Structured Nutritional Data & Citations
Nutritional Profile: Blue Cheese (Typical, per 100g and 28g serving)
| Nutrient Group | Per 100g (Approximate) | Per 28g (1 oz) Serving (Approximate) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy & Macronutrients | |||
| Calories | 353 kcal | 99 kcal | High energy density due to fat. |
| Protein | 21.4 g | 6.0 g | Excellent source of complete protein. |
| Carbohydrates | 2.3 g | 0.6 g | Very low, mostly lactose post-fermentation. |
| Sugars (Total) | 0.5 g | 0.1 g | Negligible. |
| Fat (Total) | 28.7 g | 8.0 g | Primarily saturated fat (approx. 18.6g/100g). |
| Saturated Fat | 18.6 g | 5.2 g | Significant portion of total fat. |
| Cholesterol | 75 mg | 21 mg | Present. |
| Key Micronutrients (per 100g) | |||
| Vitamins | |||
| Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) | 1.2 µg (50% DV) | 0.34 µg (14% DV) | Essential for nerve function and red blood cell formation. |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.38 mg (29% DV) | 0.11 mg (8% DV) | Supports energy metabolism. |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 167 µg (19% DV) | 47 µg (5% DV) | Important for vision and immune function. |
| Vitamin K2 (Menaquinone) | ~24 µg (Estimated) | ~6.7 µg | Present in fermented dairy; supports bone and cardiovascular health. |
| Minerals | |||
| Calcium | 528 mg (53% DV) | 148 mg (15% DV) | Critical for bone health. |
| Phosphorus | 387 mg (39% DV) | 108 mg (11% DV) | Bone health, energy metabolism. |
| Sodium | 1145 mg (50% DV) | 321 mg (14% DV) | Very high; significant contribution to daily intake. |
| Zinc | 3.1 mg (28% DV) | 0.87 mg (8% DV) | Immune function, cell growth. |
| Selenium | 14.5 µg (26% DV) | 4.1 µg (7% DV) | Antioxidant, thyroid function. |
| Antioxidants | |||
| Bioactive Peptides | Present | Present | Formed during fermentation; potential anti-inflammatory properties. |
Functional Impact
- Glycemic Index (GI): Very Low (estimated ~0-10). Due to minimal carbohydrate content, blue cheese has a negligible impact on blood glucose levels.
- Glycemic Load (GL): Very Low (estimated ~0). Consistent with low GI.
- Satiety Score: High. The combination of high fat and protein content contributes significantly to satiety, promoting feelings of fullness and potentially reducing subsequent food intake.
Physical Properties
- Density: Approximately 0.95 - 1.05 g/cm³. Varies depending on the specific type of blue cheese (e.g., firmer Stilton vs. softer Gorgonzola) and its moisture content and air pockets.
- Volumetric Contraction After Cooking: Negligible true volumetric contraction. When heated, blue cheese's high fat content causes it to melt extensively, losing its original structural integrity and shape. It spreads and liquefies, leading to a perceived reduction in localized volume and a significant change in texture, rather than a quantifiable volumetric contraction akin to water loss in vegetables.
Citations & References
- USDA FoodData Central. SR Legacy Food #01002: Cheese, blue. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Last accessed [Date, e.g., October 26, 2023].
- EFSA Journal. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to vitamin K and maintenance of normal bone, normal blood coagulation, and normal cardiovascular function. European Food Safety Authority. 2009;7(9):1228. (For Vitamin K2 relevance)
- Holzberg, D. and K. Eley. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheese. Alpha Books, 2003. (General cheese properties and types)
Field Notes: Dr. Aria Vance
Subject: Blue Cheese
Focus: Volumetric expansion/contraction, historical context, tracking challenges.
The Manual Tracking Conundrum of Blue Cheese
Date: 2023-10-26 Investigator: Dr. Aria Vance, Lead Nutrition Data Scientist, NutriSnap Subject: Penicillium roqueforti and other wonders—Blue Cheese.
The very thought of blue cheese sends a shiver down some spines, but for others? Pure, unadulterated bliss. A pungent, creamy, salty triumph of microbial engineering, really. Its origins are shrouded in delightful, accidental mystique—shepherds forgetting curds in damp caves, the Penicillium molds weaving their magic. Roquefort, for instance, has been around since, what, the 7th century? That’s ancient history. A food with such a storied past, so deeply ingrained in culinary culture, often proves to be an absolute nightmare for modern nutritional tracking.
Manual logging. My bane. Try to track blue cheese. Just try. It's not a neatly sliced piece of cheddar. Oh no. It’s a crumbly, often irregular, sometimes gooey mess. How do you "measure" that? Do you scoop it? A tablespoon of crumbles versus a tablespoon of packed blue cheese paste? Wildly different densities. Wildly different caloric payloads. And don't even get me started on the variety. Is it a dense Stilton, or a softer, creamier Gorgonzola? The moisture content varies, the fat content shifts, and thus, the macronutrient profile, though generally similar, can deviate enough to skew precise dietary adherence goals. People just eyeball it. A "dollop" on salad. A "smear" on a cracker. A "sprinkle" over a steak. These aren't units of measurement, people! They're artistic interpretations of portion control.
The barcode? Ha! Many artisan blue cheeses, the really good stuff, come unpackaged, straight from the wheel, cut right in front of you. No UPC. No readily available database entry for "Joe's Organic Cave-Aged Danish Blue-esque Crumbles." Even if it does have a barcode, it’s usually for the whole block, not for your 37-gram irregular chunk. Then you're stuck doing mental gymnastics. "Okay, so the 200g wedge has X calories. I had roughly a fifth of it? No, maybe a sixth? Wait, did I leave some crumbs on the counter?" It’s tedious. It's error-prone. It's enough to make even the most dedicated tracker throw their hands up in exasperation and just log "cheese, general, 1 serving" which, frankly, is a nutritional data scientist's worst nightmare.
This constant struggle with ambiguous serving sizes, irregular geometries, and the sheer labor involved in manually recording every single, peculiar food item, is precisely why NutriSnap exists. You snap a photo. Our forensic visual analysis AI, trained on millions of images of food—including all the gloriously weird, crumbly, amorphous delights like blue cheese—identifies it. It estimates volume. It calculates mass. It accounts for texture cues that hint at density variations. No more guessing. No more painstaking weighing of a few errant blue cheese crumbles. Just... clarity. Finally, accurate data, without the fuss.
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