Choose grated cheese when your recipe calls for a ready-to-scatter topping; choose fromage frais when it calls for a soft dairy ingredient. Tesco lists grated mozzarella, cheddar and cheese blends separately from fromage frais, while BV Dairy describes its fromage frais as a soft-cheese product for sweet or savoury use. Check the recipe’s ingredient and the individual pack before treating either as a substitute for the other.
If a pizza, pasta bake or gratin calls for cheese to scatter over the dish, look in the grated-cheese category. Tesco lists grated mozzarella, cheddar and cheese blends there; fromage frais is a different ingredient.
Keep fromage frais on the shopping list when the recipe specifically calls for it as a soft dairy ingredient. Tesco lists consumer products in pots and pouches, and BV Dairy describes its fromage frais as suitable for sweet or savoury applications.
Start with what the ingredient must do in the recipe, then check the named product and its pack instructions.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Recipe ingredient | Read the ingredient list and method. If they name a particular cheese or fromage frais, check that the product matches. | I want to buy the ingredient the recipe actually calls for, rather than assume fromage frais and grated cheese are interchangeable. |
| Product format | For a ready-grated topping, check the cheese type and whether it is grated. Tesco’s grated-cheese range includes mozzarella, cheddar and blends; its fromage frais range includes pots and pouches. | To avoid grating cheese at home, I need a ready-grated product. If the recipe calls for fromage frais, I need that soft dairy ingredient instead. |
| Pack information | Check the exact pack’s ingredients, allergens, date mark and storage directions, including any after-opening instructions. Dairy UK’s June 2023 guidance explains that date marking and storage information depend on the individual product’s manufacture and characteristics. | Before using either chilled dairy product, I want to follow the instructions on the pack I bought. |
Tesco places fromage frais in yoghurt and fromage frais listings, while its grated-cheese listings contain products such as mozzarella, cheddar and cheese blends. Picking the wrong category may leave you with a different ingredient from the one your recipe names.
If the method calls for cheese to scatter over the dish, search for the specified type of grated cheese. Search for fromage frais when the recipe calls for fromage frais.
Date marking and storage directions depend on the individual product, as Dairy UK explains in its June 2023 guidance. A rule remembered from another pack may not apply to this one.
Read and follow the date mark and storage instructions on the exact pack, including after-opening directions where given.
This option is for recipes that call for a ready-grated cheese topping, such as a pasta bake or pizza. It is not fromage frais.
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Consider this grated cheese when a pasta bake or pizza recipe calls for a cheese topping, not when it specifies fromage frais. The pack is labelled Italian Style and contains 80g; check its ingredients, allergens and storage directions on the pack.
If the recipe calls for a grated-cheese topping, shop for the specified cheese rather than fromage frais. Tesco lists grated mozzarella, cheddar and cheese blends in its grated-cheese category, separately from its fromage frais products. Use fromage frais when the recipe calls for that ingredient.
Check the ingredients, allergens, date mark and storage instructions on the exact pack, including after-opening directions where provided. Dairy UK’s June 2023 guidance explains that date marking and storage information depend on the individual product’s manufacture and characteristics.