Guide to Lactose Free Cheeses

If any of you are a cheesehead like me, the sight and aromas of a luscious cheese shop probably bring you close to tears, right?  Well, weep no more. After hours of research and personal experimentation to verify, there are now many options to choose from. So many, that I recently had the strange experience at Trader Joe's of having too many cheeses to choose from.

Here's my cheese journal of what works for me:

Goat or sheep milk

Cheeses made from these animals are generally safe. Any specialty cheese shop will carry many of these varieties. Look for styles of cheddar, gouda, feta, mozzarella, brie, and blue cheese made from goat or sheep milk. There are two varieties of goat cheddar that strangely don't agree with me (Trader Joe's and Woolwich), so always try anything new on a day off, just in case.

Swiss emmentaler and gruyere

Unique from Belgium or French varieties, Swiss emmentaler/gruyere is the only variety of emmentaler made from raw, unpasteurized cow milk.

Parmeggiano reggiano

Yup, that's right - make sure to get this exact variety, made with unpasteurized cow milk, and go crazy dressing up your (gluten free) pasta again! 
 

Raw, unpasteurized cow milk

 I suspect this critical ingredient is what renders swiss emmentaler, gruyere, and parmeggiano reggiano lactose free. Apparently pasteurization kills the active enzymes in milk that help digest the troubling lactose. Yay for french onion soup again!

Aged cheeses? 

While I've been told by several cheese mongers that the aging process kills the lactose, traces may still remain, and I've had mostly no luck tolerating aged cheeses. I've tried ones aged a few months to a couple years, finding none that are safe. Beware of relying solely on the "aged" characteristic to render a cheese "lactose-free".

Happy tasting and eating, y'all!

Recipes from Twitter pics

Hello Readers,

As the school year picks up, I may be blogging less, and I apologize in advance for not writing as much.  For those of you who don't follow me on Twitter, I wanted to let you know that I tend to tweet more than I blog - mostly photos of especially good gluten and lactose free foods/meals I eat throughout the week.
If you ever see anything especially intriguing, please send me a tweet or message and I'll be sure to blog the recipe!

Follow tingeroo @nobreadnobutter

Thanks for your support and readership!

Blue cheese stuffed olives

A recent discovery of goat blue cheese at my local supermarket inspired me to stuff my own olives in preparation for an upcoming martini party. This was always one of my favorite martini garnishes back in the lush days when I could eat them, and now I can again!

To make:

I prefer medium to large sized green olives for stuffing; choose firm, fresh ones preferably from an olive bar, not a jar.  The blue cheese crumbles naturally, but if you let it sit at room temp until the chill goes out, it softens up nicely and will conform well for stuffing.  To stuff, just use a butter knife and shove those crumbs in! Make sure to put enough cheese in for a satiating olive pop. 

Beemster cheese

Another delicious lactose-free cheese!

I've found this at big box supermarkets such as Giant and Safeway, and it's sweet and creamy as advertised (although it's a pretty hard cheese). I wish it came in larger wedges, but it's jam-packed with such a rich, nutty flavor you actually don't need that much for a satisfying serving. It's slightly less expensive than Emmi brand Emmentaler, at about $16.99/lb.

Yo, Yo Chobani!

I spent so many years paying extravagant prices for lactose-free yogurt, only to find out that any yogurt with live cultures is lactose-free. Greek yogurt is the best, because it's thick, creamy, and tends to have more strains of bacteria, ensuring no remnants of lactose.

I love Chobani! It often goes on sale for $1 each, so naturally I stock up. They added some new flavors I'm pretty excited to try:

Breyer's Ice-Cream

Lactose free ice-cream?!

Whaaaaaaat? Yes, it's true! Breyer's. Real ice-cream. Real flavor. Minus the lactose. And the best thing - it's carried in most big box supermarkets in metropolitan suburbs, so you don't have to make a trip to a specialty store to get it!

It truly tastes like regular vanilla ice-cream. Texture-wise, it's a little softer than regular ice-cream, and seems to be more prone to melting. But that's really it. I promise - lactose fiends can't even tell the difference!

Dairy vs. Lactose

As I continue to dance around lactose in my diet, I realize I should probably take a step back and clarify what I mean by being lactose intolerant, yet am able to eat dairy.

Dairy = anything made from animal milk. Examples: egg, milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream
Lactose = a sugar found in milk products.
Lactase = an enzyme in the human body that breaks down the lactose in milk products. When a person lacks this enzyme (such as myself), then the lactose does not get broken down, and the person will have unpleasant side effects as a result, called lactose intolerance.

Certain dairy products can be made lactose free. How?

• Live cultures, a.k.a probiotics. These are healthy bacteria that, when ingested at the same time as lactose, will eat up the lactose. In the body, these live cultures digest the lactose, thereby eliminating those nasty side effects when lactose remains undigested. This method is what consistently allows me to eat dairy products without having a reaction to lactose! Basically, anything with live cultures renders the food lactose-free. Apply this to frozen yogurt (ex. Red Mango), cream cheese, and sour cream. Please see my post on probiotics for more specific brands.
• Age. No, not your age, silly! Supposedly, as a cheese ages, the lactose dies off, leaving only traces. I've been told by many cheesemongers that the longer a cheese is aged, the more likely it would be safe for me to eat. However, keep in mind that this really depends on your own sensitivity. I continue to have a reaction to aged cheeses, so this unfortunately doesn't really work for me.
• Lactase supplement. Since a person who is lactose intolerant lacks lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose), there are certain products that include lactase as an ingredient (Lactaid). You can also buy it in pill form and take with the first bite of food (found in any drugstore next to the peptol bismol). I pretty much avoid artificial forms of lactase, because it makes the food taste weirdly sweet, and I feel like the pills disrupt the natural balance of my digestive system. BUT - in occasional instances when I just need to splurge, I have been known to pop a pill and just indulge!

So there it is, I can have dairy, but not the lactose. All lactose is found in dairy, but not all dairy necessarily has lactose. Part of the joy of writing this blog is finding all the ways to enjoy the dairy without the lactose!

Please let me know if you need any clarification, or have anything to add by clicking on the comment link below!

Emmi brand cheese

Selected big box stores will carry this brand of cheese, and it comes in all sorts of varieties. I've seen swiss, gouda, and gruyere. I really don't know how they do it, but it's naturally lactose-free! They are super tasty, and taste as true as they are authentic. Move over, goat gouda, this stuff is the real thing.

Price-wise, it'll usually be on the higher end of what supermarkets carry (about $16/lb), but compared to artisanal cheeses at a specialty cheese shop ($20/lb and up), still quite affordable.

wheeeee for GHEE!

As I took in the aromas of garlic butter at my latest seafood feast,

I excitedly remembered how to make butter lactose free! A friend of mine blogged about ghee, or clarified butter, a while back, and provides lovely instructions on how to make it at home here. Although he discusses ghee from an Ayurvedic perspective, ghee is also a traditional ingredient in South Asian cooking.

Ghee is super easy to make at home: basically you simmer butter on medium-low heat until the foam disappears and curds form, and strain out the curds. That's it! I like to simmer it with herbs such as rosemary, and then store in a container in the fridge. Remember the process (unfortunately) doesn't make it fat-free!

Take that, butter.

Best yogurt I've ever had

Imagine my shock, amazement, and later pleasure, when I happened to find this in the cold box at a Starbucks in the Hyatt hotel near the Denver Convention Center:

Noosa

This probiotic yogurt is thick, creamy, melts on the tongue, all natural, and hormone-free.  It is a bit pricey, but it's carried in select big box stores, and natural food stores.  Check the site for locations! The only downside is the 6g fat per 4 oz. serving :(

Probiotics

a.k.a., how to make dairy lactose-free!  Basically, probiotics are live cultures (healthy bacteria) that digest the lactose that your body can't. Most yogurts contain probiotics, but always check the label to be sure. Greek yogurt in particular usually has several strains of cultures, making it the best choice for the most sensitive. Also, certain varieties of frozen yogurt contain live cultures and are therefore lactose-free.

I recently discovered a brand of cream cheese and sour cream made with probiotics - delicious! The best part is, it tastes like the real thing - because it is!

Nancy's 

Found at: Berkeley Bowl - Berkeley, CA

Mayo is NOT dairy!

and therefore, does not contain lactose.  Most restaurant workers, and even some cooks/chefs may not be aware of this. I've always hated mayonnaise, so when I request "no mayo", it often misleads people to think that my request is made to avoid lactose. MYTH!

Guide to Low Lactose Cheese

Foods Matter

This site has brought cheese back into my life to appease the stomach and soul.

Naturally lactose-free cheeses

Here are some cheese I've tried with success:

• Emmenthaler from Switzerland (not sure about Emmenthaler from other countries - limited experimentation has been hit or miss)
• Gruyere
• Parmigiano Reggiano
• Goat cheese

(taken in part from the Foods Matter site)