The Type Of Cheese You Should Avoid Buying If You're Gluten Free
There's gouda news for people who love grate news: Most cheese is naturally gluten free. But in this ultra-processed, cross-contaminated, "this product is manufactured in a facility that also processes food" world of ours, one still must be mindful. If you must banish gluten from your diet due to medical reasons like celiac disease, it is always best to verify which foods are greenlit with your doctor or nutritionist. Those electing to be gluten free without medical necessity can afford to be a little less cautious without risking illness. But it's still helpful to have some back-of-the envelope guidelines. And, in general, the fewer ingredients a cheese contains, the more gluten-free-friendly it's going to be.
To stay on the safe side, it's best to avoid processed or modified cheese if you are also avoiding gluten. Those varieties are more likely to contain additives like glutenous starches, which can have an effect on gluten sensitive and intolerant folks, even in small amounts. Anything in your grocery store's dairy aisle assuming a radioactive hue, covered in cartoon characters, or bespeckled with extras is more than worth a label look. Alternative, or dairy-free cheeses should also be scrutinized, as they might require gluten-adjacent ingredients to approximate their antecedents. But, happily, an abundance of the natural cheeses in existence are also naturally gluten free.
Natural cheese is a gluten free breeze
If you were to make fresh mozzarella at home, for example, with milk, citric acid, rennet, and salt, you would note that none of those ingredients contain gluten. Ergo, provided that neither they nor the sum of their parts come into contact with gluten via, say, stray bread crumbs in the kitchen, a common cutting board mistake, your mozzarella will be gluten free. Likewise for the handmade stuff at your neighborhood shop or the unadulterated product you can ID at the grocery store. If it looks like it might have conceivably been made absent ancillary chemicals or elaborate machinery, the odds are that it's good to go.
In fact, any cheese varieties in the whole foods category, meaning those that are mostly absent additives that could contain gluten, can be considered safe. These gluten free cheeses typically include cheddar, feta, pecorino, and Parmesan. Just make sure to keep it all far away from the glutenous stuff on those beautifully built cheese and charcuterie boards.