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Aligot
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(Tomme Fraîche) A rindless fresh cheese with a
white, spongy, elastic, non-salted pâte. It is
often used in cooking. |
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Alpkäse
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The 'Alp' refers to the German/Austrian Alps
where this cheese originated. It's a kind of
Emmenthal, and when it matures it develops tiny
holes called 'teardrops'. As with most hard or
semi-hard cheeses, the older it gets, the more
flavoursome it becomes. |
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AOC
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(See PDO) Appellation d'Origine Controlee
(France). AOC has recently been replaced by AOP. |
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AOP
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(See PDO) Appellation d'Origine Protégé (France)
- replaces the former system of AOC. |
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Appenzell
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A Swiss cheese with a golden-brown rind made
from unpasteurised cow's milk (45% fat content).
This compressed cooked cheese has holes and is
very firm without being hard or brittle. It must
be full-flavoured and tangy, but never pungent.
It can replace Gruyère in cooking. |
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Asiago
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Made in the Italian province of Vicenza, it is a
DOP cheese made from unpasteurised cow's milk
(although ewe's milk was originally used). There
are 3 types of Asiago: Asiago d'Allevo, which is
matured for 2-6 months and is hard, sharp and
primarily used for grating; Asiago Grasso Monte,
a medium, tangy cheese; and Asiago Pressato
which is a more common and commercial type of
Asiago made from pasteurised cow's milk and only
ripened for 20-40 days. The texture is rather
rubbery and the flavour is very mild. Asiago
loaves are often mistaken for American Cheddar
in appearance. |
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Bagnes
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A Swiss cheese made from cow's milk (45% fat
content); it is a cooked, pressed cheese with a
slightly rough brushed crust. Firm but springy
to the touch, it has a fruity flavour and is a
flat, round cheese. It is usually matured for 3
months but can be matured for 6 months which
makes it quite a strong cheese. |
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Banon
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A French cheese made from cow's, goat's or ewe's
milk (45% fat content), it has a soft texture a
natural crust and is a squat round shape. It is
presented wrapped in chestnut leaves steeped in
brandy and tied up with raffia. |
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Beaufort
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A French AOP cheese made from unpasteurised
cow's milk (at least 48% fat content) in the
province of Savoie in the French Alps. It is
cooked and then pressed until it is firm and
ivory-coloured with a natural brushed crust. It
is a round cheese without holes and has a
concave base and a fine fruity flavour. The best
cheeses are labeled Beaufort d'Alpage. |
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Bel Paese
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This unpressed, cooked and ripened cheese in
Melzo, Lombardy. It is creamy white or pale
yellow and is soft, buttery and elastic. It has
no holes and has a pleasant, tangy flavour. The
name means 'beautiful country'. Bel Paese is
matured for about 50 days and contains 48%-50%
fat. |
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Blue Cheese
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(Legally referred to as 'Blue Vein' in South
Africa) A good blue cheese is ivory or cream
coloured, firm and springy and rather fatty,
with evenly distributed light or dark green-blue
veins. The naturally formed crust may be rough
or smooth. Most distinguished are the French
ewe's-milk Roquefort, English Blue Stilton and
Italian Gorgonzola. |
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Bocconcini
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'little balls' of mozzarella. |
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Bougon
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A goat's milk cheese (46% fat content), soft
with a red-tinged crust. Made exclusively by the
cooperative of La Mothe-Bougon in Poitou,
Bourgon is a boxed round cheese. |
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Boulette d'Asvesnes
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A French cow's milk cheese (50% fat content)
made by mixing Maroilles (see below) cheese with
parsley, tarragon and spices. Its reddish crust
is washed in beer and the cheese is shaped into
a cone. It has a very strong piquant flavour. |
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Boulette de Cambrai
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A French cow's milk cheese with a soft smooth
pâte (45% fat content) shaped into a small ball.
It is not matured and has a milder flavour than
Boulette d'Avesnes. |
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Boursin
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Boursin is a double crème cheese due to its fat
content of at least 70%. It originates from
Normandie and is a fresh, soft, creamy cheese
with no rind. Garlic, herbs or black pepper are
often added, and they are sold in small boxes. |
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Bouton-de-Culotte
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A French goat's milk cheese that is classified
as a soft pâte cheese (40-45% fat content), but
is eaten when it is very dry and brittle. Shaped
like a truncated cone, with a greyish-brown
crust, it has a strong piquant flavour. |
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Brebiou
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Brebiou is a soft cheese with mixed rind, made
from sheep's milk. It has a characteristic
half-round form with an irregular surface that
is the result of traditional production
utilising large linen cloths. |
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Brick
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A cow's milk cheese (45% fat content) which
originated in Wisconsin in the United States. It
is made by pressing the cheese between 2 bricks
to give it a firmer texture. It has a natural
reddish rind (hopefully not from the bricks!)
and a firm but supple texture with numerous
small holes. The flavour is fairly pungent. |
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Bricquebec
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A French cow's milk cheese (45% fat content),
moulded uncooked and with a washed crust. It is
a flat disc and has a sweetish taste. |
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Brie
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A cow's milk cheese (45% fat content)
originating in the Île-de-France, which has a
soft texture and a crust that is springy to the
touch, covered in white down and tinted with
red. It is made in the shape of a disc - the
thinnest part of which is the most matured. The
body of the cheese is light yellow or golden
with a delicate flavour. The cheese ripens
quickly, and must be eaten before the flavour
and aroma become offensive. |
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Brillat-Savarin
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A cow's milk cheese from Normandy named after
the French author who said that 'a meal without
cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one
eye.' It has a soft triple crème pâte due to a
minimum of 75% fat content (great for the
hips!), a white downy crust and a mild flavour.
It is a disc-shaped cheese. |
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Broccio
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(Brocciu/Brucciu) A Corsican cheese made from
ewe's milk or goat's milk, with an oily texture
(45% fat content). It is generally eaten fresh,
but can be matured (demi-sec). |
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Brousse
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A French curd cheese (45% fat content) made in
Provence from either goat's or ewe's milk. It is
white, mild and creamy, unmatured and has no
crust. |
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Burrini
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A specialty from the very south of Italy - the
regions of Puglia and Calabria in particular.
Small, pear shaped cheeses of mild and
distinctive flavour are carefully molded around
a pat of sweet butter, which later will be
spread on bread and eaten with the cheese. These
cheeses are ripened for just a few weeks and for
export are usually dipped in wax or specially
packaged. This cheese is also sometimes called
Butirri, Burielli or Provole. |
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Cabécou
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A small soft French cheese (45% fat content)
from Quercy and Rouergue, made from a mixture of
ewe's milk and cow's milk. It is a fairly firm
ivory-white cheese with a fine bluish crust and
a nutty flavour. |
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Cabrales
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This DOP handmade blue cheese (45-48% fat
content) from northern Spain is made from a
mixture of unpastuerised goat's, ewe's or cow's
milk. It is produced in wheels and wrapped in
green foil. The pâte has intense purple veining
with a robust flavour and salty tang. |
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Cacetti
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These small cheeses are very similar to Burrini
but without the heart of butter. They are spun
curd cheeses, dipped in wax and hung by raffia
strands to ripen for about ten days. |
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Caciocavallo
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From southern Italy, today's caciocavallo comes
from cow's milk (as opposed to the original
mare's milk!) and has a mild, slightly salty
flavour and firm, smooth texture when young
(about 2 months). As it ages, the flavour
becomes more pungent and the texture more
granular, making it ideal for grating. It may be
purchased plain or smoked and comes in
string-tied gourd or spindle shapes. |
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Caciotta
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In Italy there are dozens of cheeses with this
name and they can be made from cow's, goat's or
sheep's milk. They are similar to the stracchino
cheeses: soft, white, mild and usually eaten
when very young. |
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Caerphilly
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A semi-hard pressed cow's milk cheese
traditionally made in Wales. The best cheeses
are farm-made (fermier) from unpasteurised milk.
The flavour is delicate but subtle, with a
lightly salty quality. |
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Caillebotte
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A cream cheese made from cow's milk (in Aunis
and Saintonge) or goat's milk (in Saintonge and
Poitou). |
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Camembert
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A very famous French cheese dating back to the
18th century. Camembert is a soft cheese (45-50%
fat content) made from cow's milk, pale yellow
in colour with a white furry skin speckled with
brown flecks. At the beginning of its ripening
Camembert is crumbly but it gets softer and
creamier over time (usually 2-3 weeks).
Mass-produced Camembert is made from pasteurised
skimmed milk to which pasteurised cream is
added. |
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Canestrato
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Traditionally made in central and southern Italy
from ewe's milk or a mixture of cow's and ewe's
milk. It is a semi-hard cheese and may be known
as Pecorino Canestrato or Pecorino Siciliana
(see 'Pecorino'). |
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Cantal
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(See Salers) A high-fat (45% fat content) cow's
milk cheese from the Auvergne region of France.
It is ivory in colour with a naturally darker
crust, a flexible finely granulated texture and
a sweet nutty flavour. Riper cheeses are a
little firmer and more highly flavoured. |
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Carré de l'est
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This cheese, which originates from Champagne and
Lorraine has a moist, sticky rind and an
uncooked, unpressed, soft and salty pâte. It is
sold in square boxes and is a mild cheese with a
white downy crust. |
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Cendré
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A cow's milk cheese produced in various French
regions. They are soft-centred and yellow in
colour, disk shaped and fairly firm to the
touch. They are matured in wooden boxes or pots
lined with ash and have a fairly strong flavour. |
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Chabichou (du Poitou)
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An AOP goat's milk cheese from Poitou - the most
important goat-breeding region in France. It has
a thin rind of white, yellow or blue mould and a
soft, even-textured pâte which becomes hard and
brittle when mature. They are usually in the
shape of a truncated cone but can be
cylindrical. Chabichou may be eaten fresh
(delicate and slightly sweet flavour) or mature
(fairly pronounced flavour and strong smell). |
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Chambarand
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An unpasteurised soft cow's milk cheese (45%
fat) from Dauphiné, lightly pressed and with a
natural washed crust. It is a small round cheese
with a light ochre colour and a mild, creamy
flavour. |
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Chaource
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A French cheese with 50% fat content made in the
Champagne and Burgundy regions from cow's milk.
It is an uncooked, unpressed cheese with a soft,
white, creamy pâte and a whitened crust. It is
cylindrical in shape. |
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Charolais
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A soft goat's milk cheese (45% fat content) from
Burgundy with a bluish natural crust. It is
cylindrical in shape and has a nutty flavour
more or less pronounced according to its
maturity. |
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Cheddar
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The most widely purchased and eaten cheese in
the world, Cheddar is an English cow's milk
cheese (45% butterfat) that originates from
Cheddar in Somerset. It has a compressed pâte
and a natural oily rind, wrapped in cloth. It is
firm to the touch and varies in colour from
white-yellow to orange-yellow. Young cheddar is
mild but it strengthens in flavour as it
matures. |
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Chèvre
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This is the French term for goat's milk cheeses.
The Loire Valley is the starting point in the
history of goat's milk cheeses in France, and
remains the most important area of production.
Within the Loire, Poitou is the most important
goat-breeding region and produces many different
goats milk cheeses. In France cheeses prepared
exclusively from goat's milk contain at least
45% butterfat. Mi-chèvre cheeses are made from a
mixture of cow's milk and goat's milk. |
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Chevrotin
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Meaning "little goat" it is related to Reblochon.
Chevrotin is produced in Savoy from raw goat's
milk and has a unique herbal flavour, which is
distinguishes it from goat cheeses of the Loire.
The cheese is produced by hand and ripened for
at least 3 weeks. It has recently been accepted
as an AOP cheese. |
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Coeur de Neufchâtel
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A soft cow's milk cheese (45% fat) from Normandy
with a red-tinged crust, white and downy. It is
a smooth, heart-shaped cheese with an
astringent, fruity flavour. |
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Colby
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An American hard pressed cow's milk cheese (45%
fat content) that is dyed a deep orange-yellow
as for American Cheddar, but is softer and more
open, with a mild flavour. Colby must be
consumed shortly after purchase or it will dry
out and lose its flavour. |
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Comté
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A cheese made from cow's milk (min 45% fat),
which is cooked and pressed. It is ivory-coloured
or pale yellow and has a natural brushed rind,
varying from golden yellow to brown. It is
matured for 3-6 months. Traditionally it should
have small 'eyes' or holes, a fruity flavour and
a strong bouquet. |
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Cottage Cheese
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A fresh cow's milk cheese with a soft, granular
consistency and an acid taste. It has a fat
content of between 4 and 8% and is therefore
synonymous with diets, celery sticks and general
deprivation. |
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Coulommiers
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A French cow's milk cheese (40-50% fat content)
with a soft pâte and a whitish rind. |
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Cremoulin
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A creamy soft cheese with a mixed rind. In both
taste and consistency, this cheese from the
Périgord is similar to Vacherin - but differs
from its relative from the Franche Comté as it
is available year-round. |
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Crescenza
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A rich, creamy, fresh cheese - also known as
Crescenza Stracchino - that is widely made in
Italy's regions of Lombardy, Piedmont and
Veneto. Its texture and flavour are similar to
that of a mild cream cheese, and it becomes very
soft and spreadable at room temperature.
Crescenza is made from uncooked cow's milk and
is sometimes blended with herbs. It doesn't age
well and, although not widely imported, can be
found in some specialty cheese shops. |
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Crottin de Chavignol
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(Chavignol) An AOP goat's milk cheese from the
Loire region. It is ready to eat after 2 weeks
of maturation, when the rind has a blueish hue
and the pâte becomes glossy. After 5 weeks the
cheese is dry and has shrunk, the smell is
strong and the pâte has a meaty texture with a
robust flavour. This is a ripe Crottin. |
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Curd
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When it coagulates, milk separates into a
semi-solid portion (curd) and a watery liquid
(whey - see below). Cheese is made from the
curd. |
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Danish Blue
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A Danish cow's milk cheese, blue with a whitish
rind. It has a strong and slightly piquant
flavour. |
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Demi-sel
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A soft French cheese made from pasteurised cow's
milk (40-45% fat content), with a mild flavour
and less than 2% added salt. It is sold in small
squares wrapped in foil and used as a cheese
spread. |
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Derby
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An English cheese made with cow's milk (45% fat
content). It is a firm, pressed, mild cheese
which resembles Cheddar, but is slightly flakier
and more moist. |
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DO
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(See PDO) Denominacion de Origen (Spain) |
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DOC
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(See PDO) Denominazione di Origine Controllata
(Italy) - has been replaced by DOP |
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Dolcelatte
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This is a smooth, creamy blue cheese, milder
than gorgonzola, and a registered trade name
meaning "sweet milk". It is a semi-soft cheese
(50% fat) that is made from cow's milk and
matured for about 40 days. |
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DOP
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(See PDO) Denominazione di Origine Protetta
(Italy) |
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Edam
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A Dutch cow's milk cheese (30-40% fat content)
in the shape of a large ball with a yellow or
red waxed coating. It is a semi-hard pressed
cheese, firm but elastic and free of holes.The
pâte is light yellow with a sweet nutty flavour,
to yellow-ochre and stronger in flavour
depending on the degree of maturity. |
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