Is Butter Cheese Acidic or Alkaline?
Butter cheese (raw) is strongly acid-forming: Positive PRAL: acid-forming after digestion.
Classification
Butter cheese is a mild, young semi-soft cheese, but mild means nothing for the PRAL. Cheesemaking strongly concentrates the protein and phosphorus from the milk, the calcium offsets only part of it, and so it reaches +19.1. That's almost on par with aged hard cheeses. The name is misleading, by the way: there's no butter in it, it just tastes that way.
In the Cheese category, butter cheese (raw) ranks #30 of 37, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Edam cheese (+18.7), Paneer cheese (+17.9), Gouda (young) (+17.5). More acid-forming are Provolone cheese (+19.4), Harz cheese (sour milk cheese) (+20.4), Gruyere cheese (+20.5).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
What balances butter cheese
A slice (30 g) of butter cheese adds +5.7 to your daily balance. These three bring it back; the grams shown offset exactly this serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is butter cheese acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Butter cheese (raw) has a PRAL of +19.1 per 100 g, so it counts as strongly acid-forming in your daily acid-base balance.
How much lamb's lettuce offsets a slice (30 g) of butter cheese?
A slice (30 g) of butter cheese adds +5.7 to your daily balance. Lamb's lettuce (fresh) has −8.3 per 100 g, so about 70 g of lamb's lettuce offset this serving.
Do I have to avoid butter cheese on an alkaline diet?
No. What counts is the balance of the whole day, not a single food. Butter cheese is strongly acid-forming; with enough vegetables, potatoes and fruit on the same plate, the meal stays balanced.
Butter Cheese logged, balance checked.
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Compare all Cheese: Cheese table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.