Dairy Category

This is a mild white Mexican cow's milk cheese.

This creamy yet crumbly cow's milk blue cheese from Ireland has a tangy but mellow flavor. It's cheaper than Stilton but not quite as good.

Casu martzu means "rotten cheese" in Sardinian. It contains live maggots. Seriously. The cheese has been outlawed by the European Union and the United States, since the maggots can enter the intestines and lead to serious health problems.

This French cow's milk cheese is similar to Brie and Camembert, but creamier and more acidic. It's good with champagne.

This mild French cheese is made with a blend of cow and goat milk.

Delicious strong cow's milk Cheese.

The curds of many English cow's milk cheeses are "cheddared" or cut them into slabs and stacked to allow whey to drain off. Some cheddars have more lactose in them, making them "sharp" or acidic. Less sharp cheddars are often labeled "mild" or "medium." England supplies many fine Cheddars, as does Vermont and Tillamook, Oregon.

Said to be England's oldest cow's milk cheese, is a good cooking cheese. Blue Cheshire is a blue-veined version.

Don't confuse this aged goat cheese with the far more common chevre frais (fresh chevre). Use within a few days after purchasing. For best flavor, serve at room temperature.

See the Making Your Own Devonshire or Clotted Cream or Mock Devonshire Clotted Cream postings on RecipeSource.com.

This Wisconsin cow's milk cheese resembles a mild Cheddar.

This is a soft spreadable mix of cheeses used for snacking.

This excellent French cow's milk cheese dates from the time of Charlemagne. It has a mildly sweet, nutty flavor, much like Gruyère. It's a very good melting cheese.

This sheep's milk cheese comes from Corsica.

This is a sharp, salty white cow's milk grating cheese that softens but doesn't melt when heated. Cacique is a well-known brand. Look for it in Hispanic markets.

This simple, mild cow's milk cheese was traditionally produced in Europe's "cottages" from the milk left over from butter making. It's versatile, easy to digest, and a good source of protein. It's sold with either large or small curds, and with fruit or chives sometimes added. Use it within a few days after purchasing and discard if mold appears. It's best served chilled.

This soft-ripened French cow's milk cheese resembles Brie and Camembert.

Cow's milk cheeses are creamier than goat or sheep's milk cheeses.

Creams vary according to the amount of butterfat they have. Lightest of all is half & half, which is half milk, half cream and weighs in with a butterfat content between 10.5 - 18%. It can't be whipped, but it's nice with coffee, or on cereal. Light cream = coffee cream = table cream is richer at 18 - 30% fat, but it still can't be whipped. Light whipping cream = whipping cream (with a butterfat content of 30 - 36%) and heavy cream = heavy whipping cream (with at least 36% fat) are heavy enough to whip, and aren't as prone as lower-fat creams to curdling in sauces. The higher the butterfat content, the less beating is required to get whipped cream. Europeans go for even heavier creams, like double cream (with a butterfat content of 42%), extra-thick double cream, and clotted cream = Devonshire cream, which is often spread like butter over scones. Look for clotted cream in large supermarkets, but (perhaps luckily) the double creams are very hard to find. You can buy ultra-pasteurized versions of these creams, but they tend to have a burnt milk taste and don't whip as well.

An American favorite, cream cheese is a terrific spread for bagels and nut breads and a key ingredient in cheesecake and other desserts. It comes in low-fat and nonfat versions; these work well as spreads but compromise the flavor and texture of cheesecakes. Cream cheese made without stabilizers is also disappointing in cheesecakes, though it makes for a more acidic and flavorful spread. Store in the refrigerator. Unopened foil-wrapped commercial cream cheese is good for about a month after the "Best when used by" date on the carton. Once opened, you should use it within 10 days. Throw it out if mold appears.

Cremas are the Hispanic version of sour cream. This category includes crema mexicana, which is similar to crème fraîche; crema centroamericana, which is a bit thicker and sweeter than crema mexicana; crema media, which is like whipping cream; crema Mexicana agria, which is thicker and more acidic than crema Mexicana and often used for savory dishes; and crema salvadoreña, which is thick like sour cream. Look for it in Mexican and Central American grocery stores.

Thsi is a rich double cream cow's milk cheese from Denmark.

This slightly sour thick cream doesn't curdle when it's heated, so it's ideal for making cream sauces. It's also used for appetizers and as a dessert topping. To make your own: Warm one cup heavy cream to about 100°, then add one or two tablespoons of sour cream, cultured buttermilk, or plain yogurt (make sure you buy a brand that contains active cultures). Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for at least nine hours before refrigerating.

This Danish cow's milk cheese. It varies from mild to sharp depending on the aging process.

Danish cow's milk blue is rich and creamy, but it's considered inferior to Roquefort, Gorgonzola, or Stilton.

Includes: Derby Sage cow's milk cheese (pictured), which is flavored with sage.

This isn't available in the United States.

This is aged cow's milk jack cheese.

Compared to chicken eggs, these are larger, higher in fat and more colorful, though they have a slightly fishy flavor. They're sometimes contaminated with bacteria, so make sure you cook them thoroughly.

This is a mild Dutch cow's milk cheese. This has a red wax coating.

Higher in fat, but increasing the egg yolks in a baked good often makes it moister and more flavorful. Egg yolks make wonderful thickeners--imparting both a rich flavor and velvety smooth texture--but they're tricky to use. You can't just whisk them into a simmering sauce--they'd curdle on contact. Instead, you need to "temper" them by adding some of the hot liquid to the egg yolks, whisking the mixture together, and then adding it to the sauce. To prevent the yolks from coagulating, you need to keep the sauce below 190°, although this rule can be broken if the sauce has a lot of flour in it. Finally, never cook sauces with egg yolks in aluminum pans or they'll turn gray.

This Swiss cow's milk cheese is riddled with holes and has a mild, nutty flavor. It's an excellent melting cheese, and a key ingredient in many fondues.

This well-regarded French cow's milk cheese is a member of the washed-rind or "stinky" family of cheeses, but it's more subtle than Limburger, Livarot, or other siblings. It's a little runny when ripe. The rind is edible--taste it to see if you like it.

This Danish cow's milk cheese is semi-soft and only slightly pungent. It's a great melting cheese and a popular ingredient in casseroles.

This is sold in cans, and comes either whole or nonfat. Don't confuse it with sweetened condensed milk, which has lots of sugar and is not a good substitute. While evaporated milk is sometimes called condensed milk, most recipes that call for condensed milk are referring to sweetened condensed milk. Evaporated milk is sold with varying amounts of butterfat, ranging from whole evaporated milk with about 8% to skim evaporated milk with about 0.5%. To reconstitute evaporated milk, combine it with an equal amount of water.