Nutritional

Can people with lactose intolerance enjoy Cabot cheeses?

Yes, Cabot produces many cheeses that contain zero (0) grams of lactose, including Cheddar, Light Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Muenster. In general, eating any aged cheese should not affect those with lactose intolerance because lactose — the major carbohydrate in milk — disappears within 3 to 4 weeks after the cheese is made. For more information, click here.

Can Cabot develop reduced sodium Cheddar or Cottage Cheese?

We use as little salt as possible, but salt is an important ingredient in our cheese making process for four reasons. First: Salt balances the enzyme activity needed to create our cheese. If the enzymes were left unchecked, the cheese would spoil very quickly. Second: Salt helps expel whey from the curds. This is an important part of the manufacturing process. Third: Salt acts as a preservative. And finally: salt acts as a flavor enhancer. A lack of salt would likely produce cheese not fit to eat.

How can cheese be Lactose-Free?

During the cheese-making process, the microbial-based enzymes coagulate milk into curds and whey. The whey, which contains most of the lactose, is drained from the curds. The curds are then pressed into cheese. If any residual lactose remains in the cheese, it will be completely broken down within 3 to 4 weeks. Learn more about our Lactose-Free cheese here.

I don't understand some of the ingredients in your light cheddars. Can you explain terms like "monoglyceride" and "Vitamin A palmitate"?

Monogylceride is a substance used to improve the texture of our reduced fat cheddar. The monoglyceride that we use in our 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar is derived from vegetable oil — specifically palm oil — but only contributes .01g to the total fat content. It does not contain any trans fats. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is found naturally in milk but is lost when whole milk is reduced in fat content. By law, we are required to add Vitamin A back to reduced fat milk products. The addition of palmitic acid, one of the most common fatty acids found in plants, allows the vitamin to remain stable.

Why don't you use real Horseradish in your Horseradish Cheddar?

We earnestly tried to use real horseradish in our Cheddar, but over time, real horseradish negatively impacted the integrity of our cheese. The flavor used in our Horseradish Cheddar is an all-natural combination of oils, mustard, and other spices, which we add to our natural Cabot cheese.

Do Cabot products contain gluten?

All of Cabot’s products are gluten-free with the exception of our boxed macaroni and cheese, spreadable cheddars and deli cheese that is repacked at your local grocery store. Due to our sourcing, we cannot guarantee spreads to be wheat-free. Repacked deli cheese is wrapped at store level where gluten could be present leading to contamination. All of the rest of Cabot’s products and ingredients have been researched and verified to be gluten-free and are produced in a gluten-free environment. For more information, click here.

Are Cabot dairy products produced in a nut or tree nut free facility?

Cabot Cream Cheese, Whipped Cream and Spreadable Cheddars are sourced from plants that may produce products that contain nuts or tree nuts.