Cheese

[littlebopeep1991]

I'm just coming to the end of my first trimester ready for all the Christmas food when I realised a lot of what I like isn't recommended in pregnancy particularly soft cheeses. Someone has said I can have vegan cheese including soft cheese, does anyone know if this is correct and if so are there any brands anyone recommends?

I really miss light blue cheeses and Brie in particular!

As far as I’m aware it’s just non pasteurised cheese you’re told to avoid.

I’ve found Aldi really good for cheeses, they label on the back if they’re not suitable for pregnant women (if it doesn’t say anything they’re ok to have). They have a pastueurised Brie (their cheaper one in the normal cheese section) and Stilton (and lots of other cheeses but those are the ones I’ve had recently)

I have a lot of vegan/dairy free friends and yet to find a vegan cheese that I actually want to eat 😬

Just to mention - pasteurised Brie (and blue) still needs to be heated if eating when pregnant as it’s because it’s mould-ripened that it’s considered unsafe.
There are plenty of cheeses you can still eat and some hard cheeses don’t even need to be pasteurised (which I think may be a recent change?) Link below to save me listing them all!
https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/foods-to-avoid/

Yes as PP says, we unfortunately can't have pasteurised mould ripened cheeses. But if you bake it you can have as much as you like! I had baked Camemberts, Brie's, blue cheese pizza last time I was pregnant, and will do the same over Christmas this time. It's a bit more effort but still delicious. Can put different onion, berry chutney type toppings to melt into it, or just herbs

You can eat Stilton. I ate a ton of it around Christmas when pregnant!

@Torganer me too in my previous pregnancy however now there are no blue cheeses stated to be safe unless cooked! ☹️

unfortunately you can’t eat a lot of the cheeses, however if you bake them they’re fine to eat. So get in lots of Brie and Camembert to bake and some nice breads to dip!

No unpasteurised cheese and no mould (Brie, Camembert, blue cheese). Unless it’s cooked.

You can have “soft cheese” like Boursin, cream cheese, soft goats cheese as long as it’s pasteurised and not mould ripened.

I've read in several places that Stilton is fine (so long as it's pasteurised) as it's a hard cheese, whereas something like a Roquefort or Danish blue is soft.

I bought some Stilton the other day because I love it but haven't opened it yet!

Brie and Camembert are ok if you bake them OP!

Thank you everyone! Definitely going to do baked Brie and Camembert by the sounds of it. Just Gorgonzola that I need to find a solution for!

I would also recommend the boursin garlic and herb soft cheese for a Christmas treat. I'll be having plenty of that this year in place of brie etc

@OopsieeDaisy

It’s fine, NHS recommend Stilton!! https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/food-safety-and-pregnancy/#:~:text=of%20food%20poisoning).-,Food%20to%20eat%20instead%3A,if%20made%20from%20pasteurised%20milk.&text=Eggs%20without%20the%20Red%20Lion,and%20home%2Dmade%20mayonnaise).

This is what they recommend.

Hard cheeses are ok even if not pasteurised as they have a low moisture content. Soft blue cheeses and mould ripened cheeses need heated to make them safer even if pasteurised as they have a high moisture content which makes the chances of listeria higher

My MW says any pasteurised cheese is ok, as it's listeria risk you are trying to avoid.