Raw Cheese —What Exactly Is It?

Raw cheese doesn’t look or taste much different from regular cheese, but it’s a much healthier option with some significant differences for your health.

Raw cheese is simply regular cheese made from raw (unpasteurized) milk. 

What Is Raw (Unpasteurized) Milk?

Most milk sold in stores in North America and around the world goes through pasteurization, a heating process designed to kill harmful bacteria. While this makes milk safer in theory, pasteurization also:

• Kills beneficial bacteria

• Destroys many nutrients

• Alters the structure of the milk, making it harder to digest and potentially inflammatory
  

Why Raw Cheese Is Healthier

Raw cheese, made from unpasteurized milk, keeps all the healthy bacteria and nutrients intact. This makes it easier to digest and gentler on the body, without the inflammatory effects associated with pasteurized milk. Raw cheeses also support gut health, thanks to the live healthy bacteria and nutrients they contain.

Because cheese is aged, harmful bacteria are naturally prevented from growing, making properly aged raw cheeses safe to eat.

How to Find Raw Cheese

You can find raw cheeses — like parmesan, cheddar, gouda, Swiss, and more — in most grocery stores (even Costco) that sell regular cheese, but they’re more common in stores that carry high-quality or artisanal cheeses. How to find them: 

• Look at the ingredient list; it should say raw milk or unpasteurized milk, since most packages won’t have a big “raw cheese” label on the front.

• Some traditional cheeses are always made with raw milk, including Parmigiano-Reggiano, Grana Padano, and Pecorino, so these will always be raw.