Cheshire Cheese

Why cheshire cheese is rated low

Cheshire is rated low because of what this cheese is made of. The portion guide gives one rung, "Any typical portion", and it sits at LOW, with no FODMAP subgroup recorded for the plain cheese. That fits what Cheshire is: a firm, crumbly, salty cheese that is essentially protein, fat and salt once it has aged, with hard, aged cheeses losing nearly all their milk sugar in the making. What can still go wrong is not the cheese but the version you buy and the dish you put it in, and a typical portion is a wedge, not a whole block.

What changes your risk

• Serving size The single rung is "Any typical portion". That is a portion rather than an open door, and far larger helpings are a different amount.
• Flavoured and blended versions Cheshire is often sold studded with cranberries or blended with onion and other savoury seasonings, and a block like that is a different food from plain Cheshire. Read the ingredients, since the risk is in the additions rather than the cheese.
• The sauce it ends up in Melted into a cheese sauce or a bake, Cheshire is usually joined by stock, onion, garlic powder or a wheat flour roux. Melting changes nothing about the cheese itself, since heat does not break FODMAPs down, but the sauce around it can carry plenty.
• What it sits on Crackers, crusty bread and a sandwich loaf bring a FODMAP load of their own. Rice crackers, gluten free bread or rice cakes keep the plate simple.
• Stacking across the meal Low means low per serving, not per meal. A ploughman's plate stacks pickle, chutney, bread and fruit around the cheese, and the total load for that sitting is what your gut meets, so keep an eye on the whole plate.

What else works

Cheshire has good company among the firm cheeses. Cheddar, parmesan and swiss are also low and behave the same way on a board, in a sandwich or grated over a bake, so swapping between them is easy. The cheeses that are not equivalent, despite sitting in the same fridge drawer, are the fresh and soft ones: ricotta, cottage cheese and cream cheese are not substitutes, and fresh buffalo mozzarella climbs as the portion grows. Cheese spreads and processed cheese slices are also a separate question from a plain block, since the added ingredients are the variable. Where a recipe wants milk or cream alongside the cheese, lactose-free milk and lactose-free cream fill that role, and they are ordinary dairy with the lactase enzyme added, which means they are not dairy-free and not suitable for a milk allergy.

How to keep it low

Buy a plain block rather than a flavoured wedge, since cranberry Cheshire and onion-blended Cheshire sit right next to it on the counter and look almost identical through the wrapper. Wrap the cut face in waxed paper and keep it in the fridge, and crumble it cold, which is how the cheese is meant to behave and makes a modest amount scatter a long way over a salad or a jacket potato. When it goes into cooking, build the sauce around it yourself: a splash of lactose-free milk, a gluten free flour base and garlic-infused oil for depth, instead of a stock cube or seasoning blend that hides onion and garlic. In a pub or cafe, a plain cheese plate is far easier to judge than a cheese sauce you cannot see the ingredients of.

Common questions

is cheshire cheese low fodmap

Yes, plain Cheshire is rated low at "Any typical portion", so a typical wedge is what the rating describes.

how much cheshire cheese can i have

"Any typical portion" is rated low. A typical wedge is the sensible way to read that, rather than a whole block.

is cranberry or onion cheshire cheese ok

Those are a different product from plain Cheshire. The dried fruit and the onion seasoning are the variable there, not the cheese, so check the ingredients list and treat a flavoured block on its own terms.

can i use cheshire cheese in a cheese sauce on low fodmap

The cheese does not change when melted, because heat does not break FODMAPs down. The risk is the rest of the sauce, so build it with lactose-free milk, a gluten free flour base and garlic-infused oil rather than stock cubes or seasoning blends.