Vegan cheese

Vegan cheese is notable for FODMAPs, histamine, gluten and nickel. Clear on lactose, fructose, oligosaccharides, sorbitol, sucrose, tyramine, salicylate and oxalates.

Vegan cheese contains only low levels of FODMAPs. Vegan cheese is built on coconut oil, starch and a small nut fraction, and the serving is what keeps its FODMAP low. The FODMAP thresholds are set per portion rather than per concentration: a spoonful of a moderate ingredient and a bowl of a low one can land in the same place, which is how the same nut is high whole and low as a spread.

Vegan cheese contains only low levels of histamine. Vegan cheese is usually coconut oil and starch with flavouring, not a fermented product at all - which is why it sits far below the aged dairy cheese it is named after. For histamine the imitation is safer than the original, and that is worth knowing.

Vegan cheese contains only low levels of gluten. Vegan cheese splits by base: a coconut-oil-and-starch cheese carries no gluten, while some firm and smoked versions are built on wheat protein - seitan by another name - for the texture. The two sit side by side in the same chiller.

Vegan cheese contains only low levels of nickel. Vegan cheese is generally coconut oil and starch with flavouring, not a nut preparation - which is why it sits below the cashew-based cheeses. Read the list rather than the category. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.