Savory Cheese

You can count on savory cheese to bring big flavor and complex texture to the cheese board. While certain cheeses retain some sweetness from sugars in the milk, savory cheeses have gone all in on the ripe, sharp, spicy, earthy, salty flavors that drive cheese lovers wild. At the head of any savory cheese parade, you'll find salty parmesans, sharp cheddars, and older goudas whose rich flavors have all aged past the sweetness of their youth. Savory cheeses also include super salty varieties like feta, funky varieties like gorgonzola or brick, and specialty cheeses with added savory ingredients like horseradish, balsamic vinegar, jalapenos, and olive oil rubs. When you want a tasting experience with full-on flavor, savory cheese will please every time.

Wisconsin's Savory Cheeses

Wisconsin cheesemakers produce more than 600 different flavors, styles, and varieties of cheese, so we're never short on savory options. From savory classics like Hook's 15-year aged cheddar to pungent varieties like Chalet Cheese's limburger to herb cheese varieties like Sartori's Black Pepper BellaVitano, Marieke Goud's Foenegreek Gouda (Dutch for fenugreek), or Deer Creek's Carawaybou that blends caraway and colby cheese, Wisconsin is home to some of the best, most award-winning savory cheese on the planet.

Everything to Know about Savory Cheese

Savory cheeses have a sharp, salty, earthy, spicy, or pungent flavor rather than a naturally sweet taste.

What makes cheese savory?

Some cheeses have a naturally sweet flavor because of the sugars in the milk, the diet of the animals that produced it, or the type of enzymes used for ripening. Older cheeses tend to be more savory and less sweet, since the milk sugar, or lactose, is converted over time to lactic acid by the cultures in the cheese. Blue cheeses, which are riddled with blue-green streaks of deliciously pungent mold, are also considered savory cheeses. Cheesemakers may create savory varieties by adding savory ingredients such as olives, horseradish, or peppers during the cheesemaking process.

How is savory cheese made?

Savory cheese starts out as milk that's curdled with rennet or acid and then treated with cultures. After the curd is separated from the whey, the cheese may be brined before it's pressed into molds, where the cultures convert the curd into cheese over time. Cheeses are typically ripened anywhere from several days to several years – the longer a cheese ages, the more savory it's likely to be. Cheesemakers may also make savory cheeses by infusing the milk with savory flavors, by adding ingredients like peppers and nuts to the curd, or by rubbing the rind with olive oil and herbs.

What are the most common savory cheeses?

Of the estimated 1,800+ cheeses in the world, some of the most common types of savory cheese include:

• Aged cheeses: These varieties are typically aged for a year or more and include cheddar, gouda, parmesan, asiago, havarti, and aged provolone.
• Salty cheeses: While all cheeses contain salt, varieties like feta, roquefort, and manchego are known for their extra salty tang.
• Blue cheeses: Varieties like gorgonzola, stilton, cabrales, and valdeón get their savory flavors from the blue-green mold that permeates these pungent cheeses.
• Specialty cheeses: These are cheeses that have savory ingredients added to them – think cheeses with herbs like thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, and caraway cheese, or varieties flavored with olives, chili peppers, vinegar, or wine. Varieties like truffle cheese and pepper jack are also savory favorites.

What to Pair with Savory Cheeses

With so many savory cheeses, it's easy to find a variety that will pair with whatever beer or wine you have in mind.

• Aged cheddar wants drinks that can hold their own with the big flavor of the cheese. Riesling, chardonnay, and champagne are nice for whites. For reds, try pinot noir, chianti, and syrah. If you're drinking beer, off-dry beverages with a touch of sweetness like cider, bock, saison ale, or a Belgian ale will let aged cheddar shine.
• Parmesan needs a serious drink to match the serious flavor of this cheese. Pour a chianti, pinot noir, malbec, or syrah. Alternately, you can contrast the saltiness of the cheese with a crisp riesling or with the effervescence of champagne or prosecco.
• Feta enjoys crisp and bright drinks. For beer, a pilsner or lager will do. For wine, try a pinot gris.
• Blue cheese pairs beautifully with everything from fruit beers and stouts to porters and Belgian ales. For wine, cabernet sauvignon, chianti, and malbecs will match the flavor profile of the cheese bite for bite, while an ice wine or riesling will offer more contrast.
• Aged gouda has intense, nutty flavors that are well served by full-body wines like cabernet sauvignon or grenache. Alternately, an off-dry riesling will create some interesting flavor chemistry, while a lightly oaked chardonnay or a rhone white will match the cheese's texture.
• Asiago is a versatile cheese that goes equally well with fruit beers, pilsners, and pale ales, as well as rieslings, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, and pinot gris.
• Havarti is well-suited to weiss beer, stout, or doppelbock beers. For wine, a buttery chardonnay, pinot blanc, riesling, or beaujolais will match the creamy, sophisticated flavors of this cheese.
• Manchego is best enjoyed with a full-bodied white or light red wine. An oaky chardonnay, a malbec, or a cabernet will match the umami flavors in the cheese.
• Black truffle cheese can be paired with sparkling whites that offer a refreshing palate cleanse or with bolder wines like a dry riesling or aromatic pinot that match the flavor profile of a luxurious truffle cheese.

In the kitchen, savory cheeses go with any dish – make them into casseroles, stir them into pasta, slice them over burgers, or sprinkle them over a crusty loaf of Italian herb and cheese bread.