Cheese Database

Fromage blanc vs Requeijão

Fromage blanc, field guide plate
Fromage blanc, photographed

Fromage blanc

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Fresh
Type
Fresh
Rind
No rind
Country
France

Fromage blanc is a fresh cow's milk cheese from France, soft and white, with no rind and no aging. The name means white cheese, and the body is smooth enough to eat with a spoon. Makers set the milk with lactic cultures, then drain the whey until the curd is thick but still moist. A plain pot tastes mildly tangy, like cultured cream that has been lightly soured. It belongs with yogurt and quark, not with pressed wheels that sit on a board for a long time.

Requeijão

Facts

Texture
Soft
Type
Whey
Rind
No rind
Country
Portugal

Requeijão is a soft dairy food from Portugal, and a related product under the same name is a staple in Brazil. In Portugal it is a fresh whey cheese, made by heating the whey left from cheesemaking until the proteins set into a mild, moist curd. The taste is gentle, milky, and a little sweet, closer to a fresh whey cheese than to an aged wheel. It has no rind and no long cure. People eat it with a spoon, on bread, or in sweets.