Brie

Why brie is rated low

Brie comes in low: "Any typical portion" reads LOW. No FODMAP subgroup is recorded for plain brie at all, which is why there is no single culprit to watch and no turning point to keep track of. Ripening leaves very little of the milk sugar behind, and what is left is mostly fat and protein. What that rating does not cover is everything that arrives with the cheese. A wheel baked with garlic, a fruit chutney or honey drizzle on the board, a wheat baguette under it, and the rest of the meal around it all carry their own load.

What changes your risk

• Serving size The rating is "Any typical portion", and that is a portion, not a licence. Working through most of a wheel in one sitting is a different amount from a wedge on a board.
• What goes on top Brie is rarely eaten bare. Fruit chutneys, honey, caramelised onion relish and dried fruit on the board are the real FODMAP source on that plate, and they can carry more load than the cheese ever does.
• Baked brie and its stuffing Baking does not change the FODMAP content of the cheese itself, since heat does not break FODMAPs down. What changes the plate is the garlic cloves, onion jam or pastry wrapped around it.
• The carrier under it Ordinary wheat crackers and baguette bring their own FODMAP load. Rice crackers, gluten free bread or rice cakes keep the focus on the cheese.
• Stacking across the meal A low rating is per serving, not per meal. Brie eaten alongside several other foods that each sit near their own limit adds to a total FODMAP load for that sitting, so spreading richer plates across the day is easier on the whole.

What else works

Brie is one of the easy ones here, and it has company. Hard cheeses such as cheddar, parmesan and swiss also sit low, and firm cheeses are convenient when a bigger helping is wanted. The lookalikes to separate out are the soft fresh cheeses people file in the same mental drawer: ricotta, cottage cheese and cream cheese are not equivalents, and neither is fresh buffalo mozzarella, which climbs with the amount on the plate. Flavoured brie, brie wrapped in pastry and brie sold with a fruit or onion topping are also not the same food as plain brie. For pouring and stirring, lactose-free milk and lactose-free cream fill the dairy role, and they are ordinary dairy with the lactase enzyme added, so they are not dairy-free and not suitable for a milk allergy.

How to keep it low

Buy plain brie and read the label on anything described as flavoured, truffled, herbed or double cream with added ingredients, because the risk on the wrapper is usually an onion or garlic seasoning rather than the cheese. Keep it wrapped in its own paper in the fridge and let it come to room temperature before serving, which makes a typical portion taste far more generous than the same piece eaten cold and straight from the block. Build the board around carriers you trust: rice crackers, gluten free crispbread or rice cakes, with strawberries or cucumber alongside instead of a chutney. Ordering out, a cheese plate is usually a better bet than a baked brie, which tends to arrive studded with garlic or sitting in onion jam.

Common questions

is brie low fodmap

Yes. Brie is rated low at "Any typical portion", so a typical wedge is the amount the rating describes.

how much brie can i eat on a low fodmap diet

"Any typical portion" is rated low. A typical portion is the sensible cap rather than an open invitation, since most of a wheel in one sitting is a different amount.

can i eat brie during the elimination phase

Plain brie is rated low, so it generally fits the elimination phase as part of a meal you are already managing. What to leave off is the chutney, honey and onion relish that usually share the board, and any reintroduction work is done with a dietitian.

is baked brie ok on low fodmap

Baking does not change the FODMAP content of the cheese, because heat does not break FODMAPs down. The problem with most baked brie is what is added to it, usually garlic cloves, onion jam or a pastry wrap, so a version baked plain with herbs is the better choice.