Frequently asked questions about cheese
When it comes to cheese, there are some questions that are asked more often. In the overview below you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about cheese by subject.
- Questions about storing cheese
- Questions about health and nutritional values of cheese
- Questions about cheese in a special diet
- Questions about cheese during pregnancy
Questions about storing cheese
How long can cheese be kept?
The shelf life of cheese varies by type of cheese. Hard cheeses have the longest shelf life, about 3 months if you keep them in the refrigerator. Opened hard cheeses will keep for about 2 weeks. Semi hard can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 months and opened for 2 weeks. Soft cheeses have the least shelf life, in their original packaging they will keep for 1 to 2 weeks.
What is the best way to store cheese?
Cheese is best stored in a sheet of cheese paper that you get at the cheese shop. Cheese paper keeps cheese from drying out and retains its flavor best. Do not store cheese in plastic because it allows mold to grow faster. You can also store cheese in a Tupperware container or a cheese box if you don't have cheese paper handy.
Can you store cheese outside the refrigerator?
Hard cheeses can be stored outside the refrigerator with a recommended storage temperature of 8 to 15 degrees. Soft cheeses are best kept in the refrigerator at a temperature of 5 to 8 degrees. Take the cheese out of the refrigerator half an hour before eating it.
Questions about health and nutritional values
Is cheese healthy?
Cheese is rich in important nutrients but also contains a lot of saturated fat and salt. Depending on how much cheese you eat, you can judge whether you are adding it to your diet in a healthy way. Do you eat a lot of cheese? Then it is wise to choose a cheese that is low in fat and salt in between meals.
Which cheese is healthy?
Do you often eat cheese or prefer to choose the healthiest cheeses? Then choose cheeses such as Mozzarella, goat cheese, Ricotta or blue cheese.
Are there carbohydrates in cheese?
The number of carbohydrates varies by type of cheese. An average cheese contains about 1.3 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams.
How many calories are in cheese?
Like the number of carbohydrates, the number of calories depends on the type of cheese. An average cheese contains about 402 calories per 100 grams.
Questions about cheese and special diet
Is cheese dairy?
A dairy product is a product that contains milk. Since the main ingredient of cheese is milk, therefore, cheese is a dairy product.
Is cheese a mold?
Cheese is a dairy product but not a mold per se. Cheese is often called a living product because millions of bacteria and often fungi live in it.
Is cheese vegetarian?
"Normal" cheese is made with the rennet from a calf's stomach, for which the calf is not killed. However, the rennet is a byproduct of a calf's slaughter. So strictly speaking, cheese is not vegetarian, but you are free to decide for yourself whether standard cheese is vegetarian.
Is cheese gluten-free?
Cheese is not made from gluten-containing grains, making it basically gluten-free. Note that this does not mean that every cheese is gluten-free. Cheese may have been in contact with gluten-containing products or a spice mixture may have been added to the cheese that contains gluten.
Can you still eat cheese if it has mold on it?
Hard cheeses you can still eat cheese if it has a little mold on it, provided you cut the mold out of the cheese. However, soft cheese, grated cheese and sliced cheese can no longer be eaten if it has mold on it. This is because in these cheeses, mold can easily spread.
Is cheese halal?
This is where the opinions of Islamic scholars differ. The rennet (enzymes) used in cheese comes from the stomach of the calf. Some argue that such a small proportion of ingredients cannot cause a product to be haram. Alternatively, you can choose vegetarian cheese that does not use animal rennet.
Questions about cheese during pregnancy
Can you eat cheese when you are pregnant?
If you are pregnant, you should only eat pasteurized cheese. With pasteurized cheese, the milk is heated to at least 95 degrees Celsius during the production process. This kills bacteria and eliminates the raw milk traces.
Can you eat mozzarella while pregnant?
Yes, during pregnancy you can eat mozzarella made from both buffalo milk and cow's milk. This is because the milk is heated to 95 degrees Celsius during production.
Can you eat goat cheese when you are pregnant?
Yes, just make sure the goat cheese is made from pasteurized goat's milk. Hard goat's cheese contains little moisture and is made from pasteurized goat's milk, soft goat's cheese contains a lot of moisture and is not always made from pasteurized goat's milk but from raw goat's milk.
Can you eat brie if you are pregnant?
Yes, the cow's milk used for brie is pasteurized. Please note that if it says "au lait cru" on the packaging you may not eat the brie. This is because it means that raw milk was used.
Can you eat feta if you are pregnant?
Yes, in most cases feta is made from pasteurized milk. As with brie, make sure the packaging does not say 'au lait cru', which indicates that raw milk has been used.
Can you eat camembert if you are pregnant?
Yes, camembert is made from pasteurized milk and can therefore be eaten during pregnancy. The same goes for camembert: pay attention to whether it says 'au lait cru' on the packaging, because then raw milk has been used and it is better not to eat the cheese.