Nutritional and therapeutic value

Cheese is a fermented dairy product. Fermentation has occupied a place of pride in food preservation practice from time immemorial. It improves and enhances the nutritional value and enriches flavour, texture and rheology of the product. Fermented milk products have been reported to have therapeutic, anticholesterolemic,anticarcinogenic antihypertensive and anticariogenic properties. Cheese, as a delightful fermented food contributing to a variety in our diets, has been recognized to provide important nutrients and considered superior to non-fermented dairy products in terms of nutritional attributes as the microflora present produce simple compounds like lactic acid, amino acids and free fatty acids that are easily assimilable.

Cheese represents a balanced food with concentrated form of energy and good quality protein. As such it is the only food which could prove to be an appropriate substitute to non-vegetarian diet. Cheese has high nutritive value. It is an excellent source of high quality protein, rich source of calcium and phosphorus, an excellent source of several fat soluble vitamins, such as A,D,E, and K and good source of water soluble vitamins. To consumers, it provides good nutrition, variety, convenience for use, portability, food safety and novelty of flavour and texture.

Cheddar cheese, one of the most popular variety, contains about 25% protein as compared with 20% in meat 8% in bread. One kg of Cheddar cheese is approximately equivalent in food value to 10 litres of milk, 30 eggs, 1.5-2.0kg meat,2-3 kg fish or 18-20 kg cabbage. Cheddar cheese provides about400 calories/ 100g and is both palatable and digestible.