Many people who are just starting to discover the secrets of cooking may wonder which are the most popular and most delicious cheeses in the world. However, not every person is prepared to try cheese with maggots or anything else as scary, unusual and generally out of the ordinary.
Here are the cheeses you can use in your first homemade recipes:
1. Mozzarella
Mozzarella is probably one of the most famous cheeses in the world. If you’ve ever ordered a pizza or been to an Italian restaurant, you’re already familiar with this cheese. Originating from the beautiful southern regions of Italy, mozzarella is a type of semi-soft cheese traditionally made from buffalo milk.
Cheese makers use the method known as “pasta filata” to make this delicious cheese. This means that the cheese is produced by pulling and kneading in hot water. Mozzarella has a relatively high moisture content. For this reason, it is usually served the very next day after it is made. You can extend its shelf life by keeping it in brine or simply refrigerating it.
2. Mascarpone
This cheese is more like creamy, soft cottage cheese or even yogurt. The consistency of mascarpone is more like that of curd meal. This cheese is very suitable for the famous Tiramisu. It can also be used instead of butter when making sandwiches.
3. Brie
Brie is a soft cheese made from cow’s milk, named after the French region Brie, where it originated from. It has a pale color with a slight grey tinge under a white moldy rind. For the most part, the rind is consumed, its flavor mainly depending on the ingredients used and the manufacturing environment.
Brie is a good source of vitamins B-12 and B-2, minerals and phosphorus that your body needs every day. It provides 8.7% of the vitamin B-12 you need daily, a vital nutrient for healthy nerves and red blood cells.
4. Parmesan
Parmesan cheese. Parmesan is a traditional hard cheese that comes from Italy. It has to be ripened for about 24 months, but some are left to ripen even longer than that. The European Union has provided authentic Parmesan with a protected designation of origin (or PDO), which basically means that only cheese-making manufactories that are specially licensed can declare their version of Parmesan cheese as real Parmesan, just as champagne can only be called champagne when it comes from certain regions of France – otherwise it is known as sparkling wine.
5. Camembert
Camembert is a delicate French cheese. Although it is covered with a thick rind, which gives it the appearance of being moldy, its taste is subtle, with a hint of mushrooms.
These five cheeses are recognized as the best in the world. However, each person may have entirely different preferences and their own top list of cheeses.