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Types of cheese

classification of cheese

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ3546121 ↗
Source-derived summary

There are many different types of cheese, which can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as: length of fermentation, texture, production method, fat content, animal source of the milk, and country or region of origin. These criteria may be used either singly or in combination, with no method used universally. The most common traditional categorization is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods.

In many consumer-facing guides, cheeses are further organized into intuitive categories such as fresh, soft, semi-soft, firm, hard, and blue; often based on texture, aging, and moisture characteristics. These practical groupings help non-specialists understand and compare the wide range of available cheeses.

The combination of types produces around 51 different varieties recognized by the International Dairy Federation, over 400 identified by Walter and Hargrove, over 500 by Burkhalter, and over 1,000 by Sandine and Elliker. Some attempts have been made to rationalize the classification of cheese; a scheme was proposed by Pieter Walstra that uses the primary and secondary starter combined with moisture content, and Walter and Hargrove suggested classifying by production methods. This last scheme results in 18 types, which are then further grouped by moisture content.

Source of milk

Cheeses may be categorized by the source of the milk used to produce them. While most of the world's commercially available cheese is made from cow's milk, many parts of the world also produce cheese from goats and sheep.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Types of cheese” is classification of cheese. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Types, cheese and classification, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current 246-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Types, cheese and classification is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “classification of cheese” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3546121. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Types of cheese”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Types of cheese primary sources, Types of cheese archive and Types research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Types of cheese” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.