Is it nutritious?

The goodies

All cheeses are good sources of calcium, because they are essentially concentrated milk. The highest calcium content is usually in firm cheeses, like cheddar. Feta, blue vein and soft cheeses, like brie, have less calcium.

Cheese is also good for your teeth. The calcium and phosphorus help prevent mineral loss, the flavour encourages production of saliva which washes sugar from around the teeth, and there's no sugar in cheese.

Fat

By now, we all know that saturated fat is bad for us. Too much saturated fat can raise your levels of 'bad' LDL cholesterol, as well as promoting blood clotting, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

Many cheeses have extra cream added to them and will usually have "double cream" in their name. This is a good indication they will be high in fat. Double cream camembert, for example, has 40 percent fat.

Reduced fat cheddars have about a third less saturated fat than typical cheddar, but are still considered high fat foods at more than 20 percent fat.

Cheeses with less than 10 percent fat are cottage cheese and ricotta. Cream cheese has more than 30 percent fat.

Salt

Salt is essential to the production of cheese. It adds flavour and texture and helps give the cheese a longer life. But too much sodium (the main constituent in salt) can raise blood pressure in some people, contributing to strokes and heart disease.

Feta and smoked processed cheddar have the highest salt content, whereas ricotta and creme fraiche are the best choices if you are watching your salt intake. Gruyere is the least salty of the hard cheeses.

See Cheeses compared for a detailed nutritional comparison of a range of common cheeses.