How much fat in that cheese?
Forty five, 60, 70 percent fat in dry matter (in dry matter); 12, 20, 30 percent absolute fat content: The information on the packs is confusing and no one really knows what to do. Here is a summary!
Dry fat matter and water fat content in cheese
Cheese consists of dry and water matter. The information on the fat content of cheese on the packaging can be very confusing. The fat content is usually indicated on the packaging is in dry matter (FDM or FiDM, or i. Tr.), but can also be declared as absolute. What's most important in absolute fat content is the water content of the cheese.
| Cheese Type | Water content in % |
|---|---|
| Hard cheese | 55 and less |
| Semi-hard cheese | 54 to 66 |
| Soft cheese | 67 and more |
| Cream cheese | 73 and more |
| Processed cheese | 73 and more |
It is therefore important not only to consider the fat content of cheese dry matter, but also the water content. The softer a cheese is, the higher the fat content of dry matter. The harder the cheese, the lower the fat content of dry matter.
Calculating absolute fat content of cheese:
Fat in dry matter (i.Tr. or FDM or FiDM) x factor = absolute fat content
| Type of cheese | Factor | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Cream cheese | 0,3 | Quark, mozzarella, cottage cheese, cream cheese |
| Soft cheese | 0,5 | Camembert, Brie, Feta, Limburger |
| sliced cheese | 0,6 | Edam, Gouda, Butter cheese, Tilsit |
| hard cheese | 0,7 | Emmental, Swiss cheese, Parmesan |
Examples:
Camembert = 45% fat in dry matter contains 45 x 0.5 = 22.5 g (.80 oz) absolute fat in 100 g (3.5 oz) cheese.
Cream cheese = 50% fat in dry matter contains 50 x 0.3 = 15 g (.52 oz) absolute fat in 100 g (3.5 oz) cheese.