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The list of foods and drinks you shouldn’t consume while pregnant is longer than most people realize. Alcohol, lunch meat, sushi, and excessive caffeine are the widely known ones to avoid, but the dos and don’ts of eating your favorite cheese while pregnant is a little bit trickier.

Listeriosis (the illness you can get from ingesting Listeria) is incredibly rare. According to the CDC, around 1,700 people get listeriosis every year, but pregnant women are 20 times more likely to become infected. Foods made with unpasteurized milk, like some cheeses, can contain Listeria, which is usually killed during the processes of pasteurization and cooking. Pregnant women can definitely still enjoy cheese, there are just a few rules of thumb to follow before making your next grocery run.

Can You Eat Parmesan Cheese When Pregnant?

The calcium and protein in cheese will promote your baby’s growth, so don’t ditch your cheese loving habits! As a general rule, imported cheese is much more likely to be unpasteurized than domestic cheese. However, hard cheeses like cheddar and Parmesan are usually safe to eat during pregnancy. Semi-soft cheeses like mozzarella are also safe — so don’t worry about giving up your favorite pizza during pregnancy. Any cheese that’s pasteurized and processed is also safe to eat, such as cottage cheese and cream cheese.

What Cheese Do You Have to Avoid While Pregnant?

Unpasteurized cheese, which means cheese made with raw milk, should be avoided by pregnant women. These are usually soft cheeses, like Brie, Camembert, Feta, and Gorgonzola. To play it extra safe, you should also stay away from soft Mexican style cheeses —unless the label states they are made from pasteurized milk. That means not only do you have to hold on the margaritas next time you eat at your favorite Mexican restaurant, you need to skip the queso too.

The good news is, there are plenty of cheeses you can eat while pregnant that serve as strong substitutes for these soft, unpasteurized cheeses. If you love crumbling some Feta on your salad, try using Romano instead. Get the crumbly texture and the strong, pungent flavor Feta adds to palate cleansing greens. Also, instead of heading straight for the Brie or Camambert as your go-to cheeses for spreading on crackers, grab some Fontal and still get that mild taste and soft quality.

The Best Solution? Read Your Labels Carefully

Although these are pretty cut and dried rules to follow, your best (and safest!) approach to eating cheese during pregnancy isn’t asking Google, “Can you eat Parmesan cheese when pregnant?” It’s reading your food labels with a careful eye. Every label on any cheese you buy at the store should clearly indicate whether it’s pasteurized or unpasteurized.

But in summary, go ahead and spread your favorite cream cheese on that everything bagel and order extra cheese on your next pizza. Just make sure it’s all been pasteurized!

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You might be wondering why you would even want an Italian cheese blend rather than just one type of cheese. Our question is, why wouldn’t you? The beauty of combining multiple Italian cheese types creates endless possibilities for both palate and purpose. Each cheese brings a unique flavor profile to the table. From a great melt to a strong salty component and extra nuttiness, the elements you can incorporate into your next recipe or cheese board using an Italian cheese blend are endless.

There’s so much versatility to enjoy when cooking with an Italian cheese blend, you might not be sure where to begin. Below are a few of our top tips for cooking with an Italian cheese blend.

Select the right blend of Italian cheeses

Any combination of multiple Italian cheeses can create a blend, from Parmesan to mozzarella. You can create your own blend with leftover cheese that’s already in your refrigerator or purchase a combination hand-selected by experts. Our Cello Italian blend features all of our hard, domestic versions of Romano, Asiago, and Parmesan. If you choose to make your own, just make sure to select cheeses that contrast one another but still showcase complementary flavors.

Use it as a topping

Shredded Italian cheese blends are perfect for sprinkling over dishes like hearty soups and refreshing salads. You can liven up your next big bowl of hot chili or switch up your family recipe for stuffed peppers. Lean into the sharp flavors in the hard cheese like Romano to create a kick in your next vegetable dish or garlic bread.

Elevate your next pizza or pasta dish

Although cheddar is the most commonly used cheese paired with macaroni, it’s time to think outside the box (especially if you’re used to macaroni and cheese out of a box). This Italian mac and cheese not only features an Italian cheese blend in place of cheddar, it also incorporates Italian sausage and mushrooms, making it less of a side dish and more of a feast. Mozzarella melts incredibly well, so we recommend at least including it in your Italian blend.

Speaking of mozzarella, we would never dream of telling you to leave it off your next homemade pizza. But we will suggest adding an Italian blend to add some depth to your next pizza experience.

Make a gourmet grilled cheese

Now that we’re creating a spin on so many of your favorite childhood meals, let’s add a gourmet grilled cheese to the mix. Comfort food meets a chef’s kiss when you spice up your next sandwich with our own recipe, which uses our Italian blend and a few veggies to make a whole meal out of it. The sky is really the limit with a gourmet grilled cheese, so mix up both your blend and the other components (we like to add a couple slices of bacon every now and then).

Pair your Italian cheese blend with the right beer or wine

Find the commonalities among the cheeses you’re blending together and select a wine that will highlight each of them without creating a clash in flavors.

Pro tip: Remember that opposite flavors attract, and similar levels of boldness are a match. Think sweet and salty, or mild and mild. Check out the pairing section of our website for more tips. Remember, half the fun of loving cheese is experiment! There are no actual rules, and creating cheesy recipes isn’t something you can pass or fail.

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One of the most overwhelming parts of the cheese selection process is deciphering the differences between the plethora of cheese types available at the store. Sure, maybe you know if you like cheddar or hate Gouda (does anyone actually hate Gouda?). But when it comes to those cheeses that seem like they’re in the same family but have different names, picking the right one can feel like an impossible task. When you see labels with words like Parmigiano, Romano, and Parmesan, you might wonder if there is actually any distinction at all.

The good news is, the experts at Cello are here to help break down a few of the cheeses that are commonly confused. Let’s chat about Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, and Romano.

Parmigiano-Reggiano

We’ve talked about PDO status around here before.  The Protected Designation of Origin comes from legislation handed down in 1992 to protect regional foods. Parmigiano-Reggiano has PDO status and is only produced in two Northern Italian regions. This hard cheese is golden in color and aged for at least a year, sometimes up to 36 months.

Parmigiano-Reggiano is made from cow’s milk and is much milder than Pecirono Romano or Romano, with a more nutty flavor profile. Genuine Parmigiano Reggiano — with the PDO status— is enveloped with an embossed rind with the name of the cheese lettered onto it. The rind also contains the date of production and seal of approval from the consortium, the organization tasked with enforcing PDO standards. As far as rinds go, this one is not only edible, it’s packed with flavor!

Pecorino Romano

Just like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano also has PDO status. This cheese is made in Sardinia, a region in central Italy, and is known for being produced from sheep’s milk. The aging period for Pecorino Romano is much shorter than Parmigiano-Reggiano at around five to eight months.

Like Parmigiano, Romano is a hard cheese. But Pecorino Romano is white in color and has a slightly saltier and much stronger, more piquant flavor. While the visual distinctions are a fun and simple way to tell these two Italian cheeses apart, the most important difference is the milk source. Parmigiano-Reggiano is made from cow’s milk, while classic Pecorino Romano is sourced from sheep .

Parmesan & Romano

Parmesan cheese and Romano cheese are domestic versions of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano. According to the FDA, any cow’s milk cheese with a hard, brittle rind and granular texture, and grates easily, can be labeled Parmesan in the U.S. Our Cello Parmesan cheese is designed for the unique conditions of the Lake County region using select culture and cow’s milk. At Cello, we also age our Parmesan cheese several months longer than domestic Parmesan suppliers, giving our version a stronger flavor profile more similar to traditional Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Cow’s milk and sheep’s milk make very different cheeses. The latter has short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids, while cow’s milk contains primarily long-chain. We know that description is full of scientific jargon, so let’s break down what it means in terms of flavor. You know that slightly gamey taste you get from goat’s milk? Those are the same fatty acids that make an appearance in sheep’s milk. They are not present in cow’s milk, which is what we use to make our Romano.

Did you know?

• Many lactose-intolerant cheese lovers don’t know that both Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parmesan contain no lactose, so those who have to avoid dairy can still snack on all variations of Parm!
• Pecorino Romano and Romano are the better choice for tomato-based dishes (think the shredded cheese you top your spaghetti with). The mild flavor of Parmesan is likelier to get lost in the acidity of the tomato sauce.

Now that you know the facts behind cheese like Parmigiano, Romano, and Parmesan, the true test is the one involving your taste buds. Find your closest retailer that carries Cello cheese to try our Parmesan and Romano variations.

You can use all of these cheeses in your next cheese board. Learn exactly how to pull together an impressive display in our eBook, Creating the Perfect Cheese Board in 9 Easy Steps.

At Cello, we like to refer to Fontal as one of our best-kept cheese secrets. This cheese is delicately hand-crafted, carefully shelf-cured, made with cow’s milk, and ready to hit your table in many forms. Whether you’ve never heard of Fontal, or you’re wondering why it seems to have so many different names, read up on 5 things you didn’t know about Fontal cheese, to learn a few facts that are sure to wow your guests at your next gathering.

1. Yes, there is a difference between Fontal and Fontina.

Traditional Fontina cheese originates in the Aosta Valley of Italy where the cows only graze on alpine grass. Fontina has a PDO designation, encouraging makers of this kind of cheese domestically, or in other areas outside of this Italian region, to package and sell it under a different name. Fontal is the milder, more modern cousin of the original Fontina cheese. It hails from France but is now produced in many other areas, including the United States.

2. Versatility is Fontal’s middle name.

At Cello, we add spiced rubs to our Fontal cheeses to level up the multi-dimensional flavors in this diverse cheese. Because of its unique ability to absorb other herbs and spices, paired with its status as one of the best melting cheeses, Fontal can be used for just about anything. Try melting a rubbed Fontal on your next homemade pizza to add a bit of extra zing.

3. Fontal has one of the shortest aging periods.

As a general rule, cheese becomes firmer and drier as it ages. Our Fontal has an aging period of only about 90 days, allowing it to maintain that creamy, smooth texture this cheese is known for. Fontal cheese is young and adaptable, making it both a crowd-pleaser and a cheesemaker’s go-to for quick production.

4. Fontal has a notably sweet finish.

This mild, meltable table cheese has a slightly sweet flavor, striking a perfect balance with some of the sharper, more aged cheeses you might want to display on your cheeseboard. Fontal’s sweet finish is also tinged with a bit of tartness that’s ready to be coaxed out by a dark beer or a full-bodied red wine.

5. Fontal is one of the most affordable cheeses.

When you’re in the specialty cheese aisle shopping for a variety of cheeses to display for a party-pleasing appetizer, it’s easy to get sticker shock. Artisan cheeses can often come with a price tag that makes it difficult to purchase all of the different kinds of cheese, meats, and other foods you’d love to offer your guests. Add Fontal to your cart and you have a delicious cheese that leaves plenty of room for the rest of the bells and whistles.

Now that you’re full of Fontal knowledge, head over to our store finder to see where you can find one of the uniquely hand-rubbed Fontals from Cello Cheese.