Cream cheese: calorie content and composition, benefit and harm

It is difficult to find a person in whose diet dairy products would not be present.Their variety today is very large. One of the most useful and delicious delicacies from a variety of dairy products is considered to be processed cheese, invented by chance by Swiss cheese makers more than a century ago, who decided to melt the remnants of cheese produced.

Melted cheeses are enriched with a high content of proteins and fats, but they practically have no carbohydrates. 100 grams of processed cheese contains about 270 kilocalories, 25 grams of protein and 14 grams of fat. The energy value can vary from 230 to 350 kilocalories, it all depends on the type of product. The fat content of this delicacy can be as much as 30%, and over 60%. The composition of processed cheese contains nutrients such as cholesterol, fatty and organic acids, starch and water.

This product is very rich in micronutrients. All elements of group B, pyridoxine, folic acid and cobalamin, vitamins A and E, and vitamin D, which is indispensable for body health, can be distinguished from the vitamin complex. From minerals, phosphorus, calcium and sodium primarily prevail. In addition to them, there are minerals such as chlorine, sulfur and magnesium.

The calorie content of processed cheese is not very large, which is not the case with smoked variant. If you cook the product at home, then it can be used by women during breastfeeding. This product can also be used for pregnant women, for weight loss, pancreatitis, gastritis, nursing mothers and during pregnancy. But be sure to check the shelf life of the product.

All varieties of processed cheese are divided into four types.

• Sausage cheeses. They are made from soft and practically low-fat cheeses. They are hard in their consistency, due to which it is convenient to cut them into neat slices. With its shape, this cheese resembles a sausage stick. The aroma of it, by the way, is also sausage, which is explained by the fact that this product is made with an admixture of savory spices, for example, pepper, dried greens and cumin. They give the cheese smoked taste and spicy smell. Also, this dish is very popular among those who follow a diet, because it has the lowest fat content when compared with other varieties.
• Sliced ​​cheeses. Their taste and fat content, they strongly resemble the usual solid varieties. They are mainly produced in the form of cheese cutting, which is very convenient. However, a solid piece is cut smoothly and easily.

• Pasty cheeses. This variety is very easy to distinguish from the rest. It is sold in plastic containers or wrapping foil, and has a bright and rich flavor and aroma of cheese. With its plastic consistency, this variety ranges from a viscous-liquid, resembling condensed milk, to dense, almost similar to a slat type. This pasty cheese is ideal for making delicious sandwiches and sandwiches.
• Sweet cheeses. These delicacies can be absolutely any consistency. Their main difference is the sweet taste, which is achieved through sweeteners and various additives: nuts, dried fruits, honey, chocolate, coffee, berry syrups and other things. Thanks to all these components, this cheese fully justifies its name. Because of the sweet additives, it has a pleasant and appetizing flavor and is often used as a dessert. It is mainly found in a pasty consistency, which makes it possible to use it as a mass for spreading or sauce.

Melted curd treats are of those types of dairy products, whose benefits and taste are popular with many. Melted cheese is very nutritious and perfectly saturating the product. It is very useful to use during breakfast, as the fats in it are the most important guarantee of body vigor. And protein is involved in almost all processes responsible for human activity. And also in the protein there are all the most necessary amino acids and nutrients that the body can not independently produce, and therefore needs to be replenished from the outside.

In the composition of this dairy products there are many valuable mineral salts containing a large amount of phosphorus, sodium (approximately 87% per 100 grams of delicacy), magnesium and calcium. These trace elements contribute to the full absorption of each other. Due to this, it is very useful to use processed cheese in the presence of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, rehabilitation time after operations, fractures, joint injuries and at the time of vigorous skeletal development. A small amount of this delicacy contains iron, copper, zinc and other macronutrients. And also in the processed cheese there are many useful vitamin complexes, indispensable for health.

In addition, this dairy delicacy has the following useful properties:

• components that are part of the processed cheese, improve vision, make hair and nails less brittle and have a beneficial effect on the skin;
• unlike hard cheese varieties, processed delicacies have less cholesterol;
• strengthens bones, muscles and teeth well, and also gives the body considerable saturation and vigor.

However, this useful and very tasty product has list of certain contraindications.

• Since this product is high-calorie, and its energy value consists mainly of fat, it is undesirable for people who are overweight or trying to get rid of it. The maximum portion of cheese in this case should not exceed three hundred grams of treat per week. And also it is not recommended to abuse it in case of problems with digestion, metabolism and atherosclerosis.
• If there are problems with the gastric tract, processed cheese can be a great deal of harm. This is due to the fact that for faster maturation, citric acid is added to the product, causing unpleasant irritation of the mucous membrane, thereby complicating the digestion process.
• Due to the fact that sodium is present in the processed cheese, this product is contraindicated for hypertensive patients and those suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
• Salts in cheese have a negative effect on the kidneys, the cardiovascular system, and also inhibit the process of removing fluid from the body, which is accompanied by edema. Accumulating in the body, they significantly slow down the metabolism.
• Poor can affect the health and phosphates, which are contained in the delicacy. For this reason, it is not recommended to abuse this product in the presence of kidney problems, since phosphates begin to utilize all the benefits that the body extracts from calcium and phosphorus, and the reverse occurs: calcium is washed out of the bones. Thus, with an excess of phosphates in the body, the entire bone system begins to weaken, that is, it becomes fragile.
• Many doctors say that cheese is harmful to children under the age of eleven because of the high amount of food additives in it, which can provoke an allergic reaction in a child and even dermatitis.

Today, on the shelves of stores there are a lot of economy options, but to save on the melted delicacy is not worth it. Natural high-quality product made from high-grade raw materials, can not have a meager price.The surrogate, which consists of low-quality flavors, preservatives and other food additives, can cause great harm to the human body.

Substandard vegetable oils contain fatty amino acids, which pose a threat to the body and are the main culprit of impaired metabolism and atherosclerosis. As well as various chemicals can easily become a provocateur of allergic reactions. Most studies have found that dyes, preservatives and other chemical additives are the main cause of cancer.

And also in many stores you can come across a so-called cheese product, which by its appearance is very much like authentic processed cheese. Its cost is several times lower than that of a genuine quality product. Of himself, he is a surrogate, made from low-quality cheap raw materials, very often completely different in taste with processed cheese. Such a product is not worth buying, otherwise the savings can result in loss of health. Generally, processed cheese is more about healthy food than harmful, but under certain circumstances (diseases, allergic reactions, individual intolerance component and the like) its use is not recommended.

Melted cheese mass is obtained so delicate and fragrant due to the fact that it is produced according to traditional manufacturing techniques, which provide for obtaining a melted delicacy by pasteurizing a composition consisting of cheese and dairy products, butter and various additives, such as spices and salt-melters.

In the process of making a cheese product, a strict temperature is maintained from +76 to +96 degrees, which makes it possible to fully preserve all the most important and beneficial properties of the products involved, and also contributes to the destruction of harmful bacteria. After completion of this treatment, the cheese acquires a viscous consistency and becomes thick, uniform and long-term in storage.

The only difference between products prepared using different technologies is their shelf life. The cheese prepared in the traditional way can be stored for about seven months, while the sterilized version can easily stand for over a year and will not deteriorate. In the manufacture of processed cheese involve various ingredients. Their addition depends on the type of product, namely:

• Lomotevye varieties are made from rennet raw material 60-76% fat and other dairy products;
• sausage pasteurized from cheese compositions with low fat content, admixture of rennet and other dairy products, and also seasoned with pepper and greens;
• pasty types are prepared on the basis of fat cheeses;
• in the manufacture of sweet cheeses they use all kinds of sweeteners, granulated sugar and flavor enhancers: chicory, coffee, honey, nuts, chocolate chips, marmalade, syrups.

There are many options for using the fused product. It can be used in its pure form, for example, a slice of cheese with tea will be a great start to the day. And with it you can cook excellent sandwiches.In addition, the cheese will be an excellent dressing for pasta dishes, and what can we say about the fragrant and savory cheese soup.

There are a lot of applications for processed cheese in cooking, but people who are overweight and young children should not abuse this delicacy. It is best to consult a dietitian so that he can determine the right daily rate of cheese that can be consumed.

How to make melted cheese at home, see the next video.