The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor. Chinese Proverb
Low-Fat Cheeses
There are many healthy benefits to cheese. Once ounce of cheese has around 20% of the daily recommended amount of calcium (that's 200mg). Natural cheese also has a complete complement of essential amino acids due to casein. The majority of cheeses however, have a high saturated fat content.
Saturated fats are contributors to a high level of 'bad' cholesterol and they provide 9 calories per gram. As a result, it's possible to get a lot of calories in a small quantity, and too much of the cholesterol forming compounds at the same time.
Reducing consumption is difficult for some. Cheese is not only a very enticing food, but it's a common ingredient in a wide range of recipes - fondue, Welsh Rarebit, pizza, some soups, as a topping on salads... the list goes on and on.
Vegetarians often find it easy to eliminate a lot of animal-based products from their diets, then find that cheese is everywhere. Going to a restaurant and finding something on the menu becomes a real challenge.
Low-fat cheeses can help solve these dilemmas.
Since cheese is made from milk, it's possible to use different sorts to produce it. Though nature isn't so accommodating as to produce a low-fat milk, we can thank the ingenuity of chemists for finding a safe way to produce them. Though natural milk does vary in fat quantity. Milks that are 2% less in fat percentage are considered low-fat. Skim milk contains 1% or less. This can make cheesemaking more difficult, but the products are still outstanding.
One way to cut down on total fat from cheese is to divide and conquer. Chunks served after the main meal can be made of regular milk cheese, but use low-fat cheese in the main dish itself. One potentially tricky aspect, though, is the different way the two melt.
Most low-fat cheeses don't melt as smoothly as regular cheese. The lack of saturated fat molecules makes the result lumpy or stringy. Increasing the heat or lengthening the melting time often results in burning.
In some cases, there are techniques to overcome this limitation. In casseroles, for example, layering the cheese between the strips of pasta can help. The pasta supports the low-fat cheese, which then doesn't need to melt quite as smoothly. Another tip is useful for those cases where the cheese is added on top. Add the cheese later in the cooking cycle than you otherwise would. It will warm, but not melt entirely.
Rotating low-fat and regular cheese will minimize the amount of saturated fat being eaten. By alternating the two types of cheeses, you should significantly reduce the fat quantity. Be advised, there will be a small sacrifice of taste when making low-fat choices.
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