Hard cheese

This family is large and heterogeneous. The variety extends from semi-hard cheeses with holes of varying sizes, such as Gouda, Jarlsberg and Emmentaler, to firmer and more compact cheeses such as Cheddar or Parmesan. The differences come from different bacterial cultures, production methods and degrees of storage.

Semi-hard, flexible cheeses often have good melting properties and are easy to cut with a cheese slicer. As the cheeses mature, they lose liquid, become harder and can form visible, small crystals that crunch in the mouth. These come from the breakdown process from protein to amino acids, and are a quality sign of well-ripened cheese.

Well-aged hard cheeses are often full of the fifth flavor, umami, and are well suited for cooking. The range of flavors among these cheeses is otherwise large; from aromatic, nutty and sweet (e.g. Norwegian Alpine cheese), to acidic, salty and buttery (such as Jærosten from Voll Ysteri.)

Fanaost from Ostegården is another hard cheese from Norway - which is also world famous. The well-aged gouda was named the world's best cheese during the Cheese World Cup in 2018, beating 3,471 other cheeses from 41 countries!