strong flavors and smells. They include Taleggio and Muenster.

Processed - These aren't real cheeses, but are actually cheese byproducts, made with added flavoring, stabilizers and emulsifiers. American cheese and "cheese flavored" spreads fall into this category.