What Makes Cheese Strong?

What Makes Cheese Strong? 

Ever wondered what makes cheese strong? Why one wedge is mellow and creamy while another seems to blast your tastebuds into next week? Strength in cheese doesn't just happen because of one thing. It’s a mix of style, age, microbes, rind and the milk itself. Together, these elements create what we call a strong cheese. 

Let’s explore why cheese is strong and look at some delicious examples along the way. 

1. Time makes strong cheese stronger 

Ageing transforms a cheese from mild to mighty. This is because all the bacteria and cultures within the cheese have longer to break down the proteins within the milk, releasing enzymes packed with flavour. In addition, the rind has longer to develop, and all the moulds that start to colonise the rind have longer to permeate into the cheese, also bringing a whole host of new flavours and complexity that tend to be specific and unique to that place. A young cheese like mozzarella is all cream and freshness. Compare that to a cheddar matured for a year or more, and suddenly you’ll get tang, a nutty crunch and all sorts of savoury complex depth. 

A great example of a strong mature aged cheddar is Quicke’s Mature Cheddar. This tangy cheese spends 12 months developing its flaky-yet-creamy texture and leaves a zesty taste in the mouth long after munching on it. That time investment is exactly what shifts it from comforting and buttery to properly bold. 

2. Microbes change the flavour 

Cheese wouldn’t be cheese without bacteria, yeasts and moulds. Washed-rind cheeses are repeatedly scrubbed in brine or beer, creating aromas that can range from pleasantly earthy to unapologetically barnyard. 

Take Wee Howler (Also known as the stinkiest cheese in Britain). The Wee Howler is the perfect case study in how microbes and washing regimes build intensity, creating a cheese that smells wilder than it tastes. By washing this Taleggio-style cheese on the outside with brine, it inhibits the growth of certain types of bacteria, and leaves space for Brevibacterium Linens – the famous orange mould that smells a little bit like feet! This brings meaty umami flavours as the B Linens breaks down the proteins in the cheese, starting from the outside and working in. This is why the centre will stay more subtle and creamy, whilst the closer you get to the rind you start getting those deep brothy flavours. 

3. Milk makes a difference 

Different milks naturally lead to different strengths. 

Even within cow’s milk cheeses, what the herd grazes on (clover, meadow flowers, fresh grass) can affect the overall flavour. It’s one reason British and Irish strong cheeses carry so much character from their landscapes and also why French and Swiss alpine cheeses are so distinctive. The French call this terroir...we don’t have a word for that (yet!). 

4. Rinds and treatments build strength 

Cheese rinds aren’t just protective shells, they’re responsible for a lot of flavour! Clothbound cheddars develop deep savouriness. Bloomy rinds like Brie gain mushroomy notes, while washed rinds grow meatier with every scrub.