How to Buy Imported Cheese at the Grocery Store: A Guide for Home Cooks

If you've ever stood in front of the imported cheese section at your local grocery store and felt overwhelmed, you're in good company. The average specialty cheese case stocks dozens of wedges, wheels, and blocks from countries you may never have visited. The labels are in other languages and the prices vary wildly. And the names can sound like they belong in a history textbook.

Buying imported cheese doesn't have to feel like guesswork. Once you understand a few basics about how cheese is categorized, what the labels mean, and which cheeses work best in your cooking, you can walk up to that counter and make smart choices. This guide will give you the framework. Future articles in this series will go deeper into cheeses from specific countries, from Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano to Spanish Manchego to French Comté.

What Makes a Cheese "Imported"

In the United States, imported cheese accounts for about five percent of total cheese sales. But within the specialty cheese market, imports play a much larger role. The U.S. imported cheese worth roughly $2 billion in 2024, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Most of that comes from Europe. Italy, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Ireland are among the top suppliers.

When you see imported cheese at the grocery store, it has traveled a regulated path. Many European cheeses carry Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, which means the cheese was produced in a specific region using defined methods. The European Union created the PDO system in 1992 to protect regional food products across member countries. You'll see it on the label as a red and yellow circular logo.

Different countries use their own abbreviations for the same concept. French cheeses may carry an AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) label, which replaced the older AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) designation. Italian cheeses use DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta). Swiss cheeses display AOP as well. These labels all guarantee the same thing: the cheese was made where it says it was made, using the methods that define that cheese.

This matters because names can be misleading. Brie, Camembert, Gouda, and Cheddar are not broadly protected names. Anyone anywhere can make a cheese and call it "brie" or "gouda." Only specific versions carry PDO protection. Brie de Meaux and Camembert de Normandie are PDO cheeses from France. Noord-Hollandse Gouda is a PDO cheese from the Netherlands. West Country Farmhouse Cheddar is a PDO cheese from England. If a label says just "brie" or "cheddar" without a region, it could come from anywhere, including the United States.

A U.S. court recently ruled that the term "gruyere" has become genericized in America, meaning domestic cheesemakers can use the name even though Gruyère is a PDO cheese in Switzerland. So if you want the Swiss original, look for the AOP label on the packaging.

How to Think About Cheese Categories

There are over 1,000 named cheese varieties worldwide, according to estimates cited in the International Dairy Federation's classification efforts. That sounds paralyzing. But you can simplify things by thinking about cheese in two dimensions: texture and milk type.

Texture

The most practical way to categorize cheese is by firmness, which correlates with moisture content and aging time. The American Cheese Society, the Codex Alimentarius, and most cheese retailers use some version of these groupings:

Fresh cheese has high moisture and no aging. It spoils quickly and tastes mild and milky. Examples include mozzarella, ricotta, mascarpone, chèvre, feta, and queso fresco. Fresh cheeses work well in salads, on toast, in pasta, and as fillings.

Soft-ripened cheese ages for a short time and develops a white, bloomy rind from Penicillium candidum mold or a washed rind from Brevibacterium linens bacteria. Brie and Camembert are the most famous bloomy-rind cheeses. Époisses, Taleggio, and Pont-l'Évêque are washed-rind cheeses. These tend to be creamy or runny at room temperature and pair well with bread and fruit.

Semi-soft cheese holds its shape when cut but is too soft for grating. Think Havarti, young Gouda, Fontina, and Muenster. These cheeses melt beautifully, making them good choices for sandwiches, gratins, and fondue.

Semi-hard cheese has lower moisture and a firmer texture. This is the category that includes aged Cheddar, Gruyère, Comté, Manchego, and aged Gouda. These cheeses slice and shred well. They work in everything from cheese boards to baked dishes.

Hard cheese is packed tightly and aged for months or years. Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, aged Asiago, and Grana Padano are the most common imports. Hard cheeses are typically grated over pasta, soups, and salads. Their flavor is concentrated and savory.

Blue cheese is its own category. Mold is introduced into the curd or injected into the cheese during aging, creating the characteristic blue or green veins. Roquefort from France, Gorgonzola from Italy, Stilton from England, and Cabrales from Spain are all PDO blue cheeses. Blue cheeses range from mild and creamy to sharp and crumbly.

Milk Type

Most imported cheese sold in the U.S. is made from cow's milk. But sheep's milk and goat's milk cheeses are common imports too, and each has a distinct character.

Cow's milk produces cheese with a relatively neutral starting flavor that can develop in many directions depending on aging and technique. Most Alpine cheeses (Gruyère, Comté, Emmental), most bloomy-rind cheeses (Brie, Camembert), and most semi-hard cheeses (Gouda, Cheddar) are cow's milk.

Sheep's milk is higher in fat and protein than cow's milk. It yields cheese that tends to be rich and slightly tangy. Roquefort, Manchego, Pecorino, and feta (traditionally) are sheep's milk cheeses.

Goat's milk has a tangier, more acidic flavor. Fresh goat cheese (chèvre) is the most familiar to American cooks, but aged goat cheeses exist too. Bucheron from France starts creamy in the center and softens further near the rind as it ages.

Mixed milk cheeses combine two or more milks. Some traditional cheeses blend cow's and goat's milk or cow's and sheep's milk to achieve a specific balance of flavor and texture.

Reading the Label

When you pick up a piece of imported cheese at the store, the label (or the placard on the cheese counter) usually tells you several things. Here's what to look for:

Country of origin. This is straightforward. It tells you where the cheese was made.

Milk type. Look for "cow's milk," "sheep's milk," "goat's milk," or "mixed milk." In French, you might see "lait de vache" (cow), "lait de brebis" (sheep), or "lait de chèvre" (goat). In Italian, "latte di mucca," "latte di pecora," or "latte di capra."

Raw vs. pasteurized. Some imported cheeses are made with raw (unpasteurized) milk. In the U.S., the FDA requires that raw milk cheese be aged at least 60 days before sale. This rule means you won't find young raw-milk cheeses at American stores, but you will find aged ones. Parmigiano-Reggiano, Comté, and Roquefort are all traditionally made with raw milk. Raw milk cheeses tend to have more complex flavors because the natural bacteria in the milk contribute to the aging process.

PDO/DOP/AOP designation. As described above, this guarantees origin and production standards. Look for the red and yellow EU logo.

Age. Some cheeses list aging time. A "giovane" (young) or "vecchio" (old) designation on an Italian cheese tells you how long it was aged. A Gouda might say "aged 12 months" or "aged 24 months." Longer aging generally means firmer texture, more concentrated flavor, and higher price.

A World Tour in the Cheese Case

Here's a quick reference for the imported cheeses you're most likely to find at a well-stocked grocery store, organized by country. This is a starting point. Each country will get its own article in this series.

France

France has 46 PDO cheeses. You'll commonly find Brie (soft, bloomy rind), Comté (firm, nutty, Alpine), Roquefort (blue, sheep's milk, aged in caves near Roquefort-sur-Soulzon), Camembert (soft, bloomy, from Normandy), and Morbier (semi-soft, with a distinctive ash line through the middle). Roquefort was the first French cheese to receive AOC protection, back in 1925.

Italy

Italy's DOP cheese list is extensive. At most American grocery stores, you'll find Parmigiano-Reggiano (hard, aged 12 to 36+ months), Grana Padano (similar to Parmigiano but milder and less expensive), Pecorino Romano (hard, salty, sheep's milk), Gorgonzola (blue, cow's milk, comes in dolce and piccante styles), and Provolone. Fresh Italian imports like burrata and mozzarella di bufala (made from water buffalo milk) are increasingly available too.

Spain

Manchego is the most widely available Spanish cheese in the U.S. It's made from the milk of Manchega sheep in the La Mancha region. Other Spanish imports include Cabrales (a strong blue cheese from Asturias), Mahón (a semi-hard cheese from Menorca), and Idiazábal (a smoked sheep's milk cheese from the Basque Country).

Switzerland

Gruyère and Emmental are the most common Swiss imports. Both are Alpine cheeses made from cow's milk. Raclette, traditionally melted and scraped over potatoes and pickles, is growing in availability. Appenzeller, washed with an herbal brine, has a more pungent character.

The Netherlands

Gouda dominates Dutch cheese exports. Young Gouda is mild, smooth, and a little sweet. Aged Gouda – sometimes called "overjarig," meaning "over a year" – develops caramel and butterscotch flavors and a crumbly, crystalline texture. Edam, wrapped in its red wax coating, is milder and lower in fat.

United Kingdom and Ireland

English Stilton (a PDO blue cheese), West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, and Irish Dubliner are the most common imports from the British Isles. Irish butter and cheese benefit from the country's temperate climate and grass-fed cows. Ireland's cheese exports to the U.S. are growing, with an import share of about 5 percent.

How to Use Imported Cheese in Your Cooking

Knowing what to buy is only half the equation. Here's how to put those cheeses to work in your kitchen.

Grating cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Grana Padano, and Pecorino Romano are workhorses. Grate them over pasta, into risotto, onto salads, or into soups. Save the rinds and drop them into simmering soups or bean dishes. They add body and umami without extra salt. Buy these in wedges and grate as needed. Pre-grated versions lose flavor and aroma quickly.

Melting cheeses like Gruyère, Comté, Fontina, Raclette, and young Gouda perform well in gratins, quiches, croque monsieurs, and fondue. Semi-soft and semi-hard cheeses with moderate fat content tend to melt smoothly. Hard aged cheeses can turn grainy when melted, so save those for grating.

Finishing cheeses like Brie, Camembert, Époisses, and fresh goat cheese shine at room temperature on a board with bread, fruit, and honey. Bring them out of the fridge 30 to 60 minutes before serving. Cold suppresses their aromas and firms up their texture.

Crumbling cheeses like Roquefort, feta, and aged Manchego work in salads, on roasted vegetables, and on flatbreads. Blue cheese in particular pairs well with pears, walnuts, and honey.

Cooking-ready fresh cheeses like mozzarella and burrata belong on pizza, in Caprese salads, and over fresh pasta. Fresh mozzarella di bufala has a different flavor profile than the low-moisture mozzarella Americans are used to. It's tangier, creamier, and best eaten the day you buy it.

How to Store Imported Cheese at Home

Imported cheese costs more per pound than domestic cheese, so proper storage matters. The goal is to let the cheese breathe without drying it out.

Avoid plastic wrap. Tight plastic suffocates cheese and can transfer off-flavors. If your cheese comes wrapped in plastic from the grocery store, rewrap it when you get home.

Use cheese paper or parchment paper. Specialty cheese paper (available from brands like Formaticum) has a coated outer layer and perforated plastic inner layer that maintains humidity while allowing airflow. If you don't have cheese paper, wrap the cheese in parchment paper first, then place it loosely in a partially open zip-top bag with some air left inside.

Store in the vegetable crisper. The crisper drawer maintains a more stable temperature and slightly higher humidity than the rest of the fridge.

Different cheeses, different rules. Hard cheeses are the most forgiving and can last weeks when stored properly. Semi-hard cheeses benefit from being rewrapped every few days. Soft-ripened cheeses are the most perishable and should be eaten within a few days of purchase. Blue cheeses keep well wrapped in foil. Fresh cheeses like mozzarella and burrata should be consumed within a day or two.

Bring cheese to room temperature before eating. Cold dulls flavor and firms texture. Take cheese out of the fridge 30 to 60 minutes before you plan to eat it. The exception is cheese you're using for cooking, which can go straight from the fridge to the pan.

Getting Started

You don't need to master 1,000 cheese varieties to start cooking with imported cheese. Start with one cheese from each major category and get to know it. Buy a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano for grating. Pick up a piece of Comté or Gruyère for melting. Grab a round of Brie or Camembert for snacking. Add a crumble of Roquefort or Gorgonzola for salads.

Pay attention to what the label tells you. Look for PDO, DOP, or AOP designations when you want authenticity. Read the milk type. Check the age. Ask the cheesemonger behind the counter for a taste if the store allows it.

The cheese case is less intimidating than it looks. With a little knowledge, it becomes one of the most rewarding sections of the grocery store. In the next article in this series, we'll go deeper into Italian cheeses and how to use them in everyday cooking.