Dairy Category

This hard cow's milk cheese has a strong flavor and is popular in Sweden.

When making cheese, milk is curdled with the help of rennet, an enzyme that occurs naturally in the stomach of animals. Many vegetarians object to eating cheese made with natural rennet, since its production involves the slaughter of animals. Fortunately, a lot of fine cheese is now made with vegetable rennet, which is derived from fungi, bacteria, or plants. Unfortunately, the type of rennet used isn't always marked on the cheese label. Some stores help out by adding their own labels.

As they ripen, these cheeses are washed with a liquid. The moisture encourages the growth of bacteria, giving the cheese a strong odor and flavor. Many of these cheeses are soft or semi-soft and have sticky, reddish-orange rinds, which most people consider too pungent to eat. It takes a strong wine like a Burgundy or Pinot Gris to stand up to most of the cheeses in this category. Beer works, too. This category includes Limburger, Muenster, Maroilles, Langres, Epoisses, Tallegio, Abondance, Urgelia, Epoisses, Pont l'Evêque, Mahon, Reblochon, Port Salut, and Livarot.

This is a fairly mild English cheese. It was originally made from sheep's milk but is now made from cow's milk.

Whey is the watery part of milk that remains after the formation of curds.

Most cheese is made from curdled milk that has been drained of the watery whey. Not wanting to waste the nutrient-rich whey, our ancestors discovered that they could extract more cheese from it by cooking it until the remaining proteins coagulated. Examples of modern-day whey cheeses include ricotta, Gjetost, Manouri, Mizithra, and Requeson.

Yak cheese castes a little like cheddar cheese.

This is milk that's cultured with bacteria to make it thick and tangy. Ready-made yogurts are made from whole milk (with up to 4% butterfat), lowfat milk (with up to 2% butterfat), and skim milk (with up to .5% butterfat). Health buffs prefer brands that contain active cultures, which help keep their intestines populated with friendly bacteria. Many brands are heat-treated to destroy these cultures and increase shelf life. Yogurt often comes with added flavorings and thickeners. Flavored yogurts are made with artificial sweeteners to reduce calories. Lactaid makes a lactose-reduced yogurt, but many people with lactose intolerance can tolerate ordinary yogurt, especially brands that contains active yogurt cultures. Larger markets also carry yogurt made from soy milk and goat's milk, but these don't work well in delicate desserts. Organic yogurts also are available.

This is a soft, tangy, and nutritious cream cheese substitute.