cheese

[Carameli]

need some advice here. My dd si now 15mnths and I'd like to expand the cheeses she eats. I hate cheese of all sorts but she likes it so far but I am lost when I shop. There are just so many to choose from. I know they should not have soft or mouldy ones yet, but at what age can you give them, although I may leave those to dh as he loves them.

She loves all sort of cheddars, even mature ones that dh has. I have also bought her some jarlsberg recently and like that. IS she old enough for things like babybel or dairylea triangles or edam.

grateful for any advice.

personally I wouldn't go down the mature cheddar route, can't give you a scientific reason why but I think it may be too salty and strong

Definitely old enough for baby bel and edam

you get some lovely cheeses that have things like cranberries in it and other fruits. the cheeses tend to be medium mature, creamy ones

my dd loves babybel and edam, and dairylea cheese strings but not the triangles. i think they are quite strong on their own

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Try her on camembert and brie, both mine love these. Why have processed cheese when there are so many excellent natural alternatives?
Suzy is right alas, cheese generally is quite high in salt. Ours would eat the entire supermarket's stock if left unattended.
Wensleydale, red Leicester, double Gloucester with chives...mmmm.

so is it once they are past 1year old they can eat softer cheeses? How old are your children here? I'd love to get osme of the ones with fruit etc etc in them to try but just thought your had to wait till they were older.
If not I'll be down to the cheese counter to gets a few different little bits and pieces to sample.

So is it just the mouldy ones you need to stay clear of?

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I think that once past 12 months then you can be fairly relaxed about food (unless there's any family allergies I suppose).

My kids have eaten soft cheese, shellfish, runny eggs etc etc since that age & love it all!

id say 12 mths too for anything more than cheddar

ds was tucking into camembert at 9 months but I'd go for aged one and up too...

Are you worried about listeria? Personally I wouldn't be, but even if you are it's not soft cheeses (ie cream cheese, roule) that are a listeria risk, it's mould-ripened cheeses - ie brie and camembert. I would give a 15month old pretty much anything they wanted/liked (well, not espressos and gin, obviously )

carameli my dd has eaten all manner of lovely unpasteurised cheeses since around that age with n ill effects

Personally I would steer clear of babybel as it tastes so hideous!

My 8mo dd loved wensleydale with cranberries and wensleydale with apricots over Christmas. Definitely old enough for all the cheeses you mention (AK suggest edam has a cooking cheese in the 6-9 months section). Personally I would't give my DD brie yet but will once she is 1yo.

Try taking her to a farmers market or dedicated cheese shop where she can tase little bits of lots of cheese. You may be surprised, my daughter has been the blue cheese queen since 18 months.