Babybel is sold in small, round portions wrapped in distinctive red wax. It has become a popular snack cheese around the world. What cheese is Babybel? Babybel is a brand of semi-soft, creamy cheese.
It’s made from high-quality milk and crafted with care. Spotting a net of these mini cheese wheels in grocery stores is a delight. You take a closer look, and the label reads, Babybel. Oh, sure, they look pretty and interesting, but what else do you know about Babybel cheese? Well, these are only a few questions we’ll answer for you. Read and discover more about this popular cheese snack.
Babybel cheese is a product of Le Groupe Bel, which translates to The Bel Group. This company carries brands like The Laughing Cow and Kiri, among others.
There is a giant version of Babybel, the Babybel Giant, which weighs 380g. But people mostly associate the Babybel name with the Mini Babybel cheese.
A big part of why Babybel cheese is so popular is that it comes in portable packaging. You can carry them anywhere, and they fit your pocket, more so your lunch boxes.
Knowing what goes in each bite is always best when dealing with food items. And with Babybel, you are not left guessing what their ingredients are.
The Bel Group has always been transparent about what each Babybel cheese contains. It has milk, vegetarian rennet, lactic ferments, and salt. That’s it. Yes, only four ingredients!
Mini Babybels are small cheese wheels individually wrapped in wax. So, they take the style of the Dutch Edam cheese, only small and flat.
The company sells them as singles or a net with 2, 6, 12, 15, and 28 pieces each. Each Babybel cheese weighs 21 grams, with a diameter of around 4cm.
The color of the wrapper and the cheese inside differs, depending on the variety. The texture of each cheese also varies. The only thing these varieties share in common is their flattened circle shape.
When it comes to taste, though, all variants are pleasant-tasting. Not one variety is pungent or smelly. After all, you’re meant to enjoy it as a snack. Babybel cheese is slightly tangy, but it is creamy, salty, and sweet for the most part.
Hailed as the No.1 cheese snack in the UK, Babybel is naturally lactose-free and vegetarian.
The Bel Group launched Babybel in France back in 1952. The cheese was a French version of the Dutch Edam cheese.
In 1977, the launching of the Mini Babybel followed. This time, the brand made miniatures of the previous Babybel cheese, and this is what we know it for today.
From there, the brand expanded its market to Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Most production of the Babybel cheese happens in Évron, France.
Unlike other cheese snacks, Babybel is 100% real cheese. How it is exactly made is, of course, a secret. But what we know is that they make it using the traditional cheese-making process with the aid of some technology.
Babybel has pasteurized milk, which the company courses from their own cows. To make cheese from milk, you need coagulants. Coagulants make the milk curdle. And most cheeses use rennet, a set of enzymes from the stomachs of mammals.
But Babybel uses a special plant-based coagulant that comes from mushrooms. For this reason, Babybel cheese is vegetarian.
Among the ingredients that go into Babybel cheese are lactic ferments. Lactic ferments are starter cultures responsible for the fermentation process. These cultures are also responsible for removing lactose from the cheese. So, Babybel is also lactose-free.
Finally, manufacturers add a small amount of salt for flavor and as a preservative.
The process gets a little different in producing each variety of Mini Babybel cheese. But these ingredients are constant.
The Mini Babybel Original has the popular red wrapper. This variety is the small version of the Dutch Edam cheese.
A semi-hard cheese, Babybel Original is mostly tangy, sweet, creamy, and salty.
As per their official website, the original variety has the following ingredients:
You can identify the Babybel Light from the original because it has a light blue wrapper. The Babybel light has the same flavor as the original but with 50% less fat. It uses skimmed milk, so it has a significantly lower fat content. Their website lists the same ingredients as the original, only missing the oil.
The mozzarella-flavored variety has a green wrapper. With a taste similar to string cheese, this variety has a tangy and salty mix of flavors. Their website lists the same ingredients for this variety as the light one. It has pasteurized cultured milk, salt, and microbial enzymes.
The Babybel White Cheddar variety comes in black packaging in the US. It’s mildly tangy and salty but, at the same time, boasts a creamy flavor. The company does not like revealing how they make these varieties differ from each other. That said, they list the same ingredients as light and mozzarella for the white Cheddar variety.
In the US, the Babybel Gouda comes in pretty orange-hued packaging. Unlike all the other varieties, which are tangy, the Gouda version has a unique nutty and sweet taste.
Similarly, their website says it contains pasteurized cultured milk, salt, and microbial enzymes.
This variety of Mini Babybel has magenta packaging. It shares the same flavor profile as the original but is sharper and tangier. For this reason, it is a better choice if you find the original version a bit bland.
The Sharp Original variety has the following ingredients:
Babybel cheese is a popular snack cheese that is made from cow’s milk.
This cheese is a good source of protein, calcium, and vitamin A.
This snack cheese is kid-friendly and can be part of a healthy diet.
Here is the nutritional information for one serving (21g) of Babybel cheese:
As you can see, Babybel cheese is a good source of protein and calcium, which are essential nutrients for building and maintaining strong bones and muscles.
Babybel cheese is versatile. You can use it in the same way as you would other kinds of cheese.
But, since it is individually wrapped, it is portable. You can take the small cheese pieces anywhere and enjoy them as a quick snack. They’re also perfect in lunch boxes as a meal accompaniment for kids and adults.
You may crumble them in salads or make grilled cheese sandwiches with Babybel cheese.
Pair them with fruits, crackers, nuts, and pretzels.
As with other kinds of cheese, you should wait for them to cool after removing them from the fridge. Doing so makes its flavor shine.
Babybel cheese is good because it is free of artificial ingredients and preservatives. The milk they use is GMO-free, and as with any other food item, the shorter the ingredient list, the better. In the case of Babybel, the list is so short, so you know it’s good before even eating it.
You are not supposed to eat the red wax coating. But if you accidentally ate part of it, there is no need to worry. It’s made from natural colorant, paraffin, and microcrystalline waxes.
You put Babybel in wax to protect it from bacteria that might contaminate the cheese. The coating also plays a big role in keeping the cheese moist and mold-free.
Babybel can last for up to 6 months in the fridge. This shelf is true even when it goes beyond the expiration date they put on the label. After all, the wax coating protects it from possible mold growth and contamination. Just the same, keep an eye out for a foul odor and any discoloration before eating it.
What cheese is Babybel? Simply put, the original is a creamier version of the Edam cheese. It is semi-hard and tangy, salty, and creamy all at the same time. Babybel cheese also has mozzarella, white Cheddar, and Gouda varieties. And their flavors are reminiscent of the types of cheese from which they draw inspiration.
The great thing about Babybel cheese is that it is lactose-free and vegetarian. Lately, they have released a plant-based variety, too, so even vegans can enjoy Babybel cheese. Babybel light and high protein varieties are also available for you to try.
