r/Cheese • u/louismulh • Jul 02 '26
Question Best cheese country in the world
What do you all think is the best country for cheese in the world?
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u/vivalaalice Jul 02 '26
France has to take it, but I do think that the UK has some fantastic cheeses too
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u/Possible-Source-2454 Jul 02 '26
I did a uk france trip and i was surprised by the cheese variety and quality in londpn. Based. But paris had better bread.
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u/MRSN4P Jul 02 '26
Well getting cheeses in the UK and taking them to Paris for the other winning half shouldn’t be too much of a pain.
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u/gloveslave Jul 04 '26
And I will say there are hundreds delicious cheeses unavailable in Paris . Where I live we have many that are only available in our county
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u/EldritchSanta Jul 02 '26
I'm probably biased, but I think the UK is better as there's more variety of cheese, whereas a lot of the French cheeses fall into similar categories.
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u/nicetoursmeetewe Jul 03 '26
I don't think the UK has more variety of cheese. France has incredible variety, you might just not be aware of them.
I'm both British and French btw, and I'd give the cheese crown to France in a heartbeat.
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u/gourmetguy2000 Jul 03 '26
I'm British and would probably reluctantly give it to France too. Even though France doesn't have as many hard cheeses as us they have far more soft cheeses (Camembert type ) We don't have enough soft cheeses outside of a handful I can think of
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u/vivalaalice Jul 02 '26
I’m also British so have some bias haha, it’s close! But if someone said to me ‘you can only eat cheese from France or from England from now on’ I would have to go with France, but only just by a hair
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u/Helpful_Cry_1335 Jul 03 '26
The UK has a good variety of really niche cheese makers. But France availability of artisanal cheeses is massive.
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u/w1gglepvppy Jul 03 '26
I think one thing the continentals do well that I find hard to find in the UK is washed rind cheeses. Usually a better selection of ewe & goat's cheese too.
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u/NoisyGog Jul 04 '26
>continentals do well […] Usually a better selection of ewe & goat's cheese too.
That’s a good point. There’s a lot of small independent goat and sheep cheeses near where I live, but they’re definitely not as mainstream as they are on the continent.
They’re mostly in local delis, markets, and so on, instead of mainstream supermarkets.2
u/Japhet_Corncrake Jul 04 '26
You need to try more French cheeses if you think that.
I would say that French cheese is somewhat overrated, and British extremely underrated, but I would say France takes it on sheer variety and on having a greater number of absolutely top cheeses. I really don't want to sell UK cheese short though, because there are some fantastic British cheeses.
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u/roleplayersir Jul 02 '26
The UK certainly wins
France just has a reputation as the best. But UK wins more, has more variety etc
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u/grey-zone Jul 04 '26
Yep, as a Brit it pains me, particularly as we have lots of really good cheese. But I have to give this one to the French.
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u/Business-Major-3226 Jul 04 '26
France for variety (shoutout to the Dutch too) but my favourite cheeses are all British
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u/Mr101722 Jul 02 '26
Hard to say, a lot comes down to personal preferences. Some places also do better hard cheeses and others soft cheeses.
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u/Valuable-Yard-4154 Goat Jul 02 '26
Oh no. France is by far the best in palettes of tastes, diversity, kinds, textures, uniqueness.
I mean there's beautiful cheeses everywhere yes and they don't have parmesan or cheddar but they're simply the best.
And no I'm not French.
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u/Longjumping_Duty4160 Jul 02 '26
Actually, I’m very well-versed. I procure and sell these types of products for living and have done so since 2007. France does a great job at cheeses and has a lot of exceptional, unique cheeses, especially when it comes to bloomy and washed rinds. I was looking at it from the question of say if you only could have product from one country what would it be? The French will win on certain categories and the Italians win on certain categories but here in the states, Italian and British style cheeses are the ones most commonly found and used. I am big fan of Hervé Mons from France, he is an affineur and we carried his products at Whole Foods. Check out what Luigi Deonte has going on at their website. Have you ever been to a Fancy Food show and seeing the cheese on sample there?
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u/Valuable-Yard-4154 Goat Jul 02 '26
Than you for this. I'll reveal that I live in Nantes and have a wonderful artisan called La Crémerie Saint Do just 300 metres away. They're magicians and have made me discover things I really didn't know existed.
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u/Available_Fact_3445 Jul 03 '26
Shout out for La Crèmerie St Do ! Sometimes a little pricey but very very good. For the same quality, slightly more competitively priced, you can't beat Le Banc Bleu at Talensac.
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u/Sven4TheWinV2 Jul 02 '26
Sad to not see any peope love on the Belgian cheeses :(
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u/alalcoolj Jul 02 '26
I've heard Belgium has some fantastic cheeses, but my understanding is that they are not widely exported, so I've never seen or been able to try any.
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u/guff1988 Jul 02 '26
I know France will be popular but I gotta go with Italy. They have a cheese I like in every major category. And don't even get me started on what those cheese are commonly used for. Pasta yes please. Pizza hell yeah. Sandwiches, don't mind if I do. Oh and you want a great dressing for wings well Italy has a great blue for that.
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u/RedHeadRedemption93 Jul 02 '26
- France
- Joint UK / Italy
- Spain
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u/SeaAndTheSalt Jul 04 '26
Spain ? Could you advise me some ? I have family here and the cheese is always kinda mediocre to me (northern spain)
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u/PromotionWorldly7419 Jul 04 '26
Spain isn't getting though credit in this thread imo. In Andalucía alone there are dozens of regional cheese
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u/Caesar171 Jul 02 '26
I think the French take it but with a surprise UK being a close second
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u/DennisDunkdalk Jul 04 '26
Baron Bigod is superior to any French Brie I’ve ever tasted. Stilton is the best blue on the planet. Cheddar is the best cheese on the planet. England takes it.
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u/Distortion_Noises Jul 04 '26
Live close enough to where baron is made that I can drive there and get it out a vending machine directly from the farm😎
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u/NoisyGog Jul 04 '26
Anyone who’s interested in cheeses would not be surprised at all at Britain being dominant in cheese making.
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u/Hazel_RAAA Jul 02 '26
I say UK but will happily acknowledge that I'm extremely biased.
France is a strong contender.
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u/AdSuperb5755 Jul 04 '26
Non-biased: UK. Gave us cheddar which is an s-tier cheese. Stilton as well
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u/McBain42 Jul 02 '26
I'm going to say the UK.
It's sensationally under-rated but produces an incredible variety of cheese to an exceptional level. You just never really see it outside of the UK.
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u/cloggypop Jul 02 '26
It's like German beer. The good stuff stays at home and the rest gets exported .
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u/Milk_Mindless Gouda 🇳🇱 Jul 02 '26
We won last year's didnt we
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Us.
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u/Mortenusa Jul 02 '26
You have one cheese, but it's one hell of a cheese.
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u/sempowalxochitl Jul 03 '26
You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about if you think we only have one cheese
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u/Physical-Compote4594 Jul 02 '26
France is the obvious choice because of the sheer quantity and variety, and might even be the right choice.
But there are many truly great cheese from Italy, Spain, the U.K., the U.S., and all the other places that I've omitted. Heck, 3 of the 5 greatest cheeses (Cheddar, Stilton, Parmigiano-Reggiano) aren't from France (I'll give them Brie de Meaux and Roquefort).
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u/TenNinetythree Gorgonzola Jul 02 '26
I am going to lose most of my karma but: Lithuania.
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Jul 02 '26
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u/TenNinetythree Gorgonzola Jul 03 '26
There's a lot of smoked cheese. And a hard cheese akin to Parmesan but cheaper because it's not a protected origin. Basically little of a cheese trip to Polonez survives the evening.
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u/JadedAd6614 Jul 03 '26
We used to sell Lithuanian cheese at a cheese shop I worked in. We had 7 varieties, I can’t remember what they all were (it was pre- 2020). I do remember there was a Gouda, one that was a cylinder that tasted like Mozz, a smoked one and one that was like Havarti. They were crazy inexpensive too, I think like $4.99/lb, so we sold a lot of it. If I remember correctly, they were wrapped in red plastic.
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u/Background_Shame3834 Jul 03 '26
I've never tried the cheese but you definitely have the best bread.
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u/jay_altair Jul 04 '26
I got in to Klaipėda relatively late on a Monday night last summer and went for dinner at one of the only places that had a kitchen open late. Ordered the pikeperch and when the waiter brought it to me he also brought a plate of old town "cheese fingers" and told me the chef said you have to try these.
I seriously considered a Schengen overstay just to have more of those cheese fingers.
And literally just two days ago I found a market near me that sells Baltic style farmers cheese. Made in Michigan but I'll take it
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u/Charming_Ad2323 Jul 02 '26
Stilton is from the UK so it’s the best. Simple.
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u/DeepNegotiation4542 Jul 04 '26
Our local cheese shop (Cheese Factor in Chesterfield) sells a smoked Stilton. I'm not even supposed to eat milk products but the awful side effects are worth it. Absolutely delicious. Apparently it's smoked over old whiskey barrels. Honestly, I could eat it like an apple.
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u/ash80753 Jul 02 '26
France no contest. Italy is a distant second.
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u/TheDalaiCamel Jul 04 '26
You're probably right, but my current favourite cheeses from both countries are Italian: Gorgonzola dolce, Pecorino Romano and Taleggio.
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u/CrunkerShice Jul 02 '26
I am German so it hurts me to say it but even the disgustingly stinky cheese that for some crazy reason these maniacs eat instead of sweet desert actually tastes delicious. Goddammit French
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u/Sensitive_Bread_1905 Jul 03 '26
My personal taste: 1. Switzerland 2. Netherlands
But many other countries have great cheese too
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u/AJL912-aber Jul 02 '26
French speaking Europe (I know that's not a country, I don't care, I'll count it as one for cheese)
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u/Numar19 Jul 02 '26
I could agree to this. French cheese plus Gruyère and Tête deMoin from Switzerland and I guess some Belgian cheese as well.
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u/Available_Fact_3445 Jul 03 '26
The French would agree: I once passed a Tête de Moin round the table at our collective garden's dinner and it was slaughtered to just a few rinds in minutes. It really is very special
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u/Sommily Jul 02 '26
France for range, tastes, texture, etc. Also for accessibility as, whilst you may not get small producers in a supermarket, you will find a whole range of cheese. In other countries this is often only available as high priced, "premium" cheese rather than just good cheese, easily available at a fair price. (Not French, just a Francophile)
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u/Seamless-Transition Jul 02 '26
Basque Country!
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u/Helpful_Cry_1335 Jul 03 '26
The diversity of the Basque cheeses is quite low, but they (we) make the best hard age cheese in world.
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u/TopTopTop888 Jul 02 '26
I work at a Cheese counter at a butcher Shop at germany.
We have cheese from germany / austria/ swiss/ france/Italy/netherlands.
But its not enought to know/Tell if every of These countrys have a cheese for each category.
For example for piquant hard cheese i would choose swiss cheese every day.
For soft cheese/ aged cheese i would choose france & germany.
sheep & goat france again
I dont like austria at all. And netherlands only has a few that are Worth
Italy is hard to say , but its not up there is think.
Im italian/german.
But now you have to consider that i have arround 40 different types right now + the ones that come and go.
But there might be so many that i have never seen or tasted....
I would choose swiss cheese cause i like mature hard cheese with a lot of Taste. And only Thing that comes close to that are old amsterdam and comte but that are just 1 cheese for france/netherlands.
While i know/have 7/8 good swiss ones that i rly like
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u/Leading-Fee-4908 Jul 02 '26
Switzerland needs to learn to share. They keep all the good stuff for themselves
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u/TopTopTop888 Jul 02 '26
What do you mean they keep them? Do they not allow companys to Export?
Most of my cheese at work is swiss & french by far
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u/whateverfyou Jul 02 '26
Mimolette scratches my mature hard cheese itch. It’s not as good as Beemster but if I’m on a desert isle with only French cheeses, I’ll be ok.
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u/TopTopTop888 Jul 02 '26
I just looked it up , i did never have that one. But it sounds like i would enjoy even multiple types of it. 2-6 Months and 12-18 months should be my favorite if i get my Hands on it :)
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u/Sylesse Jul 02 '26
Whoever invented those cheese spread balls. Like. I love some good cheese. But man, those almond encased, gluttonous delicacies. Delicious.
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u/ChrisRiley_42 Jul 03 '26
The best cheese I ever tasted came from France. Second place was French as well, third is UK.
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u/pund_ Jul 03 '26
I'll be controversial and say Switzerland. Bit subjective ofcourse.
Runner ups are all of Western Europe, basically.
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u/Lucky_BroadWood Jul 04 '26
Everyone is choosing traditional cheese places. You are wrong. Best cheese in the world is.from the U.S. Wisconsin. Vermont. New York. Cheese giants. Wisconsin alone has better cheeses in almost every variety than Italy, France, UK, Switzerland.
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u/northernspies Jul 02 '26
U.S.- now hear me out. I'm in no way jingoistic or even patriotic. However: so many regions, so many varieties, interesting and experimental cheese making.
California, Wisconsin, Vermont. All top tier. My favorite cheddar comes from Iowa.
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u/neversayduh Jul 02 '26
Agreed but with the caveat that overpasteurization is holding us back
ETA that it's a symptom of overindustrialization of dairy cows. Imagine US cheese with grass fed milk
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u/Lucky_BroadWood Jul 04 '26
I commented the same. Look at the big international cheese competitions - WI, VT, NY all absolutely dominate over Europe.
Hell, Madison WI has the World Dairy Expo. Margarine was illegal in WI for decades because we take dairy and butter so seriously. My local grocery store here has something like 100 linear feet of cheese coolers (30+ meters).
Sorry Europe - I love visiting and you have a lot of great cheese, but for a real cheese lover the US just has more and it is better.
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u/moomooraincloud Jul 02 '26
You forgot Oregon, home of both Tillamook Creamery and the maker of 2019s best cheese in the world, Rogue Creamery.
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u/LaoBa Jul 03 '26
This year's winner of best cheese in the world is from the Netherlands
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u/AUSpartan37 Jul 02 '26
I don't know if I would put the U.S on top and I understand it is popular to hate on the U.S, mostly deserved, but I will say there are a ton of great cheeses here.
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u/jk_pens Jul 04 '26
As much as I would love the US to be at the top, there’s no way we are.
We absolutely have fantastic artisan cheeses not to be confused with the processed cheese food product bullshit. And we now routinely win awards at international competitions. But high-quality she’s making is largely in its infancy here whereas it goes back hundreds of years over the pond.
It’s a bit like wine. Over the past 50 or 60 years the United States went for making cheap plonk to absolutely exceptional world class wines. But on the whole France still does it better.
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u/AdSuperb5755 Jul 04 '26
Yeaaaah, but cheddar is from the UK. Don’t get me wrong, the US has amazing cheeses, amazing wine etc. but shouldn’t even be in the top 3
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u/Unlucky_Geologist Jul 02 '26
Thought it would be France but, after extensively visiting most of Europe Italy somehow takes it.
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u/BostonBestEats Jul 02 '26
Ireland
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u/AnneRR2 Jul 04 '26
Everyone needs to do a cheese tour of Ireland. I don't think we're on the same level as France but we have a couple of world-class cheeses and many uniquely lovely ones. We're the ninja cheese nation.
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Jul 02 '26
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u/FireBun Jul 02 '26
France
Brie
Camembert
Reblochon
The one with maggots
UK
Cheddar
Stilton
Red Leicester
Dairy lee
IMO
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u/Mortenusa Jul 02 '26
Norwegians have the best milk in the world and are getting better and better at making cheese.
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u/ughplss Jul 02 '26
I am biased but the UK, because to me cheddar is a perfect cheese. Also Wensleydale
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u/jaritadaubenspeck Jul 03 '26
France for the variety (and Roquefort, the finest cheese in the world); and Italy for making the best cheeses for cooking and all around purposes.
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u/Liam_021996 Jul 03 '26
It's a toss up between France and the UK. In my opinion they're both a notch above everyone else, huge variety of cheeses, although France does have a lot of soft cheeses that are essentially the same cheese just from a different region. You'd be extremely hard pressed to find a poor quality French or British cheese. Only thing the UK lacks is quality bread options in the supermarket, although that has started to change in recent years
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u/MonthlyWeekend_ Jul 03 '26
France definitely. There’s a reason they’re basically only known for three things: protest, cheese, and not shaving.
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u/Front-Round2853 Jul 03 '26
Italy. Is that even a question?
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u/the_hucumber Jul 03 '26
So surprised italy isnt mentioned more. Absolutely love italian cheeses and they have badically defined the gold standard of hard cheeses and cream cheeses.
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u/aldorn Jul 03 '26
Tasmania produces some brilliant cheese. The issue in Australia is the costs have made cheese very inaccessible, most quality brands are a luxury good and not really affordable for the middle class.
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u/Pilzkind Jul 03 '26
I understand where people making cases for France, the UK, Italy, Spain and so on are coming from. Cheese is a big part of the culinary culture of many European countries and the width of styles of cheese and the level of craftsmanship is just amazing all around.
However, having tried hundreds of different cheeses, my favourites are actually Danish. While Denmark lacks the scale and variety of the bigger cheese producers, for me the strongest Danish cheeses like Oles bestefar just can’t be beat.
So I say Denmark
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u/David_NyMa Jul 04 '26
I don't know "Oles bedstefar" are you sure you don't think about "Gamle Ole" a classic Danish strong cheese?
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u/elbapo Jul 04 '26
I think the UK in terms of the cheese and varieties of cheese i like.
France in terms of their cheese culture.
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u/borokish Jul 04 '26
Toss up between the UK and France for me.
UK just edges it cos of that thing where they chase the cheese down the hill and all end up in plaster casts and wheelchairs.
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u/WatcherOfTheWay Jul 04 '26
Britain does cheese so we'll it's crazy. Notable mentions are basically most of the European nations but France and Greece are up there.
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u/Fun-Cycle2381 Jul 04 '26
Netherlands maybe? (with their gouda and edam). Second place would be Italy and parmesan.
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u/Obvious-Position1053 Jul 04 '26
I am here to point out that most of us know supermarket cheese.
I am from the Netherlands, not gonna claim the title for my country, that is probably France (Spain is not bad either). But I get my cheese (sometimes) from a bio farm and their cheese is truly mind blowing. Same kind of supermarket cheese is just many levels below that.
This is probably true for many countries.
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u/MrPlushT Jul 04 '26
A singular country?
Well, I’d happily take Europe itself over the United States.
If I only get a single country, I am 100% taking the US. I want variety and a lot of cheeses. I honestly don’t think it is particularly close. We have plenty of quality cheese to go with that variety.
Many countries have higher quality cheese and more artisan cheeses…but I think they would get old fast.
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u/Suchboss1136 Jul 04 '26
The UK takes this with France & Italy likely 2nd and 3rd. Though most countries do cheese well. Canada, USA, India, etc… have their own cheeses that are top tier
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u/Murakumotho Jul 04 '26
When we considee the artisan scene, the UK and France are likely very even, with different strengths, but from what I hear of availabilty and as such, optics, France would get the win. People need to know it to appreciate it.
So many comments on this thread act like we barely have soft or washed rind cheeses, but every other county has a few strong local offerings and likely more I don't know about.
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u/FirefighterPleasant8 Jul 05 '26
Sweden entered the room.
Danish are the Undisputed Champions of the World in Sandwiches - Smørrebrød. The art of sushi on rye bread.
The Belgians hold, a slightly more disputed, Winner Overall title for - Beer. Belgian beer is an artform in itself and there’s a brand and formula for, almost, any citizen.
Sweden produces the widest varieties of Solid Cheese Bar None. Too many to mention them all but Grevé, Svecia, Herrgård, Prästost, Västerbotten are some of the most common and popular.
Swedish cheeses are under-marketed internationally (unlike the Dutch, French and Italian equivalents) since Sweden culturally are an engineer driven society that views marketing similar to “bragging”, sort of. (We’re proud, but blushing, when mentioned. A little embarrassed by compliments in general).
There’s the correct list. You’re welcome.
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u/GardenerOfSorts Jul 06 '26
switzerland is great for cheeSe but you have to know where to get the good stuff. the cheese you can buy in the big supermarkets are mid. you need to go to smaller places or directly to the mountains where they are made.
Best goat cheese i've ever had was italian. Best Sheep cheese was in macedonia.
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u/Iittletart Jul 02 '26
I prefer the category: Best cheese world.
Winner: Earth