Roquefort

Low FODMAP

Typical portion

Any typical portion Low

Roquefort is Low FODMAP, an aged blue cheese whose long fermentation leaves almost no fermentable carbohydrate behind.

As it ages, the fermentation process breaks down most of the lactose, so Roquefort carries negligible FODMAPs and stays low at a typical portion.
This holds for most aged blue cheeses, though anything blended with cream or other ingredients can shift the picture, so check what else is in the mix.

Crumble it over a salad or fold it into a dressing for a big hit of flavor without piling on the FODMAP load.

Why roquefort is rated low

Roquefort is low, and the ladder gives one rung: "Any typical portion": LOW. That rating is inferred rather than measured, meaning it is estimated from what Roquefort is as an aged blue cheese rather than from a weighed serving tested in the published serving data, and no FODMAP subgroup is recorded against it. Roquefort is also a strongly flavoured cheese, which works in its favour here: a typical portion crumbled over something goes a long way. The load in a blue cheese dish usually comes from what the cheese is mixed into rather than the crumbles themselves.

What changes your risk

Serving size The rating covers "Any typical portion", the amount you would crumble over a salad or a steak. There is no rung above that in the data, so a much larger helping is not something this entry describes.
Blended into a dressing or dip This is where Roquefort usually gets into trouble, because a blue cheese dressing is mostly not blue cheese. The cream or buttermilk base and the onion and garlic powder that flavour most bottled versions carry their own load, and the dressing is a different food from the crumbles.
Stacking across the whole meal A low rating is per serving, not per plate. Roquefort tends to land on a salad that also has croutons made from wheat bread, a garlicky dressing and a handful of dried fruit, and the meal total is what matters rather than the cheese alone.
Melting and baking do not change it Heat does not break FODMAPs down, so folding Roquefort through a hot sauce or melting it over meat leaves the cheese exactly where it was. Whatever else goes into that sauce is the part to check.
Blue cheese blends and spreads Tubs of blue cheese spread, blue cheese butter and blended wedges combine Roquefort with other ingredients. The ingredient list is the only reliable way to see what came along.

What else works

If you want the same salty punch in a smaller amount, hard cheeses such as parmesan, aged cheddar and swiss shave or crumble into the same role. The lookalikes worth keeping separate are the creamy ones: bottled blue cheese dressing, blue cheese dip and whipped blue cheese spreads are not the same food as the crumbles, and fresh cheeses such as ricotta, cottage cheese and cream cheese are a different proposition again. If you want a dressing rather than crumbles, building your own from a base you control, with garlic-infused oil for the savoury note and chives on top, gets you closer than reaching for a bottle.

How to keep it low

Buy Roquefort as a plain wedge rather than as a spread, a dressing or a pre-blended butter, and check the label on anything sold in a tub. It crumbles most cleanly straight from the fridge, and because the flavour is so assertive it goes furthest when scattered over a finished dish rather than stirred through it, which makes it easy to keep to a normal portion without measuring anything. Wrap the cut face in paper rather than tight plastic so the wedge keeps well and you are not racing to finish it. When ordering out, ask for blue cheese crumbles on the side and skip the blue cheese dressing, which is a different food wearing the same name.

Common questions

is roquefort low fodmap

Yes. Roquefort is rated low at "Any typical portion". That rating is estimated from what the cheese is made of rather than from a measured serving, and no FODMAP subgroup is recorded for it.

is blue cheese dressing ok on a low fodmap diet

Bottled blue cheese dressing is not the same as Roquefort crumbles. Most versions are built on a cream or buttermilk base and flavoured with onion and garlic powder, so the dressing needs checking on its own terms.

how much roquefort can i put on a salad

The ladder rates "Any typical portion" as low, which is the amount you would normally crumble over a salad. Nothing larger is described in the data here.

can i eat blue cheese on the elimination phase

Plain Roquefort is low at "Any typical portion", so it fits the elimination phase. Blends, spreads and dressings made with it are separate foods and need their ingredient lists read.

Learn more

Informational only, not medical advice. Individual tolerance varies. Talk to a healthcare professional or a dietitian for personal guidance.

Roquefort 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.