Specialty Cheese

A Specialty Cheese is a natural cheese that commands a higher price than a commodity cheese because of its high quality, limited production and value-added production techniques or ingredients. Specialty cheeses can be unique varieties of cheese (i.e. Camembert, St. George, Teleme) or specialized versions of popular cheeses such as Cheddar, Jack or Mozzarella (i.e. raw milk Cheddar, Dry Jack, high-moisture Mozzarella). This category also includes artisan and farmstead cheeses. Specialty cheeses are typically sold as branded products in specialty food stores and in supermarket gourmet cases.

The California Milk Advisory Board