Fontina
Typical portion
- Any typical portion
Fontina is Low FODMAP, an aged cheese where the ripening process leaves almost no fermentable carbohydrate behind.
- As a firm, aged cheese, most of Fontina's milk sugar is broken down during fermentation, so lactose drops to negligible levels and any typical portion stays comfortably low.
Enjoy Fontina melted into a dish or sliced onto a low-FODMAP cracker, and just keep an eye on flavored or spreadable cheeses since added ingredients can change the picture.
Why fontina is rated low
Fontina comes in low, and that verdict is estimated from what the cheese is made of rather than from a measured serving in a lab. It is a firm, aged cheese, and the long ripening leaves very little fermentable carbohydrate behind, which is why the serving data for it carries a single rung: Any typical portion reads low. That covers cheese on a cracker, cheese melted through a gratin, cheese grated over polenta. Because there is no larger rung recorded, low here means low at a normal amount of cheese on a plate rather than unlimited, and a Fontina-heavy dish deserves the same respect you would give any other rich helping.
What changes your risk
- Serving size The only rung recorded is Any typical portion, and it reads low. Nothing above that has been checked, so treat the cheese as a component of the dish rather than the bulk of it.
- What it is melted into Fontina almost never arrives alone. It goes into fondue, sauces, pasta bakes and toasted sandwiches, and the onion, garlic, stock cube or seasoning blend in that dish is far more likely to be the problem than the cheese.
- Stacking across the meal A low rating is per serving, not per plate. Fontina on a wheat baguette, alongside a creamy sauce and a side built on onion, gives you a meal total that no single ingredient predicted.
- Flavoured, smoked and spreadable versions Cheese sold as a spread, a dip or a flavoured wedge can carry added ingredients, from onion and garlic powder to honey, dried fruit or added fibre, and those ride along with the cheese.
- Melting and cooking Heat does not destroy FODMAPs, and it does not create them either. Melting Fontina leaves it where the data puts it. The change comes from what goes in the pan with it.
What else works
If you want more aged cheese in the rotation, the other firm ripened cheeses fill the same role: cheddar for sandwiches and sauces, parmesan grated over pasta and risotto, swiss for melting. The lookalikes to be careful with are the soft, fresh cheeses that sit in the same chilled cabinet and never go through that long ripening, including ricotta, cottage cheese and cream cheese. Cheese spreads, cheese dips and flavoured processed slices belong in the same careful pile, since the added ingredients rather than the cheese are what you are judging. Fontina sauces served out are a different question again, because most restaurant cheese sauces start with onion or garlic.
How to keep it low
Buy Fontina as a wedge rather than a pre-shredded blend or a spread, since a plain wedge has an ingredient list you can read at a glance. Keep it wrapped in paper inside a loose bag in the fridge so it does not sweat, and grate it when you want coverage without a large helping, because grated cheese spreads across a whole dish and a little goes further than a thick layer. When you are cooking with it, build the base yourself with garlic-infused oil and the green tops of spring onions rather than a packet sauce or a stock cube, and the Fontina stays the easy part of the plate. Ordering out, ask what the cheese sauce is made with before assuming the cheese is all you are eating.
Common questions
is fontina low fodmap
Yes. Fontina is rated low, estimated from what an aged firm cheese is made of, and the serving data records one rung: Any typical portion is low.
how much fontina can i eat on a low fodmap diet
The data gives a single rung, Any typical portion, and that rung is low. Larger helpings than a normal portion of cheese have not been recorded, so there is no tested amount above that to point to.
can i eat fontina during the elimination phase
Yes, at Any typical portion it is low, so it fits the elimination phase. The thing to check is the dish around it, since cheese sauces and bakes are usually built on onion or garlic.
does melting fontina change its fodmap level
No. Heat does not break FODMAPs down, so melted Fontina sits exactly where the data puts it. What changes the dish is whatever is melted in alongside it.
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Informational only, not medical advice. Individual tolerance varies. Talk to a healthcare professional or a dietitian for personal guidance.
Fontina is an estimated rating: it is inferred from the food's ingredients and composition and cross-checked, not measured directly in the papers below. The low, moderate and high cutoffs are still those of Varney et al. (2017).
References
- Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. Muir et al. (2007), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(16):6619-6627.
- Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by HPLC. Muir et al. (2009), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(2):554-565.
- Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. Biesiekierski et al. (2011), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24(2):154-176.
- Dietary sorbitol and mannitol: food content and distinct absorption patterns. Yao et al. (2014), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 27(Suppl 2):263-275.
- FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. Varney et al. (2017), J. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 32(Suppl 1):53-61. Supplies the low, moderate and high cutoffs used on this page.
Last reviewed September 22, 2026.