How well do you know your cheese? – answers and explanations
Here are the answers to all 20 questions in the How well do you know your cheese? quiz, each with a short explanation. From Brie to fondue, test your knowledge of the world's cheeses. Haven't played yet? Take the quiz first and compare your score.
Play the quiz · 20 questions1. Which famous English cheese takes its name from a village in Somerset?
Answer: Cheddar
Cheddar cheese is named after the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England. Cheddar Gorge has caves that were traditionally used to mature the cheese. Stilton, by contrast, is named after a village in Cambridgeshire.
2. Authentic Greek feta is made mainly from which animal's milk?
Answer: Sheep
Under its EU Protected Designation of Origin, Greek feta must be made mainly from sheep's milk. Goat's milk can make up no more than 30% of the mix, and the cheese is aged in brine.
3. The original Mini Babybel cheese comes wrapped in wax of which colour?
Answer: Red
The original Mini Babybel, made by the French company Bel, comes in red wax. Other colours mark other varieties, such as yellow for the Emmental-style version.
4. Which soft Italian cheese is a key ingredient of classic tiramisu?
Answer: Mascarpone
Classic tiramisu is made with mascarpone, a soft and creamy Italian cheese from Lombardy. It is layered with ladyfingers dipped in coffee and finished with a dusting of cocoa.
5. Halloumi, the squeaky grilling cheese, traditionally comes from which country?
Answer: Cyprus
Halloumi is a traditional cheese from Cyprus, where it has been made for centuries. Since 2021 it has been protected in the EU as a Cypriot PDO product, and it is usually made from a mix of sheep's, goat's and sometimes cow's milk.
6. Swiss raclette cheese is traditionally melted and scraped over which food?
Answer: Boiled potatoes
Raclette comes from the Swiss canton of Valais. The cut face of a wheel is heated and the melted cheese is scraped onto boiled potatoes, which are traditionally served with gherkins and pickled onions.
7. Which pair of cheeses is used in classic Swiss 'Moitié-Moitié' (half-and-half) fondue?
Answer: Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois
Swiss 'moitié-moitié' (half-and-half) fondue uses equal parts Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois, melted in dry white wine with garlic. It is served in a communal pot called a caquelon.
8. Which soft French cheese from Normandy is famously sold in a round wooden box?
Answer: Camembert
Camembert is a soft cheese with a bloomy rind from Normandy. It has been sold in round wooden boxes since the 1890s, which helped it travel long distances without being damaged.
9. Which Swiss cheese is world-famous for its large holes, or 'eyes'?
Answer: Emmental
Emmental comes from the Emme valley in the canton of Bern. Its large holes, or eyes, form when bacteria release carbon dioxide gas while the cheese ripens.
10. Philadelphia is a famous brand of which type of cheese?
Answer: Cream cheese
Philadelphia is a cream cheese brand that started in New York State in the 1870s. It was named after Philadelphia because that city was known at the time for high-quality dairy products. Today the brand is owned by Kraft Heinz in the US.
11. The Laughing Cow, the spreadable cheese in foil triangles, comes from which country?
Answer: France
The Laughing Cow (La Vache qui rit) is a French processed cheese brand. Jules Bel created it in 1921 in France's Jura region, and the Bel Group still makes it.
12. Boxed macaroni and cheese is popularly called 'Kraft Dinner' in which country?
Answer: Canada
In Canada, Kraft's boxed macaroni and cheese is sold as Kraft Dinner, often shortened to 'KD'. It came out in 1937 and has become a kind of unofficial national comfort food.
13. The classic dish Welsh rarebit is a savoury cheese sauce served on what?
Answer: Toast
Welsh rarebit is a hot, savoury cheese sauce poured over toasted bread, often made with ale or mustard. It was first called 'Welsh rabbit', even though it contains no meat.
14. Stilton and Gorgonzola are both famous examples of which style of cheese?
Answer: Blue cheese
Stilton (England) and Gorgonzola (Italy) are both blue cheeses. Their blue-green veins come from Penicillium mould, which grows through the cheese as it ripens.
15. Manchego, a famous sheep's milk cheese, comes from which country?
Answer: Spain
Manchego comes from Spain. It is made in the La Mancha region from the milk of Manchega sheep and has Protected Designation of Origin status.
16. Gouda cheese is named after a city in which country?
Answer: The Netherlands
Gouda is named after the Dutch city of Gouda in South Holland. The cheese was traditionally traded at the city's market rather than made there.
17. Canada's famous dish poutine tops fries and gravy with what?
Answer: Cheese curds
Poutine is fries and gravy topped with fresh cheese curds, which squeak when you bite them. The dish came from rural Quebec in the 1950s.
18. Which cheese is traditionally used in a classic Roman spaghetti carbonara?
Answer: Pecorino Romano
Classic Roman carbonara uses Pecorino Romano, a hard, salty sheep's milk cheese. It is mixed with eggs, guanciale (cured pork cheek) and black pepper, with no cream.
19. Which Dutch cheese is famous for its ball shape and red wax coating?
Answer: Edam
Edam is a round Dutch cheese named after the town of Edam in North Holland, where it has been made since around the 14th century. Red wax is usually used on Edam made for export, while yellow wax is more common for cheese sold in the Netherlands.
20. What is the official name for the Italian hard cheese known as Parmesan?
Answer: Parmigiano Reggiano
Parmigiano Reggiano is the protected (PDO) name of the hard Italian cheese known as Parmesan. It is named after the production areas around Parma and Reggio Emilia, and it is also made in Modena and parts of Bologna and Mantua.