World Cheeses Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
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- Which French region does Camembert originate from?
- A. Brittany
- B. Normandy
- C. Auvergne
- D. Alsace
- What is the most consumed French cheese in the world?
- A. Comté
- B. Camembert
- C. Brie
- D. Emmental
- Which animal produces the milk used for traditional Mozzarella di Bufala?
- A. The cow
- B. The goat
- C. The water buffalo
- D. The sheep
- Which country does Gouda cheese originate from?
- A. Germany
- B. Belgium
- C. The Netherlands
- D. Denmark
- Which Italian hard cheese is traditionally grated over pasta?
- A. Mozzarella
- B. Gorgonzola
- C. Parmigiano Reggiano
- D. Mascarpone
- What term describes a cheese made from unpasteurised milk?
- A. Raw milk
- B. Whole milk
- C. UHT milk
- D. Fermented milk
- Which Swiss cheese is famous for its large holes?
- A. Gruyère
- B. Emmental
- C. Appenzeller
- D. Vacherin
- Which French philosopher and statesman is said to have asked, 'How can you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheese?'
- A. Napoleon Bonaparte
- B. Charles de Gaulle
- C. Georges Pompidou
- D. Winston Churchill
- Which Danish cow's milk blue cheese was created in the early 20th century to compete with Roquefort?
- A. Havarti
- B. Gorgonzola
- C. Danablu
- D. Cabrales
- What type of cheese is Cottage Cheese?
- A. A hard, aged cheese
- B. A fresh, unripened curd cheese
- C. A blue-veined cheese
- D. An industrial processed cheese
- What is traditionally recommended to accompany a French cheese platter?
- A. Only water
- B. Wine
- C. Coffee
- D. Soda
- Which cheese, the best-selling in the UK, is named after a Somerset village famous for its gorge and caves?
- A. Stilton
- B. Cheddar
- C. Red Leicester
- D. Double Gloucester
- Which Portuguese sheep's milk cheese, curdled with thistle flower, is eaten runny with a spoon?
- A. Serra da Estrela cheese
- B. São Jorge cheese
- C. Manchego
- D. Torta del Casar
- Which Italian stretched-curd cheese, either mild (dolce) or sharp (piccante) depending on ageing, is often shaped like a pear or a hanging salami?
- A. Provolone
- B. Taleggio
- C. Mozzarella
- D. Gorgonzola
- Which Spanish AOP sheep's milk cheese, from the Basque Country and Navarre, is traditionally smoked over beech or hawthorn wood?
- A. Cabrales
- B. Zamorano
- C. Manchego
- D. Idiazábal
- Which unfermented Indian fresh cheese, which doesn't melt when cooked, is made by curdling milk with lemon juice or vinegar?
- A. Halloumi
- B. Cottage Cheese
- C. Ricotta
- D. Paneer
- Which dry, salty Mexican cheese, often compared to a "harder feta", is traditionally crumbled over tacos, elotes or beans?
- A. Queso Fresco
- B. Cotija
- C. Queso Oaxaca
- D. Panela
- What is the very creamy strained yoghurt of the Middle East, often served with olive oil and za'atar, called?
- A. Tzatziki
- B. Hummus
- C. Kefir
- D. Labneh
- What milk is pecorino romano made from?
- A. Cow's milk
- B. Goat's milk
- C. Buffalo milk
- D. Sheep's milk
- Which country does Jarlsberg, a nutty cheese with holes, come from?
- A. Switzerland
- B. The Netherlands
- C. Norway
- D. Austria
Answer key — World Cheeses Quiz
- B. NormandyCamembert was born in Normandy in the late 18th century, according to legend thanks to Marie Harel, a farmer from the village of Camembert in the Orne department.
- D. EmmentalEmmental, although originally from Switzerland, is now widely produced in France (Savoie, Franche-Comté...) and remains the most consumed cheese worldwide due to its massive industrial production.
- C. The water buffaloGenuine Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO is made from water buffalo milk, an animal raised mainly in Campania, in southern Italy.
- C. The NetherlandsGouda takes its name from the Dutch city of the same name, where it was traditionally traded at its famous cheese market, although it is not necessarily made there.
- C. Parmigiano ReggianoParmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan) is a cooked pressed cheese, aged for a minimum of 12 months and often much longer, giving it the characteristic grainy texture ideal for grating.
- A. Raw milkRaw milk has not undergone any heat treatment above 40°C, which preserves its natural bacterial flora and gives raw-milk cheeses often more complex flavours than pasteurised-milk ones.
- B. EmmentalEmmental's holes, called 'eyes', are created by bacteria producing carbon dioxide during fermentation; Gruyère, by contrast, traditionally has few or no holes.
- B. Charles de GaulleCharles de Gaulle is the author of this famous quote, illustrating both France's cheese-making wealth and the supposed difficulty of unifying a people so diverse in tastes.
- C. DanabluDeveloped by cheesemaker Marius Boel, Danablu ('Danish Blue') is made with cow's milk, whereas Roquefort uses sheep's milk.
- B. A fresh, unripened curd cheeseCottage cheese is a fresh cheese made of small curds soaked in a bit of cream or whey, very popular especially in the United States for its low fat content.
- B. WineCheese and wine pairing is a well-established French gastronomic tradition, with each type of cheese traditionally matched to a particular wine (for example Roquefort with a Sauternes).
- B. CheddarThe caves of Cheddar Gorge, at a constant temperature, were used to mature this cheese.
- A. Serra da Estrela cheeseMade in the highest mountains of mainland Portugal, it is curdled with cardoon flower instead of animal rennet.
- A. ProvoloneLike mozzarella, Provolone is a stretched-curd cheese, but it's aged for longer.
- D. IdiazábalIdiazábal is made from raw sheep's milk (Latxa or Carranzana breeds) in the Spanish Basque Country and Navarre.
- D. PaneerPaneer is an unaged fresh cheese widely used in Indian cooking.
- B. CotijaNamed after a town in the state of Michoacán, Cotija is an aged cow's milk cheese, dry and crumbly.
- D. LabnehStraining yoghurt through a cloth gives a paste close to a fresh cheese.
- D. Sheep's milk'Pecora' means ewe in Italian. This very salty cheese already fed Roman legionaries, and it goes into cacio e pepe and carbonara pasta.
- C. NorwayDeveloped in the 1950s by researchers at the Norwegian agricultural university, it became one of the country's most exported cheeses, especially to the US.