ABSTRACT
Hundreds of different cheeses are produced around the world. Officially, approximately 500 cheese types have been recognized (1). Several classification schemes have been developed to group these cheeses, and a good description of these classifications can be found in Fundamentals of Cheese Science (2). One system classifies cheeses based on hardness and spans the spectra from very hard, hard, semisoft, and soft. No category is developed for semisolid cheeses, and as such cheeses should not be described in this segment of the handbook, which covers semisolid dairy products. However, the author felt that several cheeses do belong in the semisolid dairy products group along with yogurt and sour cream. Thus, this chapter will describe one of these semisolid or “spoonable” cheeses: Fromage frais from France.
