Raw cheese is cheese made from milk that has not been pasteurized, meaning the milk was never heated to the high temperatures designed to kill bacteria. This preserves the milk’s natural microbial ecosystem, which shapes the cheese’s flavor, texture, and nutritional profile in ways that pasteurized cheese can’t replicate. In the United States, raw milk cheese must be aged at least 60 days before it can be sold, a requirement intended to reduce the risk of harmful bacteria.
How Raw Cheese Differs From Regular Cheese
Pasteurization heats milk to around 161°F for 15 seconds (or 145°F for 30 minutes) to destroy pathogens. Raw cheese skips this step entirely. The milk may be gently warmed during cheesemaking, but it never reaches pasteurization temperatures. Under U.S. federal regulations, cheese can be labeled “raw milk” or “unpasteurized” only if the milk was kept below those thresholds.
The 60-day aging rule is the key safety measure in the U.S. During that time, the cheese must be held at no less than 35°F. The idea is that acidity, salt, and the loss of moisture during aging create an environment hostile to dangerous bacteria. Many classic raw cheeses are aged far longer than 60 days, but softer, younger styles that would traditionally be eaten fresh (like some camemberts) can’t legally be sold as raw milk cheese in the U.S. unless they meet the aging requirement.
Famous Cheeses That Must Be Raw
Many of the world’s most celebrated cheeses are raw milk cheeses by definition. Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gruyère, Roquefort, and most traditional English cheddars are all made from unpasteurized milk. The same goes for Morbier, Raclette, Fontina, Asiago, and many varieties of Pecorino and Manchego. For these cheeses, using raw milk isn’t a marketing choice. It’s a requirement of the production standards that define them, often enforced by protected designation of origin rules in Europe.
This means if you’ve eaten authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano or Gruyère, you’ve already eaten raw cheese, even if you didn’t realize it.
Why Raw Cheese Tastes Different
Raw milk carries a diverse community of bacteria, enzymes, and yeasts that pasteurization would destroy. These microorganisms drive fermentation and ripening, producing a wider range of flavor compounds than pasteurized milk can generate on its own.
Research comparing raw and pasteurized versions of the same cheese consistently finds that raw milk cheeses develop higher levels of nearly every category of volatile flavor compound: esters (which contribute fruity notes), organic acids (responsible for sharp, tangy flavors), alcohols, ketones, and terpenes. Butanoic acid, a compound with a characteristic sharp cheesy aroma, and hexanoic acid, which adds a mild goat-like quality, are both present at higher levels in raw milk cheeses. Cheeses made from pasteurized milk showed lower volatile compound development across the board during ripening.
The practical result is that raw cheese tends to have more complexity, more depth, and more variation from wheel to wheel. Terroir, the idea that a food reflects the place where it was produced, matters more in raw cheese because the native bacteria in the milk vary with the season, the animal’s diet, and the local environment.
Nutritional Differences
The nutritional gap between raw and pasteurized cheese starts with what happens to the milk before cheesemaking begins. A meta-analysis of studies on pasteurization’s effects on milk found that the process significantly reduced levels of vitamins B1, B2, C, and folate. Vitamin B12 and vitamin E also decreased after pasteurization, while vitamin A actually increased slightly. These differences carry into the finished cheese, though the magnitude depends on the style, aging time, and production method.
Raw cheese also contains a more diverse population of living bacteria. In studies of Comté, a traditional French raw milk cheese, researchers identified 44 distinct bacterial strains across three species. The beneficial bacteria in raw cheese multiply dramatically during aging, growing from around 1,000 to 10,000 organisms per gram at the start of ripening to 100 million per gram after just four weeks, and staying at that level for at least five months. The dominant species found were Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus, both of which are well-known probiotic strains used in supplements and fermented foods. Pasteurized cheese can be made with added cultures, but it typically can’t match this level of microbial diversity.
Safety Risks to Know About
The same living microbial ecosystem that gives raw cheese its flavor also carries risk. Harmful bacteria, including E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria, can survive in unpasteurized milk and potentially persist through aging. The 60-day rule reduces this risk but does not eliminate it.
In a 2024 CDC investigation, 11 people across five states became ill from E. coli linked to a brand of raw cheddar cheese. Five of those 11 were hospitalized, and two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious complication that can lead to kidney failure. No one died, but the outbreak illustrated that even aged raw cheese can harbor dangerous pathogens. Among the people who got sick, 70% specifically reported eating the implicated product, compared to just 4.9% of the general population who reported eating any raw milk cheese in food surveys.
The risk is highest for pregnant women, young children, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system. For healthy adults, the risk from properly produced, well-aged raw cheese is low but not zero.
How Regulations Differ Around the World
The U.S. 60-day aging rule is one of the strictest approaches globally. The European Union takes a different path, focusing on microbiological testing rather than mandatory aging periods. EU regulations require raw milk cheese producers to meet specific safety criteria for pathogens like Salmonella, with standards laid out in food hygiene regulations that govern production practices, facility conditions, and end-product testing. This framework allows younger and softer raw milk cheeses to be sold legally in Europe, including styles that would be prohibited in the U.S.
In practice, this means traveling to France or Italy opens up an entirely different selection of raw milk cheeses, particularly fresh and semi-soft varieties that never make it to American shelves. Some American cheesemakers have advocated for relaxing the 60-day rule in favor of a testing-based system similar to Europe’s, but no regulatory change has happened yet.
How to Choose and Store Raw Cheese
Raw cheese is widely available at specialty cheese shops, farmers’ markets, and well-stocked grocery stores. Look for “raw milk” or “unpasteurized” on the label. If the cheese is imported and carries a protected name like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Roquefort, it’s raw by default.
Hard, aged raw cheeses like cheddar, Gruyère, and Parmesan keep well in the refrigerator for weeks when wrapped in wax paper or cheese paper, which lets them breathe without drying out. Softer raw cheeses have shorter windows and are best eaten within a few days of purchase. Store them in the warmest part of your fridge, typically a door shelf or vegetable drawer, and let them come to room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes before eating. Cold mutes flavor, and with raw cheese, flavor is the whole point.