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Food · Animal Foods · Dairy
food source · 2
When cheese is made, the protein and most of the calcium stay in the curd while water and lactose drain off with the whey, so the calcium ends up highly concentrated. Sodium needs watching too: many cheeses have a lot of salt added for preservation and flavor.
Mechanism · Calcium stays with the casein
When milk curdles, the whey carries away some of the minerals dissolved in water, but most of the calcium is bound to casein and stays in the curd. About 30% of the calcium in cheese is absorbed, similar to milk. Hard cheese holds little water, so it has more calcium by weight.
Numbers · Calcium and sodium in a small piece
Parmesan has about 1,184 mg of calcium per 100 g and Cheddar about 721 mg; 30–40 g a day supplies roughly 20–45% of the adult recommended intake of 1,000 mg. Count the sodium as well: Parmesan has about 1,600 mg per 100 g and Cheddar about 600 mg, which people with high blood pressure or on a low-salt diet should add to their daily total. Cheese also contains vitamin K2, but mainly the MK-8 and MK-9 forms made by lactic acid bacteria, not the MK-7 in natto.
Hard aged cheese is almost all protein and fat: Cheddar has about 25 g of protein and 33 g of fat per 100 g. It is usually eaten a small piece at a time, as a small, dense source of protein and calcium.
Mechanism · Water content sets the density
Cheese protein is complete, with enough of all nine essential amino acids. Cheeses differ mainly in how much water they hold: hard aged cheese has little, so it is almost all protein and fat; cottage cheese is watery, so the same weight holds much less protein. A small piece of hard cheese gives a fair amount of protein, but its calories come along with the fat.
Numbers · Protein across cheeses
Cheddar has about 25 g of protein, 33 g of fat and about 403 kcal per 100 g; a small 30 g piece gives about 7.5 g of protein and about 120 kcal. Parmesan is drier, with up to 35 g of protein per 100 g. Cottage cheese has about 11 g of protein per 100 g. Cream cheese is nearly pure fat, with only about 6 g of protein.