Discover 40 Cheeses That Start With P

There are more than 1,800 unique types of cheeses around the world from varying cultures with a wide range of flavors, textures, and even colors! Today, we’ll be taking a look at 40 different types of cheese that all start with the letter P. Read on to learn more about their names, history, and how they’re made.

1. Provolone

Today, this Italian cheese is now quite popular worldwide. However, it got its start sometime around the tail end of the 1800s in southern Italy. This aged stretched-curd cow’s milk cheese originated in the Campania region near the country’s southwestern tip. Many different countries worldwide produce this cheese, and some varieties are smoked for a distinctive flavor.

2. Passendale

This cheese starting with P gets its name from Passendale, Belgium, its village of origin. There are a few different versions of it in Belgium: the classic, prelude, and the premium Passendale Bel Age, which gets aged for six months for a richer taste. It’s a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese. It was produced in 1932 by the Donck Family of Passendale. It has a slightly sweet, mild flavor.

3. Pepper Jack

Interestingly, Pepper Jack is native to none other than California. It was originally produced as Monterey Jack cheese by Franciscan friars starting in the 1800s in Alta, California. This semi-hard cow’s milk cheese has a slightly sweet, mild flavor in its original Monterey Jack form. However, Pepper Jack is a newer variant of the cheese that gets its spicier flavor from bell peppers, chili peppers, and various types of herbs.

4. Paneer

This unique Indian cheese does not go through the aging process. Actually, it’s a soft, fresh, acid-set cheese derived from either cow or buffalo milk. Curdling milk with an acidic substance such as vinegar or lemon juice creates this cheese. It’s very common in Indian cuisine today. However, its true origins are unclear and subject to heavy debate. It may have originated in ancient India, Afghanistan, Iran, or even Portugal. Notably, its name comes from the Persian word for “cheese,” which is “panir.”

5. Pecorino Romano

This sheep’s milk cheese is hard and salty. It is most commonly used for grating over a variety of foods, such as pasta and salads. It takes at least five months to age properly. Its history is rich and storied in Italy, with its most primitive form dating back at least around 2,000 years. In fact, ancient Latin authors like Pliny the Elder once described their methods on how to produce it. It’s actually one of Italy’s very oldest (and tastiest) cheeses!

6. Pélardon

This unique French cheese goes by several names, including paraldon and péraudou. This traditional cheese uses goat’s milk. Its origins are in the Cévennes mountain range in south-central France. Its soft core has a thin white mold coat, and rolls or wheels of this cheese most commonly weigh around 60 grams.

7. Parmigiano Reggiano

Also known simply as Parmesan, this popular Italian cheese has a wide range of uses. Most commonly, it is grated over pastas, salads, and soups. This delicious, hard, grainy cheese is a cow’s milk cheese. It should generally be aged for at least one year. It gets its name from the two main areas that produce the largest amounts of it: the Parma and Reggio Emilia Italian provinces.

8. Picodon

This goat’s milk cheese hails from the Rhône region in southern France. There are at least six main varieties of this cheese in France, each with varying flavors, weights, and aging times. Depending on how long it is aged, its flavor can vary from mild and fresh to more acidic and spicy. It must typically be aged for around two to four weeks. Like its flavor, its texture can also vary from soft to hard.

9. Parenica

This lesser-known traditional Slovakian cheese is made into long, thin strips. The strips are then rolled into the spirals you see above. It is semi-firm, semi-fat, and usually, it is steamed and smoked. It was originally sheep’s milk a few centuries ago. Today, however, it is more commonly a cow’s milk cheese. Its name, Parenica, comes from the Slovak word for “steaming.”

10. Perail

This French cheese is easy to recognize thanks to its pale, wrinkly rind. It is soft and derived from ewe’s milk. Its region of origin is Aveyron in southern France. The rind of this unique cheese, starting with P, consists of the geotrichum candida fungus. It typically gets aged for anywhere from two to eight weeks. 

Even More Cheeses Starting with P

11. Paška Skuta

12. Păski Sir/Pag Cheese

13. Pálpusztai

14. Padraccio

15. Pallone di Gravina

16. Pepato

17. Piave

18. Provatura

19. Prescinsêua

20. Paddy Jack

21. Pélardon

22. Pont-l’Évêque

23. Pouligny-Saint-Pierre

24. Pavin

25. Port Salut

26. P’tit Basque

27. Parrano

28. Prima Donna

29. Przeworski

30. Picón Bejes-Tresviso

31. Plesnivec

32. Prästost

33. Pot Cheese/Kuzeh

34. Pikauba

35. Palmito

36. Pinconning

37. Panquehue

38. Paraguay

39. Port Wine

40. Pavé d’Auge

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