Classification

There are about 2000 names of cheeses. It is very difficult to classify the different cheese satisfactorily in groups. There are probably only about 18 types of natural cheeses. These are: Cheddar, Gouda, Edam, Swiss, Brick, Herve, Camembert,Limburger, Parmesan, Provolone, Romano, Roquefort, Sapsago, Cottage,Neufchatel, Trappist, Cream, and whey cheeses (Cheese Varieties and Descriptions)

Such a grouping, though informative, is imperfect and incomplete. These can also be classified on the basis of their rheology (the science of the deformation and flow of matter) and according to the manner of ripening as shown below. From the point of view of cheese, it may be considered as the study of how hard and how elastic a cheese may be and the reasons for these particular properties:

i) Very hard (grating)-Moisture <35% on matured cheese ripened by bacteria,e.g. Parmesan, Romano.

ii) Hard- Moisture <40%,

a) Ripened by bacteria, without eyes: Cheddar.

b) Ripened by bacteria, with eyes: Swiss

iii) Semi-hard-Moisture 40-47%

a) Ripened principally by bacteria: Brick.

b) Ripened by bacteria and surface microorganisms: Limburger.

c) Ripened principally by blue mould:

      External- Camembert

     Internal- Gorgonzola, Blue, Roquefort.

iv) Soft- Moisture >47%

a) Unripened- Cottage

b) Ripened- Neufchatel (as made in France)