Cheese is a type of dairy product formed by the coagulation of the milk protein casein. Prior to refrigeration, the production of cheese and yoghurts were some of the few ways that milk could be preserved for long-terms storage. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic moulds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout.

Most cheeses are acidified by bacteria, which turn milk sugars into lactic acid; the addition of rennet completes the curdling. Vegetarian varieties of rennet are available; most are produced through fermentation by the fungus Mucor miehei, but others have been extracted from Cynara thistles. For a few cheeses, the milk is curdled by adding acids such as vinegar or lemon juice.

The word cheese comes from Latin caseus, from which the modern word casein is derived. The earliest source is from the proto-Indo-European root *kwat-, which means "to ferment, become sour". That gave rise to cīese or cēse (in Old English) and chese (in Middle English). Similar words are shared by other West Germanic languages—West Frisian tsiis, Dutch kaas, German Käse, Old High German chāsi—all from the reconstructed West-Germanic form *kāsī, which in turn is an early borrowing from Latin.

When the Romans began to make hard cheeses for their legionaries' supplies, a new word started to be used: formaticum, from caseus formatus, or "cheese shaped in a mold". It is from this word that the French fromage, standard Italian formaggio, Catalan formatge, Breton fourmaj, and Occitan fromatge (or formatge) are derived. Of the Romance languages, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Tuscan and some Southern Italian dialects use words derived from caseus (queso, queijo, caș, cacio and caso for example).

Cheese is an ancient food whose origins predate recorded history. There is no conclusive evidence indicating where cheesemaking originated, whether in Europe, Central Asia or the Middle East. The earliest proposed dates for the origin of cheesemaking range from around 8000 BCE, when sheep were first domesticated. Because animal skins and inflated internal organs have provided storage vessels for a range of foodstuffs since ancient times, it is probable that the process of cheese making was discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from the stomach of an animal, resulting in the milk being turned to curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach. There is a legend—with variations—about the discovery of cheese by an Arab trader who used this method of storing milk.

The recipes given here are sourced from around the world, and give a broad view of cheese-based dishes globally as well as presenting historical recipes from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds.

The alphabetical list of all the cheese-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 1200 recipes in total:

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Esquites (Mexican Street Corn)      Origin: Mexico	Fresh Pear Shortcake      Origin: British	Gode Paest      Origin: England
Ezay (Bhutanese Chilli Condiment)      Origin: Bhutan	Fricadelles      Origin: France	Goen Hogay (Cucumbers with Onion and Cheese)      Origin: Bhutan
Fërgesë e Tiranës me Mish Viçi (Tiranian Veal with Fried Cottage Cheese)      Origin: Albania	Frijoles Refritos (Refried Beans)      Origin: Mexico	Golden Cornbread with Calendula Petals      Origin: American
Fanesca ecuatoriana (Ecuadorian Easter soup)      Origin: Ecuador	Fruit Salad with Kirsched Sea Spaghetti      Origin: Ireland	Gomen Kitfo (Spiced Curd Cheese with Greens)      Origin: Ethiopia
Fania      Origin: Uruguay	Fuchsia Flower Salad      Origin: Britain	Good Friday Fish Pie      Origin: Britain
Farmer's Cheese      Origin: American	Fugazza (Argentinian Pizza)      Origin: Argentina	Good Luck Chilli Biscuits      Origin: Fusion
Fat Hen Quiche      Origin: British	Ful Medames (Sudanese Broad Bean Breakfast)      Origin: Sudan-a	Goose Risotto      Origin: Fusion
Feta Cheese Puffs      Origin: British	Ful Sudani (Sudanese Ful)      Origin: South Sudan	Graham Cracker Cheesecake Crust      Origin: American
Fettucine Alfredo      Origin: Italy	Fuul (Broad Bean Paste)      Origin: Sudan	Grasshopper Cheesecake      Origin: American
Fettucine alla Papiana (Papal Ham and Cream Carbonara)      Origin: Vatican City	Güschgle-Knöpfle (Güshgle-style Button Noodles)      Origin: Liechtenstein	Gratin Christophine (Chayote Gratin)      Origin: Guadeloupe
Feuilles de Consoude Farcies (Stuffed Comfrey Leaves)      Origin: France	Gala Apricot Cheesecake      Origin: Britain	Gratin Dauphinoise      Origin: France
Few-flowered Leek Omelette      Origin: Britain	Galette aux champignons (Mushroom galette)      Origin: France	Gratin de galettes aux crevettes (Gratin of Pancakes with Prawns and Mushrooms)      Origin: France
Fflan Cenin a Phys (Leek and Pea Flan)      Origin: Welsh	Galette Pastry      Origin: France	Gratin de Morue (Salt Cod Gratin)      Origin: Mauritius
Ffowlyn Morganwg Rhost gyda Chaws a Pherlysiau (Roast Glamorgan Chicken with Cheese and Herbs)      Origin: Welsh	Galettes de Légumes au Fonio (Vegetable Fritters with Fonio)      Origin: Burkina Faso	Gratin de pommes de terre des Antilles (Antilles Potato Gratin)      Origin: Guadeloupe
Fiadone      Origin: France	Garlic Mustard Pesto      Origin: Italy	Gratin Tatws a Bara Lawr (Potato and Laverbread Gratin)      Origin: Welsh
Fiddlehead and Morel Mushroom Risotto      Origin: American	Gebackene Quarktorte (Baked Quark cake)      Origin: Switzerland	Green Lentils with Wild Garlic Mustard Pesto      Origin: Britain
Fig and Almond Cheesecake      Origin: Britain	Gebne Mankoushe (Lebanese Cheese Pizza)      Origin: Lebanon	Ground Elder Pie      Origin: Britain
Fig and Goat's Cheese Brioche Toasts      Origin: Peru	Gelato di Mascarpone con le Violette (Mascarpone Gelato with Violets)      Origin: Italy	Ground Elder Quiche      Origin: Britain
Filedi Pysgod a Chaws Pob (Fish Fillet Rarebit)      Origin: Welsh	Georgian Fruit Buns      Origin: Georgia	Guisado Perviuano de la Calabaza (Peruvian Pumpkin Stew)      Origin: Peru
Filets de Morue au Fromage (Cod Fillets with Cheese)      Origin: Canada	Georgian Potato Soup      Origin: Georgia	Gulab Jamun Cheesecake      Origin: India
Finnan Haddock with Cheese      Origin: Scotland	Gibanica (Cheese Strudel Pie)      Origin: Serbia	Habas con Refrito (Beans with Refried Beans)      Origin: Ecuador
Firin Makarna (Macaroni Bake)      Origin: Northern Cyprus	Ginger-chicken Pizza      Origin: Fusion	Haenau Cig Oen gyda Pannas a Chennin (Slices of Lamb with Parsnips and Leeks)      Origin: Welsh
Flampoyntes (Flan Points)      Origin: England	Gingerbread Men Cheesecake      Origin: Britain	Halibut with Pine Nut and Parmesan Crust      Origin: Britain
Flan Mexicano (Mexican Flan)      Origin: Mexico	Glazed Lemon Cheesecake      Origin: American	Halloween Cheesecake      Origin: Britain
Flaón      Origin: Spain	Glazed Orange Cheesecake      Origin: American	Halloween Swamp Dip      Origin: American
Flaumpens      Origin: England	Globi (Fried Cheese and Poppy-seed Balls)      Origin: Roman	Ham and Haddie Pie      Origin: Scotland
Florentine Pizza      Origin: Italy	Gloucestershire Cheese and Ale      Origin: England	Ham, Egg and Cottage Cheese Scramble      Origin: Britain
Fondue      Origin: Switzerland	Gnocchi al Vaticano      Origin: Vatican City	Hapai Hantue (Filled Buckwheat Dumplings)      Origin: Bhutan
For Flaunes (For Flans)      Origin: England	Gnocchi di Ortica (Nettle Gnocchi)      Origin: Italy	Hashed Potatoes      Origin: Ireland
For to make flampens (To Make Pasta Pies)      Origin: England	Gnocchi di semolino alla romana (Roman-Style Semolina Gnocchi)      Origin: Italy	Hasselback Potatoes      Origin: Britain
Forshmak (Georgian Minced Meat Soufflé)      Origin: Georgia	Gnocchi di semolino alla romana (Roman-Style Semolina Gnocchi)      Origin: Vatican City	Hawaiian Brunch Pizza      Origin: Hawaii
Fowl Fricadelles      Origin: Britain	Gnocchi Verdi (Spinach Gnocchi)      Origin: Italy	Hazelnut and Wild Greens Pesto      Origin: Britain
French Bread Pizza      Origin: Italy	Goat's Cheese Muffins (Goat's Cheese Muffins)      Origin: Britain
French Onion Soup      Origin: France	Goat's Cheese, Pear and Walnut Mini Quiche      Origin: British

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