Edam

Why edam is rated low

Edam reads LOW at any typical portion, and that is the answer whether it is sliced into a sandwich, cubed onto a board or melted over toast. The rating is estimated from what Edam is made of, a firm cheese aged and pressed into a dense wheel, rather than from a measured serving of it. No FODMAP subgroup is recorded for Edam, so there is no particular group here to plan a meal around. The ladder has one rung, any typical portion, and it sits LOW, which means normal cheese eating is covered and amounts far beyond that are simply not something the data speaks to.

What changes your risk

• The tested portion is a typical one Any typical portion reads LOW. That covers cheese used as cheese: in a sandwich, on a cracker, melted into a dish. It is not a statement about eating a whole block, which the data does not cover.
• The rest of the meal Edam usually shows up on bread, in a toastie or on a board. A low cheese on ordinary wheat bread still gives you a high FODMAP plate, so the bread, crackers and chutney around it decide the total load more often than the cheese does.
• Pre-shredded and processed forms Grated bags, cheese slices sold as processed, and spreadable tubs carry added ingredients that the rating for plain Edam does not cover. Plain Edam, cut from the block, is the form this page describes.
• What it gets melted into Melting Edam into a sauce or a bake does not change its FODMAP content, because heat does not break FODMAPs down. What does change things is the onion, garlic or stock in the dish underneath it.
• Flavoured and smoked versions Edam sold with herbs, cumin seeds, smoke flavouring or other additions is a different product from plain Edam, so the ingredient list is worth a glance rather than an assumption.

What else works

Edam is already a comfortable choice, so the useful thing to know is which cheeses keep it company. Other hard, aged cheeses such as cheddar, parmesan and swiss behave the same way and are dependable for slicing, grating and melting. Where a recipe wants something creamy rather than firm, lactose-free milk and lactose-free yoghurt cover that role, and both are ordinary dairy with the lactase enzyme added rather than dairy-free products. The cheeses to treat differently are the soft and fresh ones that sit a few shelves away: ricotta, cottage cheese and cream cheese are not low at ordinary servings, and neither is ordinary milk or ordinary yoghurt. A red waxed ball and a tub of soft cheese are not interchangeable on this diet just because both are labelled cheese.

How to keep it low

Buy Edam in the block rather than pre-grated or pre-sliced, because the block is plain cheese and the bags often are not. Wrap the cut face in waxed or greaseproof paper rather than plastic film so it stays firm instead of sweating, and keep the wax rind on the uncut side as its own seal. Cut what you want onto the plate and put the block back in the fridge, which keeps a typical portion looking like a portion. On a cheeseboard, pair it with grapes, cucumber, carrot sticks or gluten free crackers rather than wheat crackers and onion chutney, since those companions are where the FODMAP load on the board really comes from. It grates and melts well from cold, straight out of the fridge.

Common questions

is edam low fodmap

Yes. The published serving data rates Edam LOW at any typical portion, which covers it sliced, cubed or melted.

how much edam can i eat on a low fodmap diet

Any typical portion is LOW in the data. That is the only rung tested, so the rating speaks for cheese eaten as cheese rather than for helpings well past a normal one.

can i eat edam during the elimination phase

Yes, at any typical portion. Bear in mind the rating is estimated from what Edam is made of rather than a measured serving, and tolerance still differs from person to person.

is grated edam the same as a block

Plain Edam cut from a block is what the rating covers. Pre-grated bags and processed slices can carry added ingredients, so the ingredient list is worth checking before assuming the same answer applies.