How well do you know different types of cheese? Do you know your Camembert from your Cojita? Your Manchego from your Monterey Jack? What about other cheese facts? Test your knowledge with our Ultimate Cheese Quiz!
In my opinion, cheese should be its own food group, such is my love for it. If the choice is dessert or cheese, I will always choose cheese (even if there was a cheeseboard to start!) Cheese and wine are the perfect pairings, pizza without cheese is sacrilegious, if you have a sandwich without cheese, is it even a sandwich?! That last one might be a bit of a stretch, but you get my drift.
But, that did get me thinking, how much can one know about cheese – beyond finding it delicious (or the opposite, if you are, unfortunately, lactose intolerant). What would it take to be a turophile – a connoisseur of cheese – or how many years of making cheese would make someone a master cheesemaker?!
With that, we decided to put together the ultimate cheese quiz! It won’t make you an expert outright, but being able to correctly answer over 30 of our 50+ questions about cheese and cheesemaking will certainly give you bragging rights.
And for those of you creating a custom quiz about food and drink, why not select a few easy (or difficult!) types of cheese quiz questions and answers to add to your quiz sheet. Depending on the topic, they could also be used as tie-breakers.
Cheese Trivia Questions
1. Which well-known French cheese has the nickname “The Queen of Cheese”?
2. Which famous French writer and priest included cheese in his Holy Trinity of the French Table?
3. Which city in Wisconsin, USA styles itself as “the cheese capital of the world”?
4. National Cheese Lover’s Day is an annual feast celebrated on:
A. January 18th of every year.
B. January 19th of every year.
C. January 20th of every year.
D. January 21st of every year.
5. Pule – the world’s most expensive cheese is made from which animal’s milk?
6. Which soft, creamy cow’s milk cheese was reputedly first made in 1791 by Marie Harel, a farmer from Normandy, following advice from a priest who came from Brie?
7. Which Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow’s milk is the oldest Italian cheese?
8. During the Great Fire of London of 1666, which famous British naval administrator buried his “Parmazan cheese, as well as his wine and some other things” to preserve them?
9. Developed in 1982, which French, unpasteurized, unpressed cow’s-milk cheese is consistently ranked the “smelliest cheese in the world”?
10. Which traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese contains live insect larvae (maggots)?
11. What name is given to a person who sells cheese, butter, and other dairy products?
12. The belief that cheese eaten close to bedtime can cause nightmares may have arisen from which Charles Dickens novel?
13. The smell of which cheese is referenced in the 1979 single by The B-52’s, Dance This Mess Around, with the lyric “why don’t you dance with me? I’m not (what)” suggesting that the singer feels she is unable to get a dancing partner due to perceived body odour?
14. A sheep milk cheese from Southern France and one of the world’s best-known blue cheeses, which cheese is often called the “Cheese of Kings”? (although the name can also be used for other cheeses).
15. Which country is the highest producer of cheese?
A. France.
B. Germany.
C. The USA.
D. Switzerland.
16. What is the hobby of collecting cheese labels?
17. Ema datshi, the national dish of which country is made from homemade yak or mare milk cheese and hot peppers?
18. What nickname is given in the United States for a person from Wisconsin or for a fan of the Green Bay Packers NFL football franchise?
19. A character named G. D’Arcy “Stilton” Cheesewright appears in a couple of novels by which British author?
20. Which English cheese, produced in two varieties, Blue and White, takes its name from the village in Cambridgeshire, where it has long been sold?
21. Which famous statesman said, “How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”
22. Also called “eyes,” what is so essential to Swiss cheese that when they’re missing, the cheese makers say the batch is “blind.”?
23. What is responsible for the formation of large holes in Swiss cheese?
24. Which William Shakespeare play had the line “I love not the humour of bread and cheese”: the first-ever written reference to a cheese sandwich?
25. What is the oldest cheese made in the UK
26. One of the most popular cheeses worldwide, which sweet, creamy, yellow cow’s milk cheese originates from the Netherlands?
27. Macaroni and cheese is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly:
A. Ricotta.
B. Cheddar.
C. Gorgonzola.
D. Parmigiano Reggiano
28. Because of its low content of tyramine, an organic compound thought to be associated with headaches, which Californian white, semi-hard cheese is frequently recommended as one of the few cheeses that are safe to eat for migraine sufferers?
29. A popular legend states a milkmaid accidentally let a pail of milk that was being stored in the caves go bad, eventually turning into cheese. The locals liked the tanginess of the new cheese so much that they decided to make some more in the same way. What cheese was created?
30. True or False – Cheese takes up roughly 1/15 the volume of the milk it was made from.
31. The name of which Italian cheese traditionally made from whole or skimmed goat’s milk derives from the Italian word for goat?
32. Which Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow’s milk has been called the “King of Cheeses”?
33. Which southern Italian cheese is traditionally made from Italian buffalo’s milk by the pasta filata method and is used for most types of pizza and several pasta dishes?
34. Which semi-hard orange cheese made from cow’s milk is named after a city in Wisconsin, where it was first developed in 1885?
35. In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, the main character believes the red outer covering of which semi-hard Dutch cheese is a sign of impending death?
36. James Joyce, in his 1922 novel Ulysses, gives his hero Bloom a lunch of “a glass of Burgundy and a sandwich made of which blue cheese, originally from Italy”?
37. Which semi-soft Italian cheese invented in 1906 by Egidio Galbani takes its name from the Italian word for ‘”beautiful country”?
38. The name of which whey cheese means “recooked” in Italian?
39. The first cheese factory in the United States was built in 1851 by Jesse Williams in
A. Chicago.
B. Boston.
C. New York.
D. Denver.
40. Which Italian cheese originating in Campania near Vesuvius is produced in a pear shape?
41. Which Italian cows’ milk cheese (occasionally buffalo milk) is made from mozzarella and cream?
42. The logo of which UK brand of Cheddar cheese is based on Wells Cathedral in Somerset?
43. Before being left to mature, which semi-hard cow’s milk cheese made in Cornwall, United Kingdom is wrapped in nettle leaves to form an edible, though mouldy, rind?
44. Which cheese was first known as ‘Inverness-shire Blue’ or ‘Blue Stuart’?
45. What was presented to Queen Victoria in England for a wedding gift back in 1840 weighed over a whopping 1,000lbs?
A. A giant wheel of Cheshire cheese.
B. A giant wheel of Gloucester cheese.
C. A giant wheel of Cornish Yarg cheese.
D. A giant wheel of cheddar cheese
46. Since the 18th century, which English cheese has been coloured orange by the addition of annatto extract during manufacture?
47. Which soft creamy cheese created in 1957 uses Garlic and Fine Herbs?
48. Which Swiss melted cheese dish was promoted as a Swiss national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union in the 1930s?
49. Which semi-soft cows’ milk cheese of France is immediately recognizable by the distinctive thin black layer separating it horizontally in the middle?
50. What cheese was used as cannonballs in a battle between Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1841?
51. In 2020, which country was the largest exporter of cheese worldwide with exports amounting to a value of 4.8 billion U.S. dollars?
52. Which semi-hard cheese made from pasteurized cow milk comes in a net bag where each piece features a distinctive, red wax coating?
53. Which cheese is also known as curds and whey?
54. Which soft Italian acid-set cream cheese is used in a tiramisu dessert?
55. Ancient Greek mythology credited which God with the discovery of cheese?
A. Aristaeus.
B. Poseidon.
C. Apollo.
D. Zeus.
56. True or false – goats cheese is one of the healthiest cheeses?
True
Cheese Quiz Questions and Answers
1. Which well-known French cheese has the nickname “The Queen of Cheese”?
Brie Cheese.
2. Which famous French writer and priest included cheese in his Holy Trinity of the French Table?
Francois Rabelais.
3. Which city in Wisconsin, USA styles itself as “the cheese capital of the world”?
Plymouth
4. National Cheese Lover’s Day is an annual feast celebrated on:
A. January 18th of every year.
B. January 19th of every year.
C. January 20th of every year.
D. January 21st of every year.
(Not to be confused with National Cheese Day which falls on the 4th of June each year)
5. Pule – the world’s most expensive cheese is made from which animal’s milk?
Balkan donkeys
6. Which soft, creamy cow’s milk cheese was reputedly first made in 1791 by Marie Harel, a farmer from Normandy, following advice from a priest who came from Brie?
Camembert
7. Which Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow’s milk is the oldest Italian cheese?
Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan)
8. During the Great Fire of London of 1666, which famous British naval administrator buried his “Parmazan cheese, as well as his wine and some other things” to preserve them?
Samuel Pepys
9. Developed in 1982, which French, unpasteurized, unpressed cow’s-milk cheese is consistently ranked the “smelliest cheese in the world”?
Vieux-Boulogne (also known as Sablé du Boulonnais)
10. Which traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese contains live insect larvae (maggots)?
Casu martzu
11. What name is given to a person who sells cheese, butter, and other dairy products?
Cheesemonger
12. The belief that cheese eaten close to bedtime can cause nightmares may have arisen from which Charles Dickens novel?
A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge attributes his visions of Jacob Marley to the cheese he ate.
13. The smell of which cheese is referenced in the 1979 single by The B-52’s, Dance This Mess Around, with the lyric “why don’t you dance with me? I’m not —–” suggesting that the singer feels she is unable to get a dancing partner due to perceived body odour?
Limburger
14. A sheep milk cheese from Southern France and one of the world’s best-known blue cheeses, which cheese is often called the “Cheese of Kings”? (although the name can also used for other cheeses).
Roquefort
15. Which country is the highest producer of cheese?
A. France.
B. Germany.
C. The USA.
D. Switzerland.
16. What is the hobby of collecting cheese labels?
Tyrosemiophilia
17. Ema datshi, the national dish of which country is made from homemade yak or mare milk cheese and hot peppers?
Bhutan
18. What nickname is given in the United States for a person from Wisconsin or for a fan of the Green Bay Packers NFL football franchise?
Cheesehead
19. A character named G. D’Arcy “Stilton” Cheesewright appears in a couple of novels by which British author?
P. G. Wodehouse.
20. Which British cheeses, produced in two varieties, Blue and White, takes its name from the village in Cambridgeshire, where it has long been sold?
Stilton cheese.
21. Which famous statesman said, “How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”
Charles De Gaulle.
22. Also called “eyes,” what is so essential to Swiss cheese that when they’re missing, the cheese makers say the batch is “blind.”?
The hole in Swiss cheese
23. What is responsible for the formation of large holes in Swiss cheese?
Bacteria
24. Which William Shakespeare play had the line “I love not the humour of bread and cheese”: the first-ever written reference to a cheese sandwich?
The Merry Wives of Windsor.
25. What is the oldest cheese made in the UK?
Chesire Cheese
26. One of the most popular cheeses worldwide, which sweet, creamy, yellow cow’s milk cheese originates from the Netherlands?
Gouda Cheese
27. Macaroni and cheese is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly:
A. Ricotta.
B. Cheddar.
C. Gorgonzola.
D. Parmigiano Reggiano
28. Because of its low content of tyramine, an organic compound thought to be associated with headaches, which Californian white, semi-hard cheese is frequently recommended as one of the few cheeses that are safe to eat for migraine sufferers?
Monterey Jack
29. A popular legend states a milkmaid accidentally let a pail of milk that was being stored in the caves go bad, eventually turning into cheese. The locals liked the tanginess of the new cheese so much that they decided to make some more in the same way. What cheese was created?
Cheddar cheese
30. True or False – Cheese takes up roughly 1/15 the volume of the milk it was made from.
False (it’s roughly 1/10 the volume of the milk.)
31. The name of which Italian cheese traditionally made from whole or skimmed goat’s milk derives from the Italian word for goat?
Caprino
32. Which Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow’s milk has been called the “King of Cheeses”?
Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
33. Which southern Italian cheese is traditionally made from Italian buffalo’s milk by the pasta filata method and is used for most types of pizza and several pasta dishes?
Mozzarella
34. Which semi-hard orange cheese made from cow’s milk is named after a city in Wisconsin, where it was first developed in 1885?
Colby
35. In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, the main character believes the red outer covering of which semi-hard Dutch cheese is a sign of impending death?
Edam cheese
36. James Joyce, in his 1922 novel Ulysses, gives his hero Bloom a lunch of “a glass of Burgundy and a sandwich made of which blue cheese, originally from Italy”?
Gorgonzola
37. Which semi-soft Italian cheese invented in 1906 by Egidio Galbani takes its name from the Italian word for ‘”beautiful country”?
Bel Paese
38. The name of which whey cheese means “recooked” in Italian?
Ricotta.
39. The first cheese factory in the United States was built in 1851 by Jesse Williams in
A. Chicago.
B. Boston.
C. New York.
D. Denver.
40. Which Italian cheese originating in Campania near Vesuvius is produced in a pear shape?
Provolone.
41. Which Italian cows’ milk cheese (occasionally buffalo milk) is made from mozzarella and cream?
Burrata.
42. The logo of which UK brand of Cheddar cheese is based on Wells Cathedral in Somerset?
Cathedral City
43. Before being left to mature, which semi-hard cow’s milk cheese made in Cornwall, United Kingdom is wrapped in nettle leaves to form an edible, though mouldy, rind?
Cornish Yarg
44. Which cheese was first known as ‘Inverness-shire Blue’ or ‘Blue Stuart’?
Shropshire Blue
45. What was presented to Queen Victoria in England for a wedding gift back in 1840 weighed over a whopping 1,000lbs?
A. A giant wheel of Cheshire cheese.
B. A giant wheel of Gloucester cheese.
C. A giant wheel of Cornish Yarg cheese.
D. A giant wheel of cheddar cheese
46. Since the 18th century, which English cheese has been coloured orange by the addition of annatto extract during manufacture?
Red Leicester
47. Which soft cheese created in 1957 uses Garlic and Fine Herbs?
Boursin
48. Which Swiss melted cheese dish was promoted as a Swiss national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union in the 1930s?
Fondue
49. Which semi-soft cows’ milk cheese of France is immediately recognizable by the distinctive thin black layer separating it horizontally in the middle?
Morbier
50. What cheese was used as cannonballs in a battle between Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1841?
Edam cheese
51. In 2020, which country was the largest exporter of cheese worldwide with exports amounting to a value of 4.8 billion U.S. dollars?
Germany
52. Which semi-hard cheese made from pasteurized cow milk comes in a net bag where each piece features a distinctive, red wax coating?
Babybel.
53. Which cheese is also known as curds and whey?
Cottage cheese
54. Which soft Italian acid-set cream cheese is used in a tiramisu dessert?
Mascarpone
55. Ancient Greek mythology credited which God with the discovery of cheese?
A. Aristaeus.
B. Poseidon.
C. Apollo.
D. Zeus.
56. True or false – goats cheese is one of the healthiest cheeses?
True
We hope you loved our cheese quiz and there was a good mix of easy, difficult and multiple choice questions for your home pub quiz or to test your own cheese knowledge.
And as with all our quizzes, if you liked it, we would love it if you shared it with your friends or on social media!
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