Aussies love cheese. In 2023, we each ate an average of 15kg of cheese, and cheddar is our favourite type. And with time being a hot commodity for many of us, pre-packaged cheese slices is a good time-saving option.
But not all cheese slice products are created equal. We wanted to help you choose the best tasting, easiest-melting and healthiest one before you hand over your hard-earned cash.
CHOICE looked at 16 different supermarket cheddar cheese slices (not the processed kind) and analysed them according to taste, smell, appearance, texture, meltability and nutrition, to help you choose the next lunchbox hit or cheese toastie hero.
On this page:
- The best cheese slices
- What's in a slice of cheese?
- The science of melting and stretching
- Are cheese slices good for you?
- Can you freeze sliced cheese?
- How we tested cheese slices
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The best cheese slices
Our test revealed four top performers that come recommended by our experts.
The highest scoring product was Bega Farmers' Tasty Natural Cheese Slices, with a balanced flavour and a slightly sweet finish.
In second place we have a light cheese, Cheer Light and Tasty 25% Less Fat Natural Cheeses Slices. These made the list because of their high Health Star Rating (HSR) and good sensory score.
Third and fourth place were taken out by two Coles own-brand products: Coles Vintage Cheddar Slices and Coles Tasty Cheddar Slices. Our testers rated the flavour of these products well in both their regular and melted form.
Bega Farmers' Tasty Natural Cheese Slices rated best overall with our testers.
1. Bega Farmers' Tasty Natural Cheese Slices
CHOICE Expert Rating: 79%
Sensory score: 91%
Meltability score: 95%
HSR: 2.5
Price: $2.20 for 100g
Experts say: "Good appearance and colour. Unmelted, the flavour is good, savoury with a slight sweet finish. Salt level is good. Aroma is good and savoury. Cheese melts with slight oil, but with a little stretch and the flavour is balanced."
Cheer Light 'n Tasty 25% Less Fat Natural Cheese Slices earned second place – not bad for a lower fat product!
2. Cheer Light 'n Tasty 25% Less Fat Natural Cheese Slices
CHOICE Expert Rating: 74%
Sensory score: 70%
Meltability score: 52%
HSR: 4.5
Price: $2.20 for 100g
Experts say: "Slightly unevenly shaped cheese. Good colour with some air holes. Fruity aroma and fruity slightly bitter flavour. Mild melted flavour with fruity flavour notes. Dry, slightly tough texture of cold cheese. Melted cheese has no sheen and has a short texture with no stretch."
Coles Vintage Cheddar Slices was one of two own-brand products from the supermarket to place in the top 4.
3. Coles Vintage Cheddar Slices
CHOICE Expert Rating: 73%
Sensory score: 92%
Meltability score: 86%
HSR: 1.5
Price: $2.40 for 100g
Experts say: "Strong aroma, very nice flavour (vintage), nice dry texture, very good balanced flavour, not much stretchability, very nice flavour after melted, a very good one."
Coles Tasty Cheddar Slices round out our top 4 selected by our expert panel.
4. Coles Tasty Cheddar Slices
CHOICE Expert Rating: 71%
Sensory score: 88%
Meltability score: 90%
HSR: 1.5 Price: $1.58 for 100g
Experts say: "The appearance is a little light in colour. Strong full aroma with good texture. Slight bitter finish with umami. Cheese melts evenly with a little stretch. Some oil loss, but good savoury flavour and finish."
What's in a slice of cheese?
Cheddar is a hard English cheese originating from the village of – you guessed it – Cheddar.
It's made by adding bacteria and rennet enzymes to warm milk to curdle it. The milk then separates into curd (which is solid) and whey (which is watery).
The whey is drained, and the curd is then ripened by heating and cut into pieces. The pieces are stacked on top of each other to expel more whey. This process is repeated until the cheese develops its unique flavour profile.
But it's not finished yet! It's then cut into small chips, salted, and then pressed some more.
The cheddar then goes on to be aged, which can take anywhere between one month for a mild cheddar to two years for a vintage cheddar.
'Tasty cheese' is basically an Aussie term used to describe an aged cheddar.
Our sliced cheese samples get grilled and compared side by side.
The science of melting and stretching
Who doesn't love a good melted cheese? When cheese melts, two things happen: the milk fat begins to melt at around 32°C, causing fat beads to rise to the surface, then at around 65°C the protein bonds of the cheese break, causing it to become soft and gooey.
Harder cheeses with less moisture require a higher heat to melt because their protein bonds are closely knitted together, while softer cheeses will melt at around 55°C.
Most cheeses leak melted fat that you can see if you look very closely at our picture of the grilled cheese samples.
Notice how samples 4 and 8 don't have the fat pooling on the surface and the surface looks slightly wrinkly? These samples were the light cheeses.
Are cheese slices good for you?
There are two types of pre-packaged cheese slices that you can buy at the supermarket.
One is what's considered 'unprocessed', which means it's the same as a block of cheese, but sliced. This was the type we tested.
The other is called 'processed' cheese slices, which is a cheaper food product that may include thickeners, other fats and emulsifiers. These products are required to state that they are "processed" on the label.
It stands to reason that unprocessed cheese slices are as good for you as regular cheese
So it stands to reason that unprocessed cheese slices are as good for you as regular cheese.
Cheddar cheese contains four basic ingredients: milk, salt, cultures and rennet enzymes. It's nutrient-dense, it's a good source of calcium and protein, and it can certainly make up part of a healthy diet.
The cheese slices we looked at were on average 26% protein. And one cheese slice (serving) can give you on average 19% of your daily calcium needs.
How many kilojoules or calories are there in a cheese slice?
Of the samples we looked at, a regular cheese slice had about 320kJ (77 calories) per slice.
The lower fat cheese slices had around 250kJ (or 59 calories) per slice.
No evidence of increased heart disease risk
Research from the Heart Foundation has established that, despite the higher saturated fat content found in cheese, eating cheese (as well as milk and yoghurt) does not increase your risk of heart disease.
That's good news for all those cheese lovers out there, but this advice doesn't mean you should get all your dietary fat from cheese.
The fat in your diet should still come primarily from fish, nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and healthy oils made from these ingredients.
Can you freeze sliced cheese?
Yes, you can freeze cheese slices. But the meltability won't be as good as it was before freezing, and the texture of lower fat cheeses will be particularly negatively impacted by freezing.
It's probably a good idea to put baking paper between the slices so that they don't get stuck together.
Our expert taste testers tried the cheese slices cold and also melted on toast.
How we tested cheese slices
We tested pre-packaged unprocessed cheese slice products available in major Australian supermarket chains including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA. The price per 100g is based on the pack price in Sydney stores (not on special) in May 2024.
Tasting
Our panel of three experts tasted the cheese slice samples 'blind' (without knowing the brands). Samples were tasted cold (unmelted) and also warm (melted on toast), and each sample was independently judged on appearance, aroma, flavour, texture and meltability.
Here's a breakdown of the sensory weightings:
- Flavour (40%)
- Texture (30%)
- Aroma (20%)
- Appearance (10%)
Scores
The CHOICE Expert Rating, our overall score, consists of 60% sensory score, 30% nutrition score (consisting wholly of the Health Star Rating) and 10% meltability score.
(Left to right) Our cheese taste testers Tiffany Beer, Petra Sugiarto and Penny Lawson.
Meet the taste testers
Petra Sugiarto has an academic background in food science and technology and food microbiology. She has been working in the food industry for more than 20 years, in particular the dairy industry in various applications – including yoghurt, cheese, ice cream/gelato, desserts and additionally in plant-based applications.
Penny Lawson is a self-diagnosed 'curd nerd', with 20 years' of experience in the food industry, including dairy judging at RAS produce competitions in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and the AGDA. She's been at the forefront of the specialty cheese sector as a retailer and commentator, and is a passionate supporter and promoter of Australian producers.
Tiffany Beer is a consultant food technologist who works in food safety and compliance. She is passionate about good food and is a dairy product judge and associate cheese judge for the Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Produce Show, and a dairy products judge for the AGDA.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
