Types of Cheese and Which One for Which Dish

Standing in front of the cheese shelf not knowing what to pick has one cause: the names tell you nothing about how the cheese will behave when cooked.

The rule that governs every type

How a cheese behaves on heat comes down to two things:

Moisture: a moist cheese has loose proteins, so it melts and stretches. A dry cheese has tight proteins, so it crumbles rather than melts.

Acidity: a high-acid cheese (set with acid rather than rennet) has heavily cross-linked proteins, so it holds its shape even at high heat.

So halloumi and feta do not melt not because they are dry — but because they are acidic. And mozzarella stretches because it is moist and low in acid.

Cheeses that melt and stretch

• Mozzarella: the queen of melting and stretching. For pizza, quesadillas and bakes.
• Gouda: melts smoothly and tastes better than mozzarella. For sandwiches and sauces.
• Gruyère: melts and brings a strong nutty flavour. For onion soup, quiche and fondue.
• Cheddar: melts, but can split its oil at high heat. For sauces with starch.
• Young roumy: an excellent local substitute in baked dishes.

Cheeses that do not melt

• Halloumi: grills and browns while holding its shape completely. For grilling and salads.
• Feta: crumbles and brings a sharp saltiness. For salads and pastries.
• Fresh curd (qarish): low in fat and high in protein. For breakfast and lighter eating.
• Ricotta: soft and lightly sweet. For filling lasagne and desserts.
• Indian paneer: browns and holds its shape. For curry.

Hard cheeses for grating

Parmesan, aged roumy and pecorino are aged cheeses, low in moisture and high in salt, and their job is flavour, not texture.

They are grated over pasta, soup and salad, and deliver strong umami in small quantities. And do not throw away a hard parmesan rind — drop it into soup and it adds noticeable depth.

Why cheese splits its oil

A common problem in cheese sauce: it turns into a rubbery mass in a pool of oil. The cause is heat that is too high — the cheese proteins contract and expel fat and water.

The fix: very low heat, adding the cheese after the sauce comes off the heat, and with it starch or flour — the starch coats the fat droplets and stops them coalescing.

This is why the classic cheese sauce is built on a béchamel — the flour in it is what prevents the split.

Pre-grated bagged cheese

Bagged grated cheese is coated with starch or cellulose so it does not clump. That coating stops it melting smoothly.

So if a recipe needs a smooth melt (fondue, sauce, pizza), grate the cheese yourself. The difference is very clear.

Storage

Cheese is a living thing that breathes, and tight plastic wrapping suffocates it and creates a slimy layer.

• Hard cheese: baking paper then a loosely closed bag. Keeps a month.
• Soft cheese: in its original tub or an airtight box. One to two weeks.
• Brined cheese (feta, domiati): in its brine. Months.
• Fresh mozzarella: in its liquid, eaten within days.

And mould on hard cheese can be cut away with a 2 cm margin and the rest eaten. But mould on soft cheese means throw the whole thing away — the roots run through the entire mass.

Egyptian cheeses: types and uses

Local cheese is cheaper and more widely available, and each type has its place:

• Qarish: low fat, high protein and lightly acidic. For breakfast, lighter eating and pastries; it crumbles rather than melts.
• Domiati: white and brined, kept in its liquid. Soaked in water to reduce the salt, it works in salads and pastries.
• Roumy: hard and aged with a sharp flavour. The aged kind grates like parmesan; the younger kind melts in bakes.
• Istanbouli: salty and slightly rubbery, and it melts partially — good in pastries and local-style pizza.
• Mish: very heavily aged with a very strong flavour. Eaten in small amounts with bread and onion.

And the local substitute for mozzarella in bakes: young roumy plus istanbouli in a 1:1 ratio — the first gives the flavour, the second the melt.

Cheese and health: quick numbers

Cheese is an excellent source of calcium and protein, but it varies enormously in fat and sodium:

• Highest in protein: qarish and parmesan — around 30 g of protein per 100 g.
• Lowest in fat: qarish and low-fat ricotta.
• Highest in sodium: feta, domiati and halloumi — soaking in water removes a good part of it.
• Lowest in lactose: aged cheeses (parmesan, aged roumy, mature cheddar) — ageing breaks down most of the lactose.

People with lactose intolerance usually tolerate hard aged cheese far better than milk or soft cheese.

Practical substitutes

If a recipe calls for a cheese you cannot find, what matters is matching the behaviour, not the name:

• Instead of Gruyère: mozzarella plus a little parmesan (melt plus flavour).
• Instead of parmesan: grated aged roumy.
• Instead of ricotta: mashed qarish plus a spoonful of cream.
• Instead of mascarpone: cream cheese and clotted cream in a 1:1 ratio.
• Instead of paneer: halloumi rinsed of its salt.