Limburger is named after the former duchy where it was first produced – specifically in the area of Herve, which is now in Belgium – in the 19th century. It's a hard cheese, known for its strong smell. Limburg is now divided between Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands; the cheese is now mainly produced in Germany.
Esrom is a semi-soft Danish cheese, named after the abbey where it was first produced in the Middle Ages. Fynbo, Maribo, Molbo, Samso and Tybo are semi–hard cheeses. Fynbo is named after the island of Fyn, while Marbo is named after a town on the island of Lolland. Fyn and Lolland are Denmark's third and fourth largest islands respectively. Samso is a much smaller island, but its cheese is described by I Love Cheese (.co.uk) as "The national cheese of Denmark". Wikipedia notes that Tybo dates from the Middle Ages, while Samso was invented in the early 19th century; it describes Tybo as "similar to a mild Samso". Molbo is named after the remote coastal region of Mols, where it is produced, while Havarti is another semi–hard cheese, which (according to castellocheese.com) "has become a staple in Danish cuisine."
Perroche is an unpasteurised goats' cheese, made at one particular dairy in Herefordshire since the early 1980s.
Cornish Kern has been marketed since 2015, and was named World Champion Cheese at the 30th World Cheese Awards, held in London in November 2017. Kern is said to be Cornish for round. The cheese is made at the same dairy as Yarg, but matured for longer (16 months, to be exact). Developed from the Gouda recipe, it's covered in a black wax–type coating and is said to have "a smooth, salt crystal texture with alpine savoury flavours followed by hints of sweetness".
Dorset Blue Vinney is a hard, crumbly blue cheese, traditionally made near Sturminster Newton in Dorset. 'Vinny' is either a local dialect word meaning mouldy, or it's a corruption of 'veiny' – referring to its blue veins – depending on who you believe.
Comté is made from unpasteurized cows' milk in Franche–Comté – a traditional province of eastern France. It has the highest production of all French AOC cheeses, at around 64,000 tonnes annually.
Reblochon is a soft cheese, made from raw cows' milk in the Alpine region of Savoy. It has its own AOC designation.
Feta is the best–known cheese from Greece. It's made from sheep's or goats' milk, and matured in brine.
Tabor is made from raw cows' milk in the Karst area, near Trieste. It takes its name from Rupentabor, which is the Slovenian name for the Italian town of Monrupino – very close to the Slovenian border. In the 1971 census, 77% of the population of Monrupino were Slovenes.
Bel Paese is a semi–soft Italian cheese. It was invented in 1906 by Egidio Galbani, and named after a treatise written in 1876 by the Italian geologist and paleontologist Antonio Stoppani: Il Bel Paese (The Beautiful Country – referring, of course, to Italy). Genuine Bel Paese cheese, produced by the company that Galbani founded, bears a portrait of Stoppani, and a map of Italy, on the label.
Dolcelatte is a blue–veined Italian soft cheese. It name means 'sweet milk'. It was created, like Bel Paese, by the Galbani company – but specifically for the British market, as a mild alternative to gorgonzola (see below).
Gorgonzola is a veined blue cheese, named after the town near Milan where it has been produced for hundreds of years. Wikipedia notes that it "acquir[ed] its greenish–blue marbling in the eleventh century."
Parmigiano–Reggiano is the officially certified name for Parmesan cheese. It's a hard, granular cheese from the regions of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Modena and Mantua. Its name is formed from the adjectives that refer to the first two of those regions.
Edam is a semi–hard cheese, named after a town in the Netherlands province of North Holland. It's traditionally sold in rounded cylinders, which when exported (but not for the domestic market) are normally coated in red paraffin wax to protect the cheese while in transit. The Edam website claims that it was the world's most popular cheese from the 14th to the 18th centuries, because it travelled and aged well.
Edam is the only cheese that's made backwards.
Gouda is similar to Edam. It's named after a city in the Netherlands province of South Holland – not because it's made there, but because it's historically been sold there.
Caboc dates from the 15th century, and is said to be Scotland's oldest cheese. It's traditionally coated in oatmeal (a tradition that started by accident). According to a story related on Wikipedia (with no citation), it was first made by the daughter of the Chieftain of Clan MacDonald, who learnt the recipe in Ireland, and has been passed down from mother to daughter ever since.
Crowdie is a Scottish cream cheese, often eaten with oatcakes.
Dunlop is a mild Scottish cheese, named after the town in East Ayrshire where it was first produced in the early 18th century.
Manchego is named after the manchega sheep, from whose milk it's produced; the sheep was named after the Spanish region of La Mancha. Official manchego cheese is aged for up to two years.
Appenzeller is a hard cheese named after the Swiss region (a historical canton) in which it's been produced for at least 700 years.
Monterey Jack (often known simply as Jack cheese) is named partly after the area of California where it was first made by Mexican Franciscan friars in the 18th century, and partly after the Scottish–born landowner and businessman David Jack, who emigrated to California during the 1849 gold rush and is credited as being the first person to market the cheese.
© Haydn Thompson 2017–18