Surprise! Waiter said the cheese is NOT pasteurized

tikitomban

Now, granted, we've all read the books: be wary of soft cheeses like brie, goat cheese, Gorgonzola, blue cheese, etc. And I have -- I generally avoid them, and when I buy, I make sure it says "pasteurized."

HOWEVER -- on the bump, there's always a few people saying most restaurants in this country pasteurize their cheeses, so not to really worry about it. Swayed, I started becoming a little bit lax at the nicer places. The other day however, I was at a burger place and noted it came with Gorgonzola -- when I had the waiter go back and find out whether it was pasteurized? The answer was "no." So I asked about their other cheeses ... 3 out of 5 cheese were unpasteurized! Very interesting!!! Just wanted to share -- I guess it doesn't hurt to ask, after all.

nmh2001

That is interesting. I am becoming very lax in my third pregnancy so thanks for the reminder that I need to be vigilent! I ransacked the Whole Foods sushi department today and ate three containers of cooked sushi. I literally couldn't stop myself.

tikitomban

With all that being said ... you're totally good on the "cooked" sushi front. Oh man, I love sushi and I can't wait to pop this baby out so I can enjoy a plate full of the REAL stuff! Yum, enjoy.

Gummybear

I got generic, run of the mill grated parm at Whole Foods and it says right on the label "Unpastuerized Cows Milk" as the first ingredient. It was in the regular cheese section too, not the fancy stinky section!

zhirsch

I've gotten really lax with the feta recently and have started ordering greek salads again without asking. I guess I should start...

LAHN

well, aged cheeses don't have to be pasteurized, so I'm not surprised.  Gorgonzola is aged.....so is cheddar, parm, and most others. 

JuneBug0611

I wouldn't use how nice the restaurant is as a proxy for whether they use pasteurized cheese -- and if I was going to, I would expect that the fancier the restaurant, the more likely they used unpasteurized cheese, as that is viewed as more of a gourmet product.  Less expensive places like Cosi are more likely to use pasteurized cheese (and indeed they do - I've checked).

Roseallen112

oh wow,  I was soooo excited to get my greek wrap for lunch today. Guess it's back to fighting the urges. Thanks for the advice!

 

I did call the doctor the other day and ask about bleu cheese dressing and she said dressing are absolutely fine. So I think it also depends on your doctor and how they feel. Mine never told me about cold cuts or cheese she just told me don't eat fish that eat other fish. 

lil_shocker

I haven't been too concerned about cheese and deli meats. I have never had a problem with them before, don't eat large quantities of either, and think the likelihood of having an issue during pregnancy is slim. There are other foods that can be just as dangerous and if I skipped everything that could *possibly* cause problems, I'd be eating cereal all day.

00tedsgirl

JuneBug0611:

I wouldn't use how nice the restaurant is as a proxy for whether they use pasteurized cheese -- and if I was going to, I would expect that the fancier the restaurant, the more likely they used unpasteurized cheese, as that is viewed as more of a gourmet product.  Less expensive places like Cosi are more likely to use pasteurized cheese (and indeed they do - I've checked).

Agreed.  Pasteurized is likely to be much more mass produced, thus cheaper.  Also, some states have laws banning raw dairy products, so chains who use preferred suppliers are likely to comply with the restrictions.

liv97

i drink unpasteurized milk every day, and make my own unpasteurized cheese and yogurt, so it wouldn't bother me at all, but it's interesting that the restaurant had so many unpasteurized cheeses.  yum!