Cheeses Made From Cow's Milk (Traditionally) Quiz

Answer:

Cow's milk is the most widely used milk for cheesemaking globally, resulting in a large variety of textures, flavors, and forms. Conversely, some cheeses, like Roquefort, Pecorino, and Manchego, are traditionally and legally defined as being made from sheep's milk. However, many producers outside of these protected regions make similar-style cheeses using cow's milk.

So, here are the cheeses that are officially, traditionally, legally are made from cow's milk. First, the Italian cheeses:

Gran Padano, a cheese from Italy, has Protected Designation of Origin specifications that were established in 1955 in Italy and 1996 in the EU. The restrictions explicitly require raw, unpasteurized cow's milk from cows raised in the designated Po Valley regions of northern Italy (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, and Trentino). The milk has to be partially skimmed through natural creaming, using milk from two daily milkings. There can be no physical or thermal treatments that change its raw state. Aging the cheese is done in temperature-controlled environments and lasts from 9 to 20 months. Lysozyme is permitted to be added to prevent spoilage during aging in Grana Padano but not for other similar cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano.

Under its Protected Designation of Origin regulations, Gorgonzola cheese is required to be made from cow's milk to be considered authentic and labeled as "Gorgonzola." The goal is to keep consistency in flavor and texture (creamy to crumbly, depending on aging) which depend on the fat and protein composition of cow's milk. That Denominazione di Origine Protetta status in the European Union legally requires it to be produced in specific regions of Northern Italy (mostly Lombardy and Piedmont) using 100% cow's milk. Its cheese-making process involves pasteurizing cow's milk, and then adding lactic acid bacteria and Penicillium roquefortii mold spores. This creates the blue vein look that is characteristic of Gorgonzola. They curdle, the drain it, then salt the curds.

Parmigiano-Reggiano, is from Italy, and as The "King of Cheeses" it is strictly regulated with its Protected Designation of Origin status. Authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano is made from just three ingredients:
It can only be made from raw milk (unpasteurized and partially skimmed by letting the milk sit overnight so that the cream rises and is removed). The use of any other milk is forbidden. The milk is from cows fed a special diet, and raised in specific regions of northern Italy (Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua south of the Po, and Bologna west of the Reno). Rennet is also used as a natural enzyme (usually from calf stomach lining) to curdle the milk and separate it into curds and whey. In case Little Miss Muffet drops by. The cheese wheels that are formed are then soaked in a brine bath for 20 days to absorb the salt which becomes the third ingredient. The entire process is regulated under the DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) laws, which also prohibits additives or preservatives. Aging takes a minimum of 12 months.

Now the French cheeses:

Boursin cheese from France is a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) product that specifies the use of cow's milk. It is a creamy branded garlic and herb cheese traditionally made only from cow's milk. It is a soft Gournay-style cheese, first created in 1957 by François Boursin, a cheesemaker in Normandy.

Brie de Meaux, protected by the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée/ Protected Designation of Origin, is traditionally made with cow's milk, and consists of a creamy yellow straw-colored interior with a white rind. Authentic Brie de Meaux must be made in the eastern Paris basin, including parts of Île-de-France, Lorraine, and Champagne-Ardenne; "brie" cheese made outside of Europe is might theoretically use other milks, but true Brie de Meaux must not be.

We must distinguish between the generic term "camembert" for cheese and the protected name "Camembert de Normandie." Around the world, many cheeses may lay claim to being called "camembert" despite being made from types of milk like goat or sheep. According to the strict AOC/PDO guidelines, however, only "Camembert de Normandie" must be made exclusively from cow's milk with at least 50% of said cow's milk being from Normande breed cows.

In 1958, Comté became one of the first cheeses to receive Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status in France; in 1996, it acquired Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) recognition at the European level. Comté cheese is a famous French Gruyère-style cheese and must be made exclusively from cow's milk, primarily the Montbéliarde or French Simmental breeds of cows, from the Jura Massif region in eastern France. These requirements result in Comté's firm yet supple texture as well as its complex flavors that have been described as nutty, creamy, and even fruity flavors. The time of year it's produced also make for variations with "Summer Comté" being more yellowish and "Winter Comté" a paler ivory color.

Emmental cheese is produced in France and also Switzerland, and the two have slight differences. Though the Swiss variety is a bit more strictly regulated (via (Appellation d'Origine Protégée, Swiss PDO), both countries mandate that the cheese must be made from cow's milk. The Swiss cows are local Simmental or Brown Swiss breeds from the Emme Valley. Emmental Français Est-Central cheese is made from cow's milk in the Savoie region in central-eastern France. We call both versions "Emmental" because it originated in the 13th century in the Emme Valley in the Swiss canton of Bern. Its popularity then spread to the next door neighbors in France's Franche-Comté region, who used similar techniques to the Swiss cheesemakers in making the cheese.

And some United States cheeses that are traditionally made form cow's milk:

Brick Cheese, produced in the USA must be made from cow's milk, a requirement of the Standard of Identity in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), defined in 21 CFR § 133.108 stating that brick cheese is made from "milk," which they also legally define in 21 CFR § 133.3(a) as "the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows...". Brick cheese was developed in Wisconsin in the 1870s by John Jossi, a Swiss-born cheesemaker, and the process has continued mostly unchanged ever since. It's called Brick Cheese because traditionally, cheesemakers used bricks to press down on the cheese, squeezing the moisture out of the cheese, and this would also form the cheese into its distinctive brick shape.

That same Standard of Identity in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) defines that Colby cheese produced in the USA must be made from cow's milk. USDA Grading and Standards cheese also state that Colby is "made from cow's milk." Colby is a semi-hard cheese, with a mild flavor. It is named after Colby, Wisconsin where it was first developed in 1885, by Joseph Steinwand.

Here are the cheeses that are made from a different animal's milk:

Bûcheron is a specific type of French goat cheese log. Bûcheron's protected status, identifies it as being made only from goat's milk.

According to its traditional recipe and cultural heritage, Casu Marzu cheese cannot be made from cow's milk, but must be made from sheep's milk instead, specifically from Sardinian sheep.

The term chèvre literally means "goat" in French, so by definition, authentic chèvre cheese is made exclusively from goat's milk.

Genuine "Feta" is a protected term in the European Union. True Feta cheese must by law, be produced in specific regions of Greece (Macedonia, Thrace, Epirus, etc.) and made from at least 70% sheep's milk and up to 30% goat's milk. Cow's milk is strictly forbidden.

Authentic Idiazábal cheese cannot be made with cow's milk according to its Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) regulations. It is made exclusively from the Latxa and Carranzana sheep breeds native to the Basque Country and Navarra regions of Spain.

As defined by its PDO status in the European Union, genuine Manchego cheese, must be made exclusively from the whole milk of Manchega sheep raised in the La Mancha region of Spain.

Authentic Pecorino Romano cheese is also PDO-protected (Denominazione di Origine Protetta), and must be produced primarily in the Lazio and Sardinia in regions of Italy.

By legal definition and protected status, authentic Roquefort cheese cannot be made from cow's milk; it must be made exclusively from sheep's milk (specifically, the Lacaune breed) and it must be aged in the natural caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France.