Caraluzzi’s offers a selection of nearly 300 cheeses from all over the world. Authentic Swiss, Spanish, French, Italian and Irish cheeses made from age-old traditional recipes, as well as local and artisanal award-winning cheeses. Great for entertaining, pair with gourmet stuffed olives, gourmet charcuterie, and fresh baked bread from our bakery for the perfect cheese board.
Popular Types of Cheese
Asiago
Asiago, a nutty-flavored cheese, comes in two forms: fresh and mature. The fresh has an off-white color and is smoother and milder, while mature Asiago is yellowish and somewhat crumbly. Depending on its age, Asiago can be grated, melted or sliced.
Blue Cheese
Blue is a general name for cheeses that were made with Penicillium cultures, which creates “blue” spots or veins. Blue cheese has a distinct smell and, what some consider, an acquired taste. Blue cheeses can be eaten crumbed or melted. Check out these Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs for a fun blue cheese recipe.
Brie
Brie is a soft, white cheese. It comes in a wheel, sometimes in a small wooden box, and is considered a great dessert cheese. Experts recommend enjoying it at room temperature. Learn more about how to best enjoy and eat brie along with other cheeses that have a rind.
Burrata
Burrata is a fresh cheese featuring a thin layer of cheese with a mixture of stringy curd and fresh cream on the inside. It has a rich flavor and goes well with salads, crusty bread and Italian dishes.
Camembert
Fresh Camembert cheese is bland, hard and crumbly, but becomes smoother with a runny interior as it ages. It has a rich, buttery flavor with a rind that’s meant to be eaten.
Cheddar
This popular cheese comes in many variations. Its flavor can range from creamy to sharp, and its color can run between a natural white to pumpkin orange. A Cheddar’s texture changes as it ages, becoming drier and more crumbly.
Cotija
This hard, crumbly cheese begins as mild and salty, and becomes tangier as it ages. It doesn’t melt, so it’s used for grating on soups, tacos, tostadas, and more.
Emmental
When people think of “Swiss cheese,” they’re likely thinking of Emmental (also known as Emmentaler). When the cheese’s curds are cooked and pressed together, bubbles form, which leave the holes in the cheese. It’s sweet, tangy and melts well.
Feta
While traditionally made with sheep’s or goat’s milk, cow’s milk also can be used to make Feta. It’s tangy and crumbly. Check out our Greek Chicken Wrap with Tzatziki or our Summer Vegetable Frittata to make a tasty feta dish.
Fontina
Danish Fontina, a semi-soft cow‘s milk cheese, is the ultimate melting cheese, as well as an interesting substitute for Cheddar and Swiss in cooking. It has a mild, tangy, milky flavor, and silky texture as well as an exquisite melting quality. It has a distinctive aroma that gives it enough character to hold up on a pizza. It also pairs well with fruit on a cheeseboard and is easy-going enough to accompany a variety of wines, red or white.
Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh mozzarella is a fresh cheese made by stretching its cheese curds before rolling them into balls. To keep them fresh, they’re packed in water. Mozzarella is a versatile and delicious cheese with its milky flavor and gooey texture.
Goat Cheese
Goat cheese is the wide term for all cheese made from goat's milk; compared to standard cheese, generally made with cow's milk, goat cheese is softer and tangier. It also tends to be slightly higher in fat and minerals than cow cheese. Like cow cheese, goat cheese has many different types and varieties, depending on how the goat's milk is prepared.
Gorgonzola
Gorgonzola is one of the world's oldest types of blue cheese. It has a crumbly and soft texture, and its taste can range from creamy to sharp.
Gouda
A semi-hard to hard cheese with a smooth flavor, Gouda comes in several types, depending on its age. Gouda can be grated, sliced, cubed and melted. Check out this article, What is Gouda Cheese to learn more about this great cheese.
Gruyere
This slightly grainy cheese is known for its fruity, earthy and nutty flavors. It melts well and adds a savory flavor without overpowering others. It’s commonly used on sandwiches, in hot meals, over French onion soup and more.
Havarti
Havarti, a semi-soft cheese, has a buttery aroma and taste. It can be sliced, grilled or melted.
Jarlsberg
Jarlsberg is a mild, semi-soft cheese that resembles Emmental thanks to its open and irregular holes. This meltable cheese works well in hot dishes, on sandwiches and more.
Mascarpone
Mascarpone is a thick, soft cheese with a very high fat content. Known for its smooth, creamy to buttery texture and flavor, it can be used in sweet and savory dishes.
Manchego
Manchego cheese is made in the La Mancha region of Spain from sheep's milk. This semi-hard cheese is identified by its distinctive herringbone rind and sweet flavor. We offer a young, aged and rosemary manchego.
Parmesan
Parmesan has a hard, gritty texture and tastes fruity and nutty. It can be grated over pastas, used in soups and more.
Pepper Jack
Pepper Jack is a variety of Monterey Jack that’s flavored with peppers and often other vegetables and spices to give it a kick. While this semi-soft cheese is spicy, it’s also buttery. As a result, it goes well with quesadillas, hamburgers and more.
Provolone
This semi-hard cheese is pale yellow to white and has a sweetish taste. It can come in smoked and unsmoked varieties, and is a staple for many different classic sandwiches. It also makes for great grilled cheese.
Raclette
Raclette comes from the French word that means “to scrape” and refers to both the type of cheese and the traditional Swiss dish it is served with. Raclette is produced with milk from cows that are fed fresh grass in the summer and meadow hay in the winter, resulting in an aromatic cheese ranging in flavor from mild and milky to piquant, depending on the wheel. Typically, it is melted and then poured or scraped onto dishes. Raclette is particularly delicious over roasted potatoes and root vegetables, pickles, and cured meats, such as prosciutto.
Romano
This hard cheese, when made with cow’s milk, can have a tangier flavor than Parmesan. It’s often grated over pasta, salads or into sauces.
Swiss
Swiss is actually a generic name for a type of cheese, including Emmental and baby Swiss varieties. It’s recognized by its holes and light or pale yellow color. It pairs well with fruits and vegetables, and on sandwiches.
Photos and content adapted from usdairy.com
How to Make a Cheese or Charcuterie Board
Making your own cheese or charcuterie board can feel challenging or overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! In fact, it’s an easy three-step process:
Step one: Pick out your cheeses. (And meats, if you’d like.) We usually recommend three to five types of cheeses, depending on the size of your crowd.
Vary the flavors and textures—try one soft cheese, one harder cheese, and one funky cheese.
Step two: Pick out your accoutrements. Think about what flavors you’d like to pair with your cheeses. Fresh or dried fruit, mustards or jams, salty nuts, briny cornichons…the list goes on.
Step three: Arrange and style your cheese board. Start by laying out your cheeses, then add in ramekins of jams or jellies. Use space-stealing features like bunches of grapes to add visual interest and create the illusion of bounty. Then, sprinkle in the rest of your accoutrements to fill in the gaps.
Voila! You’ve just created a cheese board that’s sure to surprise and delight. Quick, take a picture—it’ll be gone soon!
Want more cheesy resources? Check out these guides from Wisconsin Cheese to help you create the board of your dreams.
How to Build a Perfect Cheese Board
The Beginner’s Guide to Cheese Pairing
The Cheese Lover’s Guide: Pairing Meats with Cheese
The Cheese Lover's Guide: Pairing Wine and Cheese
Photos and content courtesy of Wisconsin Cheese
Grilled Cheese
A grilled cheese sandwich is the ultimate comfort food. Our favorite melting cheeses include sharp cheddar, Swiss, pepper jack, Gruyere, brie, slicing mozzarella and provolone. For the ultimate indulgence, use Pecorino infused with real black truffles, this cheese is made from 100% sheep's milk and aged so the cheese is soft and easy to slice but still full of real truffles. Make any grilled cheese gourmet instantly!
A Few of Our Staff Picks
Beecher’s Flagship Cheese is handmade in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market since 2003. This uniquely robust and nutty cheese is perfect on a cracker, crumbled into an omelet, or shredded in your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe.
This French farmhouse table cheese has a subtle earthy flavor and creamy texture, this cheese is perfect for snacking on or melting into your favorite cheese-filled dishes. It’s naturally rinded with a semi-soft texture and pairs well with a pale ale, pinot noir, or pinot gris.
Produced in Greensboro, Vermont, The Cellars at Jasper Hill have been producing cheese from their personal herd of cows for almost 20 years. Choose from the sweet and woodsy Harbison, the gooey and flavorful Little Hosmer, or herbal and milky Willoughby.
Bursting with sharp, refreshing aromas, this “pure sheep” cheese is produced exclusively with milk from the Pyrénées Atlantiques in France. It’s soft, smooth textures match the mild, pleasant flavors that are guaranteed to open your palate to a cheese you won’t soon forget.
Need assistance? We can help.
At Caraluzzi's, we know cheese. From hard to soft, Wisconsin to France, we got you covered. We can guide you on pairing the perfect wine or beer with your cheese or charcuterie board. Plus we also offer expertly created cheese boards available to order on our catering site.
Featured above left: Our Classic Charcuterie Tray - An arrangement of sopressata, pepperoni & prosciutto paninos, artisan crespone, prosciutto, pepperoni nuggets, Iberico chorizo & frescatrano olives served on a hand made wooden tray. Featured above right: Our Premium Charcuterie Tray - An arrangement of breasola, casalingo salami, piccante salami, coppa, prosciutto di parma. speck, finocchiona salami, frescatrano olives, dried figs, tatuffo salami & marcona almonds served on a hand made wooden tray.