6 Low Lactose Cheeses
Some people have given up on cheeses and their wide variety of flavors since they were diagnosed as lactose intolerant.
However, several cheeses are low in lactose and can be consumed depending on your tolerance level! It all depends on the manufacturing process.
The first step in cheese production is to coagulate it using a ferment (bacteria) or rennet. The residual whey is a concentrate of lactose. After the cheese is molded, it’s time for aging!
During this key step, lactose is transformed into lactic acid by the action of the bacteria in the ferment. The longer the aging, the more the lactose content is reduced.
Consult your cheesemonger for advice or check the labels: the sugar line usually corresponds to lactose.
Relief for cheese fans, who can enjoy its nutritional properties including proteins, vitamin A and B-group vitamins that are very present in aged cheeses.
1. Parmesan
Its name evokes the sun, Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the flagship Italian cheeses. Aged for a long time, it develops sharp and intense aromas. It’s quite high in fats but also in proteins. It’s one of the cheeses richest in calcium. It contains almost no lactose due to the curdling and aging process.
Recipe ideas: sprinkle it on a pasta or vegetable dish, or even on a carpaccio with beets for example. It can be deliciously incorporated into recipes for savory cakes or an omelet with spring asparagus!
2. Emmental
It’s a cheese with a soft consistency that’s often mistaken for Gruyere. Its taste is fruity and its paste is dotted with holes. It’s one of the cheeses richest in calcium and a good source of vitamin B12. A large part of the lactose is removed with the whey during curdling. The remaining lactose is almost entirely broken down during aging.
Recipe ideas: it can be used to sprinkle on soups, like a delicious onion soup! In a gratin, with eggplant, zucchini, and tomato for example. Emmental will also find its place in a salad, and you can even try it in a sweet/savory version with endives, walnuts, and raisins.
3. Gouda
Gouda is the star Dutch cheese! An aged Gouda differs from a young one by its sharper taste and more orange color. There’s even a Christmas Gouda aged 36 months! It provides a good source of vitamin B12 and contains only traces of lactose.
Recipe ideas: it can be incorporated into quiches, like a chard or spinach quiche. Those sensitive to lactose can use soy cream instead of milk cream. To enhance the taste of aged Gouda, you can create colorful skewers with Granny apples and beets. You can also add it to a cake with carrot and cumin, guaranteed explosion of flavors!
4. Mimolette
Originating from the Netherlands, this cheese has a firm texture. Uniquely, it owes its orange color to the use of a natural dye derived from a tropical American shrub, annatto. In terms of taste, Mimolette has subtle notes of hazelnut. It’s a good source of calcium. Aged Mimolette is aged at least 12 months. It contains almost no lactose.
Recipe ideas: to match colors, you can melt it into soups like a pumpkin soup. You can mix it into salads, a lamb’s lettuce, shrimp, and avocado salad for example. And why not try it in a creamy risotto with mushrooms or asparagus?
5. Cheddar
It’s often associated with an orange square in a burger, but it’s a real cheese from the United Kingdom! The intensity of its flavor develops with aging. Like Mimolette, annatto is sometimes used to give it an orange color. It’s a good source of vitamin B12 and calcium. Its lactose composition allows sensitive individuals to consume it in small portions.
Recipe ideas: in gratins, with penne, broccoli, poultry, and mustard sauce. In a dish of cod with oven-grilled vegetables, or in a parmentier recipe with sweet potatoes.
6. Raclette
It delights gourmets and lovers of this convivial winter meal! Its name derives from the traditional way it is consumed: cut in half, it is heated near a heat source and then scraped when it melts. Depending on its aging, it will develop more or less powerful aromas. It is a good source of vitamin B9 and vitamin A. In small quantities, it can be suitable depending on your lactose sensitivity.
Recipe ideas: a must-have dish for the cold season, some will also enjoy it off-season! It’s possible to make it lighter by swapping potatoes and cold cuts for white meat and sweet potatoes with a lower glycemic index. Be careful with the quantities consumed, to prevent overdose! Raclette is also suitable for recipes for savory cakes, gratin, etc.
6 ideas for lactose-free vegan and plant-based cheeses
In the composition of these “faux-mages,” you’ll generally find a plant-based milk made from cereals, oilseeds, or tofu. Fermentation can be done using lactic ferments or fruit kefir (a beverage resulting from the fermentation of fruits). And to craft their flavor, brewer’s yeast is often used. You can find them in specialized plant-based cheese shops or organic grocery stores. It’s also easy to make them yourself! A great alternative for vegans or those very intolerant to lactose.
It should be noted that European regulations do not allow the use of the term “cheese” for plant-based preparations commercialized in the European Union.
Preparations based on oilseeds or vegetable oils will present lipids of the omega 3 and/or 6 type. Oilseeds are also a good source of B group vitamins, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. And when you dip into the repertoire of spices, aromatic herbs, and superfoods to enhance them, you adorn them with beneficial active compounds for our health!
1. Cashew cheese with turmeric
You can make a gourmet recipe using cashew butter, almond milk, turmeric, as well as garlic and cayenne pepper powder to spice up the preparation. Agar-agar (a gelling algae extract) will be used to set the texture of the cheese alternative, and nutritional yeast will bring it a delicious cheesy taste.
2. Spreadable cheese with spirulina
To turn your spreads green! Mix soy yogurts with spirulina, a bit of salt, lemon, a touch of garlic, and olive oil. For a more pronounced flavor, you can add nutritional yeast or umeboshi vinegar. This comes from the lacto-fermentation of a dried plum and is rich in virtues.
3. “Parmesan” style cheese alternative with shiitake powder
From pasta to salads, it can be sprinkled on many recipes! Made with cashew nuts, and nuts that bring an astringent quality, salt, nutritional yeast, and shiitake mushrooms to give it character!
4. Goat cheese log style cheese alternative
This preparation mimics the cylindrical shape of a goat cheese log. You can sprinkle slices on pizzas, toasts, salads (delicious with a bit of honey). It is prepared with cashew nuts, tapioca flour, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt. It can be enhanced with herbes de Provence.
5. Fluffy tofu
An airy mousse to spread on a slice of grilled whole wheat bread! To prepare it, blend tofu, garlic, vegetable oil, lemon, and a pinch of salt. You can sprinkle the toast with fresh herbs, seeds, or spices for a more flavorful result.
6. Plant-based cheese with cranberries
Very rich in vitamin C, cranberries are also a good source of antioxidants. A unique recipe with these berries that will add some zest to your plate! Made with sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, vegetable oil, a little salt, and agar-agar.
Focus on lactose and its assimilation by our body
Lactose: the sugar in dairy products
Lactose is a naturally occurring carbohydrate found in milk and dairy products such as yogurts or cheese. It is present in almost all mammalian milk, including cow, goat, sheep, buffalo, and human milk, among others!
The lactose content of cow’s milk is approximately 5 g per 100 g. However, it is in whey powder (liquid resulting from the coagulation of milk) that it is found in higher proportion. The lactose content in dairy products decreases during fermentation and aging. Thus, the amount of lactose is lower in yogurts and cheeses than in milk.
Small amounts of lactose can also be found in preparations such as sauces, soups, biscuits, and even in some deli meats! It is sometimes used to give a compact texture to preparations or as a preservative agent.
Lactase, the enzyme essential for lactose digestion
Lactose is considered complex because it is composed of two simple sugars: glucose and galactose. An enzyme, lactase, present in the digestive system at the level of the small intestine, allows the separation of lactose into its two simple components. It makes them absorbable and digestible by the body. Lactase is part of the enzymes whose role is to accelerate chemical reactions in our body.
Lactase is naturally produced by the body of newborns to allow them to easily digest breast milk and benefit from its significant energy contributions. While some people will produce an amount of lactase close to that observed in infants, in a large number of adults, this amount will subsequently decrease.
Genetic and ethnic disparities have been observed. They are believed to be due to mutations developed in populations descended from herders at the advent of agriculture and animal domestication. These communities indeed consumed their livestock’s milk and sometimes used it to transform into dairy products.
Finally, certain localized intestinal diseases can cause a deficiency in lactase production activity. This is the case with celiac disease, a chronic intestinal disease related to the absorption of gluten (a set of proteins found in certain cereals).
Malabsorption or lactose intolerance?
Decreased lactase activity leads to poorer assimilation of lactose because part of it will no longer be separated into simple sugars that are easy to absorb by the digestive system but will retain its initial, indigestible form. This is known as malabsorption.
When malabsorption causes digestive disorders, it is referred to as lactose intolerance. This carbohydrate reaches the colon, where it is fermented by the action of intestinal bacteria. Gas, bloating, diarrhea, and nausea are symptoms most commonly experienced by those intolerant after ingesting too much lactose. The lactose tolerance threshold varies between individuals and over time.
Note that there is no allergy to lactose.
Precaution: Lactose intolerance should be diagnosed by medical professionals.
