What is the difference between hard cheese and soft cheese?!
What is the difference between hard cheese and soft cheese?
specify any good brands.
Answers:
ddduhhh...
the hard cheese is hard... and soft cheese is soft...
soft cheese:camembert, brie...
semisoft: havarti, reclette...
hard:jarlsberg, gouda, ementaler...
the difference lies in the way it is made, different cultures are used for different cheese, also goat's milk is used for some, cow's milk for others.
rennet from the lining of cow's stomach is used for some cheeses, it is not used for others.
Aside from the obvious - which is glaring - a good hard cheese is Parmesan, which smells like old socks but is superb, a nice soft cheese is Camembert or Mozzarella.
The main difference - besides texture - is that hard cheeses have more taste than soft ones.
Being a former chef it comes down to the moisture content and when made the curd is drained and pressed, in hard cheese they press all the whey out altogther, with soft cheeses like ricotta, cottage cheese, queso fresca with camembert, brie and Havarti they are semi-soft, Parmesan, Asiago, Romano and Cheddar are considered hard types.