Fett in der Trockenmasse -amount of fat usually expressed as a percentage.

In order to provide cheese lovers with straightforward and easy-to-read information about fat content, cheese is rated according to its fat content in dry matter.

Cheese consists primarily of protein, fat and water. Without water only the dry matter of the cheese remains, i.e. the protein and the fat. The fat in dry matter figure indicates the percentage of fat in the dry matter. The ratio between the fat and the rest of the dry matter always remains constant, which is important because water continuously evaporates from the cheese during the maturation process and the absolute values change as a result.

The absolute fat content therefore depends on the proportion of water in the cheese, and this also means that full-fat cheese can have varying fat contents depending on how firm it is (firm cheese, hard cheese, semi-hard cheese, etc.).

Example 1:
A firm cheese with 45% fat in dry matter and 29% water has a dry mass of 710 g, meaning that 45% fat in dry matter is the equivalent of 320 g fat.

Example 2:
An Italian soft cheese with the same fat rating contains 51% water, and therefore consists of 490 g dry mass, and in this case 45% fat in dry matter is the equivalent of 220 g fat.

Despite this relatively complicated relationship, there is a simple rule of thumb for rating the fat content of cheese, with skimmed milk cheese containing the least fat and double cream cheese containing the most.