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Hard cheese

Hard cheese is a firm, aged cheese commonly grated, shaved, or served in pieces.

Hard cheese — illustrative ingredient image

About Hard cheese

Hard cheese is a firm, relatively dry cheese matured until it can be cut into solid pieces and often grated or shaved. It is used grated over pasta, soups, vegetables, and baked dishes, or shaved into salads and served in pieces on cheese boards. The category does not identify one single cheese variety.

Flavours may range from milky and nutty to sharp, savoury, or crystalline as maturation progresses. Texture is compact and sliceable, though saltiness, rind, and firmness differ substantially among individual cheeses. Appearance varies from pale ivory to deeper yellow, depending on the cheese and processing.

Hard cheese may be sold as a wedge, block, wheel portion, pre-grated product, or thin shavings. It can be served in pieces or altered by grating and shaving for cooking and garnishing. Maturity and rind treatment affect the texture, intensity, and the portion that is eaten.

Ingredient type
derived ingredient

Forms & related ingredients

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Where hard cheese appears

6 linked foods

Find foods to recognise by country and type. Recipes and products vary; these are recorded ingredient connections.

Showing 1–6 of 6

Main dishes

Soups

Salads

Noodle dishes

Sauces

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for hard cheese

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Hard cheese

English

Hard cheese (cheddar, emmental type)

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

hard cheese (sliced)

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Hard cheese emmental-type cheese reduced fat

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Hard cheese nutrition & diet

Hard cheese nutritional value

Reference: Cheese, hard, average

Per 100 g of the edible portion of the stated reference food.

Calories
411kcal
Protein
24.9g
Carbs
0.1g
Fat
34.5g

Reference example for the named food and preparation, per 100 g edible portion. This is not a universal value for every recipe or brand; packaged products should be compared with their own label. CoFID 2021 food code 12-604. Carbohydrate follows the dataset’s available-carbohydrate convention. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.

Portions & preparation

Use a modest portion as a grated, shaved, or cubed aged cheese, because serving form changes how readily it is combined with other foods. Match the reference to the named cheese, milk source, aging stage, rind treatment, and whether it includes added flavorings or coatings.

Compare the right form: Reference should match the specific aged hard cheese, milk source, edible interior, and grated, shaved, cubed, or rind-included form.

Diet considerations

Usually animal-derived dairy, although the exact milk and production method must be confirmed. Compatibility changes with added animal enzymes, flavorings, coatings, or cereal-containing inclusions. Grated cheese may be blended with other ingredients, while the portion and accompanying foods affect carbohydrate patterns without changing the cheese itself.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Typically incompatible
  • Vegetarian
    Depends on the version
  • Pescatarian
    Depends on the version
  • Keto
    Depends on the version
  • Paleo
    Typically incompatible
  • Low-carb
    Depends on the version
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Typically incompatible
The ingredient profile identifies an animal-derived food or derivative.
Vegetarian · Depends on the version
Check the coagulant or rennet source: animal rennet and vegetarian alternatives are both relevant to this category.
Pescatarian · Depends on the version
Check the coagulant or rennet source: animal rennet and vegetarian alternatives are both relevant to this category.
Keto · Depends on the version
Compatibility depends on the portion and preparation. A sourced carbohydrate amount for a defined serving is not available.
Paleo · Typically incompatible
This profile falls outside the conventional paleo pattern used here (grains and pseudograins, legumes, dairy or refined sugar).
Low-carb · Depends on the version
Compatibility depends on the portion and preparation. A sourced carbohydrate amount for a defined serving is not available.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID), 2021 — Cheese, hard, average ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .