Which cheese is the least fatty?

For some, cheese is a table ritual: the last salty note before dessert, the final ingredient of an aperitif, a companion to a salad and a glass of wine. Some even eat it with every meal. According to the French dairy industry, each Frenchman consumes an average of 12.7 kg per year. However, some people know this story: cheese is fatty. But some less so than others.

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Fresh

“The least fatty cheeses are the freshest,” says Zoe Vrino, a dietitian and author of Zoey’s cooking is balanced. ! (1). Unlike hard cheeses, they are not aged, so they contain more water and fewer nutrients and are therefore lower in calories. By fresh cheese we mean fresh goat cheese, feta, mozzarella, ricotta or even all the spreadable ones. Grouped under the banner of the fattest cheeses are blue cheeses such as Roquefort, as well as Munster, Brie or even hard cheeses such as Gouda, Cheddar or Comté.

Because these cheeses are less nutrient dense, they are also less interesting in terms of nutritional value. “This is why we should not give preference to low-calorie pasta, but, above all, choose the pasta that we like and vary it between hard and soft pasta,” comments the nutritionist and nutritionist. Enough to reap their benefits. Cheese is truly part of a balanced diet: it is a source of proteins needed for energy production, minerals such as calcium, zinc, potassium that protect our cells, and vitamins D and B. The microorganisms inside the cheese and rind also optimize the health of our microbiota. “Cheeses like Gruyère, Camembert or Roquefort are excellent sources of bacteria and probiotics,” Claire Kalchman, an occupational therapist and nutritionist, told us in a previous article.

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30-40 grams per day

Nutritionist Zoë Vrignot insists that regardless of the number of calories, the main thing is to meet the recommended daily amounts; i.e. 30 to 40 grams of cheese per day, which is equivalent to two slices of goat cheese, a slice of Comté cheese or even an eighth of Camembert cheese. “Cheese is rich in low-quality animal fats, so if we consume too much of it, we end up subject to weight gain, heart problems, obesity, which then leads to other diseases such as diabetes or cholesterol,” the professional emphasizes. Finally, and not surprisingly, it will also be necessary to ensure the consumption of cheese’s companions: wine and bread.

(1) Zoey’s cooking is balanced.published by Larousse, 144 pp., 18.95 euros.