The Perfect Bite: The best cheese for your health

Cheese lovers, rejoice! Cheese is a great source of dairy, and a must-have on sandwiches. But packed with calcium, protein and fat – some cheeses are healthier than others. On this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Andrea Jenna is joined by cheese master and owner of Cheese Boutique, Afrim Pristine. They take a look at seven popular types of cheese to determine which is the healthiest choice.

When you’re making a sandwich, a lot of components come into play when it comes to your cheese.

“I think you want to have good slicing properties with sandwich cheese, I think you want to have a nice thin slice so you can layer it in your sandwich as well,” explains Afrim. “I think you want something with a little bit of flavor and a little bit of bite, and then to really complement the bread and everything else you’re putting in the sandwich.”

“The lower the fat, sometimes you take away a lot of the flavor of cheese,” says Afrim. “But that’s really the talent of a good cheesemaker, is to make a great-tasting low fat cheese.”

Cheddar (High in calcium: 1 oz serving, 114 calories, 9 g fat, 176 mg sodium, 7 g protein, 204 mg calcium)

For one of Canada’s favourite sandwich cheeses, Andrea and Afrim sample a six month aged cheddar – an age which Afrim recommends for sandwich cheese.

“Any stronger would be just a little bit too much,” he explains.

“It’s pretty strong to begin with,” says Andrea after taking a bite.

“Very rich, a little saltier, so the sodium is going to be a little higher in the cheddar of this nature,” Afrim says.

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Brie (Second healthiest choice and low in fat: 1 oz serving, 95 calories, 8 g fat, 178 mg sodium, 6 g protein, 52 mg calcium)

For the taste test, Afrim brought a brie cheese with a lower milk fat percentage than usual.

“Typically, brie is 50 or 60 per cent milk fat,” says Afrim. “It’s one of the highest, fattiest cheeses. But in a sandwich, I don’t think you want something that salty. So I brought something a little lighter, with about 19 per cent milk fat.”

“Brie in a sandwich with some ham on a baguette is awesome,” he says.

“It’s so creamy,” comments Andrea. “Almost spreadable.”

“The rind is a little thicker too, so you can make a nice slice from it,” Afrim adds.

While Afrim says that Swiss is the healthiest cheese choice, he says that a low-fat brie is a great choice for someone who likes really rich, creamy cheeses.

Blue Cheese (Least healthy: 1 oz serving, 100 calories, 8 g fat, 395 mg sodium, 6 g protein, 150 mg calcium)

Caution: blue cheese is not the choice for those afraid of bold flavour!

“This is a little unorthodox in a sandwich...it’s pretty powerful,” says Afrim. “It’s a big, kind of saltier cheese, so sodium is as high as you can get in a blue cheese.”

“That is a strong cheese!” exclaims Andrea after testing a tiny bit.

“It’s a stronger cheese,” Afrim agrees. “But with something like some mustard and some really lean roast beef, it’ll go really, really nicely.”

“Very salty though,” adds Andrea.

If you’re going to stay away from one type of cheese, Afrim suggests you should steer clear of the blue cheese.

“It’s a rich cheese, and it’s very, very salty as well,” he reminds us.

Also see: The Perfect Bite: The healthiest store-bought apple pie may surprise you

Swiss (Healthiest choice, low in sodium and fat: 1 oz serving, 108 calories, 8 g fat, 54 mg sodium, 8 g protein, 224 mg calcium)

Next up is the cheese you probably see most frequently in sandwiches.

“In terms of milk fat, it’s kind of right in the middle, and in terms of sodium it’s kind of right in the middle too,” Afrim says. “I think that’s kind of why you see swiss as a very popular sandwich cheese. It slices well, it’s got a nice texture and really kind of buttery flavour. And it’s very versatile with a lot of different sandwiches – turkey, ham, it’s great.”

“But now after have all these other ones, I don’t know if I’d pick Swiss anymore,” says Andrea.

In terms of sodium and milk fat, this sandwich staple turns out to be the healthiest option.

Havarti (1 oz serving, 110 calories, 10 g fat, 180 mg sodium, 7 g protein, 200 mg calcium)

“Havarti is going to be a little fattier,” Afrim says about the Danish-style cheese. “But with fat comes flavour as well.”

“This is actually usually my cheese of choice,” Andrea remarks. “This is the one I would use.”

“It is a little richer, it is a little fattier, but like I said, it’s milk fat – it’s a good kind of fat,” Afrim explains.

“I think you need that on a sandwich, too,” comments Andrea. “It really stands out.”

If you’re trying to cut down on fat – Afrim says that you can also get a low-fat havarti cheese.

Also see: The Perfect Bite: Which frozen french fries are the least healthy?

Gouda (Low in sodium: 1 oz serving, 101 calories, 8 g fat, 232 mg sodium, 7 g protein, 198 mg calcium)

“This is a mild gouda, it has very little lactic acid in it, so it’s lactose free,” says Afrim about his favourite cheese. “For people who can’t digest a lot of dairy, have a gouda, especially on your sandwich. ”

“Very versatile, slices very well, not too salty – so the sodium is quite low,” Afrim goes on. “Milk fat is kind of right in between, similar to the Swiss, but a great go-to cheese in my opinion.”

Goat Cheese (1 oz serving, 76 calories, 6 g fat, 104 mg sodium, 5 g protein, 40 mg calcium)

Last up, Andrea and Afrim sample another one of Afrim’s favourite cheeses: Quebec goat’s milk cheese – a very creamy cheese choice.

“For a vegetarian sandwich, with some grilled peppers, some grilled zucchini and some vegetables, goat cheese is awesome,” Afrim says. “And goat’s milk is kind of unique cause it’s almost a little sour and a little acidic, so there’s a lot happening there – but it’s very flavourful.”

“It kind of reminds me of sour cream, that texture and taste,” Andrea comments.

What is your go-to cheese when you're making a sandwich? Let us know in the comments below!