The Most Popular Cheeses from Germany and Around the World

Cheese is incredibly diverse: mild or strong, creamy or firm, young or aged for many months. Worldwide, there is a huge selection of cheeses, and almost every region has developed its own specialties. It's no wonder, then, that the question of the most popular or best cheeses isn't so easy to answer.

Which cheeses belong to the top cheese varieties also depends on personal taste. While some prefer a mild cow's milk cheese, for others it might be a strong blue cheese or a long aged hard cheese made from goat's milk.

In this article, we'll introduce you to some of the most well-known and popular cheeses from Germany and around the world, take a look at vegan cheese alternatives, and show you which varieties should not be missing from a good cheese board. And, of course, we'll also reveal which of our Backensholzer Hof cheeses are particularly popular with our customers.

What types of cheese are there?

A complete list of all cheeses from A to Z would quickly go beyond the scope. Worldwide, countless regional varieties and variations exist, and new creations are constantly emerging.

It is therefore clearer to classify them by cheese type based on their water content:

• Fresh cheese contains more than 73% water content in the fat-free cheese mass

• Soft cheese contains more than 67% water content in the fat-free cheese mass

• Sour milk cheese has a water content of 60% to 73% in the fat-free cheese mass
  

• Semi-hard cheese has a water content of 61% to 69% in the fat-free cheese mass

• Semi-hard cheese counts as such with a water content of 54% to 63% in the fat-free cheese mass

• Hard cheese has less than 56% water content in the fat-free cheese mass
  

This classification does not apply to whey cheese, whey protein cheese, pasta filata cheese or cheese offered in a liquid (such as brine).

In addition, cheeses can be distinguished, for example, by the milk used. In addition to cow's milk cheese, there are, for example, sheep's, goat's, camel's, and buffalo's milk cheeses. Raw milk cheese also forms a special group: here, the milk is not pasteurized before processing.

Instead of listing as many cheeses as possible alphabetically, it is therefore worthwhile to look at those varieties that are particularly well-known and popular.

Discover 10 Popular Cheese Varieties in Germany

Germany is a true cheese country. In 2025, an average of 26.4 kilograms of cheese per capita was consumed here, which is 900g more than in the previous year. This means we Germans even eat three kilos more cheese than the Swiss. In a representative survey of 1,017 people, Gouda ranked first among the most popular cheese varieties, followed by Camembert and Emmental. Cream cheese, mozzarella, and Edam are also among the favorites.

These ten well-known and popular cheese varieties are particularly common in Germany:

1. Gouda
The Dutch semi-hard cheese is the classic par excellence. Young Gouda tastes mild and creamy, while long-aged varieties become significantly stronger and spicier.

2. Camembert
The creamy soft cheese with white noble mold rind originally comes from France and is also a favorite in Germany.

3. Emmental
Its large holes make it unmistakable. Depending on its degree of ripeness, Emmental has a mild to spicy-nutty taste. This cheese comes from the Emmental in Switzerland.

4. Cream cheese
Cream cheese hardly needs to ripen or not at all and has a high water content. It is used plain, with herbs, or as an ingredient for numerous dishes.

5. Mozzarella
Whether on pizza, with tomatoes, or in salads: Mozzarella has now become an absolute classic in Germany as well. This variety originally comes from Italy.

6. Edam
Edam is a comparatively mild semi-hard cheese from the Netherlands. Precisely because of its restrained taste, it is versatile.

7. Mountain Cheese
Mountain cheese is stronger and more aromatic. With increasing maturity, it often develops spicy and nutty flavor notes. This cheese pairs very well with a strong red wine and is a classic on a cheese board.

8. Butter cheese
Butterkäse owes its name to its particularly mild, slightly buttery note and its soft consistency.

9. Tilsiter
Tilsiter has a characteristic spicy taste, the intensity of which can vary significantly depending on the degree of ripeness. Tilsiter originated in the East Prussian city of Tilsit, which is now part of Sovetsk in Russia.

10. Harz Cheese
Harz cheese is a sour milk cheese with a very characteristic aroma. It has low fat content and a comparatively high protein content.

The exact order after the top spots always depends on whether, for example, sales figures, production volumes, or surveys are considered. But one thing is clear: semi-hard cheese plays a particularly important role in Germany. Gouda is also leading in terms of sales and production volume in this country.

The 10 most popular cheeses in the world

There is no universally valid world ranking of the most popular cheeses. Eating habits, sales figures, and tastes vary too much from country to country.

However, some varieties have gained recognition far beyond their region of origin. Among the most well-known and internationally popular cheese classics are:

1. Parmigiano Reggiano – Italy
The Italian hard cheese is aged for many months, developing its strong, spicy, and slightly nutty flavor.

2. Mozzarella – Italy
Mozzarella is almost indispensable in international cuisine. Traditional Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is made from buffalo milk.

3. Gouda – Netherlands
From young, mild Gouda to long-aged varieties, this cheese offers an enormous range of flavors.

4. Cheddar – England
Cheddar is one of the most internationally recognized cheese varieties. The longer it ages, the stronger and more complex its aroma becomes.

5. Camembert – France
The French soft cheese is known for its white noble mold rind and creamy core.

6. Brie – France
Brie is also a soft cheese with a white noble mold rind. Its taste ranges from mild and creamy to intense and earthy.

7. Manchego – Spain
The Spanish classic is traditionally made from sheep's milk and develops strong, nutty aromas with increasing maturity.

8. Emmental – Switzerland
The Swiss hard cheese with its characteristic holes is one of the most famous cheeses ever.

9. Feta – Greece
Feta is traditionally made from sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep's and goat's milk and ripened in brine.

10. Gorgonzola – Italy
The Italian blue cheese ranges in taste from creamy-mild to distinctly spicy and intense.

This selection is consciously intended as a collection of international classics and not as an objective ranking based on sales figures. Rating rankings can look quite different: In the TasteAtlas Awards 2025/26, for example, the Greek Graviera Naxou ranks ahead of Parmigiano Reggiano, followed by Queijo de Azeitão, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, and Graviera Kritis.

That shows quite well: there is no single "best cheese in the world," which is probably pretty good news for cheese lovers!

Vegan cheese varieties: What alternatives are there?

In addition to traditional cheese, there is now a wide selection of plant-based products that imitate cheese in taste, consistency, or use. Legally, however, these products may generally not be referred to as "cheese" within the EU. The term is reserved for dairy products. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) clarified in 2017 that terms such as "milk," "butter," "yogurt," and "cheese" may generally only be used for products of animal origin. This also applies even if additions such as "vegan" or "plant-based" clearly indicate that the product does not contain animal milk. The background to the regulation is, among other things, clear labeling for consumers and the protection of the established terms for milk and dairy products. For this reason, we correctly speak of vegan or plant-based cheese alternatives and not vegan cheese.

Vegan cheese alternatives are produced, for example, on the basis of:

• cashew nuts

• almonds

• soy

• coconut oil or other vegetable oils

• legumes

There are many plant-based alternatives for numerous cheese types: from vegan spreads to slices for bread and melting alternatives for pizza, to aged nut-based products.

Taste and consistency sometimes differ significantly from traditional cheese. However, fermented and aged products, in particular, can develop exciting unique aromas.

Well-known manufacturers of vegan cheese alternatives

Anyone who wants to try plant-based cheese alternatives can now find a wide selection in food stores. Well-known brands include Simply V, bedda, and Violife. The range extends far beyond classic slices for bread: Simply V offers, among other things, plant-based alternatives to cream cheese, mozzarella, and feta, while bedda, in addition to Gouda and Cheddar-style products, even has a ripened soft cheese alternative with noble mold called "Come on Bert" in its range. Violife also covers numerous cheese types with plant-based alternatives. In addition, there are smaller or more specialized manufacturers that work more with fermentation and ripening.

Tip: Pay attention to ingredients and nutritional values

When buying, it's worth checking the ingredients and nutritional values. Plant-based cheese alternatives sometimes differ considerably from each other. Many products mainly consist of vegetable fats and starch and contain significantly less protein and calcium than traditional cheese. Other products, for example, are based on nuts or legumes and are fermented or even aged. The Hamburg Consumer Center therefore recommends choosing not only based on taste and intended use, but also on ingredients, protein, calcium, and salt content.

Which cheeses belong on a good cheese board?

A good cheese board doesn't have to consist of as many varieties as possible. A small selection that differs in consistency, ripeness, and taste is much more exciting.

For a varied cheese board, for example, we recommend:

• a mild semi-hard cheese as an uncomplicated starter, e.g., the Backensholzer Kleiner Deichkäse

• a soft cheese for a creamy component, e.g., the Baruther Urstromtaler

• a long-aged hard cheese, e.g., our Deichkäse 12 Monate

• a blue cheese for spice and intensity, e.g., our Friesisch Blue

• a special cheese specialty as a culinary surprise, e.g., our Michel, an award-winning hard cheese made from goat's and sheep's milk. Or particularly special is also the Hoffest-Käse, this specialty is made from one third sheep's, goat's, and cow's milk each

Three to five different types of cheese are usually completely sufficient for a nice cheese board.

When composing, you should also make sure not to choose only very strong cheeses. Different intensities make the tasting more interesting and ensure that there is something for different tastes. When tasting, it is advisable to start with the mild cheeses and work your way up through the medium-strong to the particularly aromatic varieties.

Accompaniments include (crispbread) or crackers, nuts, fruit, fig mustard, chutneys, and other sweet and savory accompaniments.

Our tip from Backensholzer Hof: Take the cheese out of the refrigerator about an hour before consumption. Many aromas come out much better at room temperature than directly from the cold.

Top cheese varieties from Backensholzer Hof

When it comes to the question of our most popular cheeses, we don't have to guess; we can take a look at what actually ends up in our customers' shopping carts.

1st Place: Kleiner Deichkäse

Our clear leader is the Kleiner Deichkäse. About half of the cheese we sell is accounted for by this variety. This makes it not only one of our most famous cheeses but clearly the crowd favorite from Backensholzer Hof. And it's clear: we can totally understand why! Its mild – but not boring – aroma makes it so beautifully versatile and uncomplicated. We also produce the Deichkäse groß jung, Deichkäse groß alt and Deichkäse Gold from the same cheese curd; you can read more in the blog article about Deichkäse.

2nd Place: Kleiner Husumer

In second place is the Kleiner Husumer. It is one of our customers' absolute favorites and is particularly popular. Its balanced character makes it a cheese that looks good both plain and on bread or a cheese board. If you're looking for an uncomplicated cheese with its own character, the Kleiner Husumer is exactly right. We also produce the großer Husumer from the same cheese curd, but this is nowhere near as popular as the Kleiner Husumer.

3rd Place: Hofkäse

In third place among our most popular cheeses is the Hofkäse. Together with Kleiner Deichkäse and Kleiner Husumer, it forms our Backensholzer top trio – and one thing is particularly striking: our customers especially appreciate the milder cheese varieties. This is probably due to their uncomplicated nature. They are pleasantly accessible, versatile, and thus appeal to the taste of many cheese lovers.

Our medal collector: Michel

However, popularity cannot only be measured by sales figures. The Michel deserves a special place in our cheese selection. In recent years, it has collected numerous gold and super gold medals at the World Cheese Awards, making it one of our most successful cheeses in competitions.

Sales figures and awards tell two different stories: While the Kleine Deichkäse is a customer favorite, the Michel regularly impresses expert juries.

Which cheese is the best?

There's only one truly good answer to that: the one you like best! :)

Rankings can help you discover new cheeses. However, they say little about which cheese will become your personal favorite. Origin, milk used, production method, and maturation time all contribute to enormous differences in taste.

Anyone still searching for their favorite cheese should therefore try different types of cheese and stages of ripeness. Perhaps it's a creamy soft cheese, perhaps a spicy blue cheese – or a long-aged raw milk cheese from our farmstead cheese dairy. A cheese tasting can also help in your search for your new favorite cheese. At Backensholzer Hof, we regularly host our cheese chats with Thilo. You'll taste seven of our cheeses and learn about their different aromas and special characteristics. You can find the current dates in our shop under "Events." For groups of about ten people or more, we also offer individual appointments. Simply send us an email at hofkueche@backensholz.de.

Conclusion: Diversity makes good cheese

Gouda, Camembert, and Emmental are among the most popular cheeses in Germany, while classics like Parmigiano Reggiano, Mozzarella, Cheddar, or Manchego are known worldwide. But such top 10 lists always show only a small fraction of the enormous variety of cheeses.

Instead of alphabetically checking off as many cheeses as possible, it is therefore worthwhile to discover different types of cheese, regions of origin, and stages of ripeness. Especially artisan cheeses show how strongly milk, production, and ripening can influence the later taste.

And in the end, it's not the ranking but your own taste that decides which cheese deserves the title of "favorite cheese."

Content Notice

Last updated on 24.08.2026

This article was created in collaboration with Anne Andresen-Hinz, European Cheese Consultant, who works at our Backensholzer Hof farm shop as a qualified specialist for professional cheese sales. In addition, the technical characteristics of the cheese groups were reviewed by dairy master Thore Dau.