The best cheeses in the world
The top 3 according to 180 votes from people: Graviera Naxou (Greece) · Parmigiano Reggiano (Italy) · Comté (France). (Updated Aug 3, 2026.)
The top three of TasteAtlas' 2025/26 world cheese ranking (Greece's Graviera Naxou dethroned the usual French and Italian names) followed by the great cheeses that cheesemongers everywhere agree on.
Top 20
-
1
Graviera Naxou (Greece)
Hard cow's milk cheese from the island of Naxos, number one in TasteAtlas' 2025/26 ranking.
-
2
Parmigiano Reggiano (Italy)
Long-aged hard cheese from Emilia-Romagna and Mantua, the 'king of cheeses'.
-
3
Comté (France)
Raw milk mountain cheese from the Jura, aged from 4 to over 24 months.
-
4
Gruyère (Switzerland)
Nutty Swiss alpine cheese, the base of fondue moitié-moitié.
-
5
Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (Italy)
Fresh stretched-curd buffalo cheese from Campania.
-
6
Queijo de Azeitão (Portugal)
Runny sheep's cheese set with thistle, from the Arrábida hills near Setúbal.
-
7
Roquefort (France)
Sheep's milk blue aged in the caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.
-
8
Brie de Meaux (France)
Bloomy-rind raw milk cheese crowned king of cheeses in 1815.
-
9
Torta del Casar (Spain)
Spoonable thistle-set sheep's cheese from Extremadura.
-
10
Halloumi (Cyprus)
Squeaky grilling cheese of goat and sheep's milk, PDO since 2021.
-
11
Serra da Estrela (Portugal)
Buttery sheep's milk cheese from Portugal's highest mountains.
-
12
Manchego (Spain)
Sheep's milk cheese from La Mancha with a zigzag rind.
-
13
Stilton (England)
Blue cheese protected since 1996 and made only in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.
-
14
Gorgonzola (Italy)
Creamy blue from Lombardy and Piedmont, dolce or piccante.
-
15
Camembert de Normandie (France)
Ladle-moulded raw milk soft cheese from Normandy.
-
16
Emmentaler (Switzerland)
The Swiss cheese with big holes, from the Emme valley.
-
17
Pecorino Romano (Italy)
Salty sheep's cheese, essential for carbonara and cacio e pepe.
-
18
Gouda Holland (Netherlands)
Dutch cow's milk cheese, from young and mild to aged and crystalline.
-
19
Feta (Greece)
Brined sheep and goat's milk cheese, PDO since 2002.
-
20
West Country Farmhouse Cheddar (England)
Clothbound cheddar from Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 20… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
-
21
Époisses (France)
Washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Burgundy, rinsed in marc de Bourgogne, with a strong aroma.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (4)
Comté 18 months is still my all-time favourite.
Graviera Naxou at #1, I need to try it.
Tried Graviera Naxou on holiday this summer, deserves its place.
Comté aged 24 months is my favourite cheese.