Types of Hard Cheese

Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, off-white (or orange if spices such as annatto are added), sometimes sharp-tasting, natural cheese. Originating in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset, cheeses of this style are produced beyond the region and in several countries around the world.

Gouda, or "How-da" as the locals say, is a Dutch cheese named after the city of Gouda in the Netherlands. If truth be told, it is one of the most popular cheeses in the world, accounting for 50 to 60 percent of the world's cheese consumption. It is a semi-hard cheese celebrated for its rich, unique flavour and smooth texture.

In fact, Grana is a great cheese in its own right, and well-known in Italy. Many people think that the massive wheels of Grana Padano, the semi-aged hard Italian cheese, are maybe a cheaper knock-off of better known Parmigiana-Reggiano.

For the first time produced in Örnsköldsvik in 1964, Greve is a semi-hard Swedish cheese made from cow’s milk. It is similar to Emmental having mild and nutty taste. This cream-coloured cheese has a smooth and creamy texture with large holes throughout. It contains 30-40% fat and takes 10 months to attain full ripeness. With beer and white wine, Greve is served as a snacking cheese and it is sometimes also known as Greveost.

Manchego (officially Spanish: queso manchego, pronounced [ˈkeso maɲˈtʃeɣo]) is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the manchega breed. Official manchego cheese is to be aged for between 60 days and two years.

Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard, dry cheese made from skimmed or partially skimmed cow's milk. It has a hard pale-golden rind and a straw-colored interior with a rich, sharp flavor. Parmigiano-Reggianos are aged at least two years.

Pecorino Romano (Italian pronunciation: [pekoˌriːno roˈmaːno]) is a hard, salty Italian cheese, often used for grating, made out of sheep's milk (the Italian word pecora, from which the name derives, means sheep). Pecorino Romano was a staple in the diet for the legionaries of ancient Rome.

Svecia (or Sveciaost, ost meaning cheese) is a Swedish cheese. It is a semi-hard cow's-milk cheese, with a creamy consistency, light yellow colour, small irregular holes, and a mildly acidic taste.