Lactose-free cheese ?
Some tips for choosing your cheese
With Lactolérance, consume all cheeses safely!
(Almost) lactose-free cheese
Not to mention "vromages" ("v" for vegetal or vegan: fake cheeses made from plant products), or cheeses "guaranteed free from lactose " (lactose-free products made from "delactosed milk", milk to which lactose has been added. lactasethe enzyme that breaks lactose in digestible simple sugars), let's ask the question of the lactose content of traditional cheese.
And let's be clear from the outset that, just as butter (made, like cheese, from milk fat) and home-made yoghurt (made via a yogurt maker with lactic ferments), cheese is low in lactoseThis is the milk sugar that is removed with the whey in the first stage of cheese making. And this whatever its type Raw milk cheese (Beaufort, Camembert de Normandie, Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, etc.), whole milk, cow's milk, goat's milk or sheep's milk.
From curdling to maturing: towards the (near) disappearance of lactose in cheese
In order to explain this low lactose content, there are three main stages in the production of cheese, which determine the residual amount of lactose in the final product:
The curdling or coagulation This stage results from the addition of lactic ferments and/or rennet to the milk, which accelerate the solidification of the milk proteins (or "caseins", a word that comes from the French word "caséines"). caseus(Latin for 'cheese'!) in curdcontaining the 'dry matter' of the future cheese - and its separation from the whey (or whey), which is mainly composed of the water in the milk, but also of most of its lactose, which is thus eliminated!
L'drainingon moulding and the saltingDuring these stages, the cheese continues to lose its water - and thus its lactose,
Finally the patient refining (from a few weeks to 2 years), which sees the dough harden further, the taste become stronger - and the lactose almost disappear...
Let us note here that for fresh cheeses, the adventure stops at the 1st stageThey therefore contain much more lactose than other cheeses, which continue to lose their lactose with the residual liquid during the subsequent stages.
And let's draw this golden rule from it: The more mature a cheese is, the less lactose it contains!
This explains the difference in lactose content between, for example :
- Mascarpone, a cream-based full-fat fromage frais (4%),
- Mozzarella, a string cheese (1.5%),
- Camembert, a soft cheese (1%), and
- Emmental, a hard, pressed and cooked cheese, which can be matured for more than 12 months (traces of lactose only).
The obvious conclusion: if you are lactose intolerantIf you have a severe intolerance, avoid fresh cheeses, and if you have a severe intolerance, opt for dry cheeses - but be careful with the calories (fat concentrated in the "dry matter")!
Cheeses to be avoided / preferred in case of intolerance to
lactose :
Here are 3 categories of cheeses, with decreasing lactose content:
To be avoided by people suffering fromlactose intolerance Dairy products, Cottage cheese, Small sausages, Brousses...
Brie de Meaux, Brie de Melun, Camembert, Chaource, Coulommiers, Carré de l'Est, Neufchâtel; Epoisses, Langres, Livarot, Maroilles, Mont-d'Or, Munster, Pont-l'Evêque, Reblochon -
Bleu d'Auvergne, Bleu de Gex, Bleu des Causses, Fourme d'Ambert, Fourme de Montbrison, Roquefort ;
Not forgetting goat's and sheep's cheese: Bûches, Briques, Chabichou, Charolais, Chevrotin des Aravis, Crottin de Chavignol, Feta, Mâconnais, Rocamadour, Sainte Maure, Valençay...
Preferably if you suffer from severe intolerance: Cantal, Edam, Gouda, Laguiole, Mimolette, Morbier, Ossau-Iraty, Pyrénées, Raclette, Saint Nectaire, Saint Paulin, Salers, Tome de Savoie, Tome des Bauges, Tome noire des Pyrénées; Abondance, Beaufort, Comté, Emmental, Gruyère - and Parmesan, hard cheese.
SOME TIPS for choosing your cheese
Eat REAL cheese
So far, we have spoken exclusively about the natural cheeseA simple fermented dairy product made from a small number of basic ingredients (milk, enzyme rennet, lactic ferments and salt) - to be distinguished from artificial cheeses, synthetic cheeses, spreads, grated cheese or other industrial "cheese preparations" with numerous additives and altered nutritional value (so cross it off your shopping list).
PDO and DOC cheeses The appellations of origin (Protected or Controlled) are an additional guarantee of quality.
Read labels carefully!
A 'real' cheese is usually labelled with :
- the name of its variety (e.g. cheddar, blue or brie),
- a small number of ingredients (no additives or colourings),
- the mention to keep it cool (unlike artificial cheeses containing preservatives),
- (almost) zero carbohydrate content (i.e. lactose, the milk sugar).
With LACTOLÉRANCE, consume ALL cheeses safely!
With Lactolérance, the Physiosynthèse Laboratory offers a whole range of food supplements enabling people to intolerant lactose (to be distinguished frommilk allergy) of digest lactose-containing products without problemsand avoid intestinal discomfort and inconvenience related to their intolerance (poor digestionstomach aches, bloating, flatulence, gastrointestinal disorders, colic, pain abdominal pain, etc.).
Lactolérance 4500, Lactolérance 9000 (lactase-based) and Lactolerance 1Day (based on probiotics) offer people with lactose intolerance to reconnect with a balanced, healthy and varied diet. And this, in circumstances where it is sometimes difficult to resort to a total eviction of the lactose (e.g. eating out, or eating ready-made meals), or to obtain dairy substitutes (lactose-free milk, soya milk, almond milk, rice milk or other plant milk, margarine, etc.).
It should be pointed out that it sometimes only takes a small amount of lactose hidden in certain foods - cold meats with a cheese platter, for example - to cause intestinal discomfort in lactose intolerant people, and that having a stomach ache when you least expect it can be a real nuisance in everyday life!
Food supplements Lactolerance being mainly made up of lactasethe enzyme that breaks down lactose, or milk sugar, into perfectly digestible simple sugars (galactose and glucose), they will allow you to enjoy cheese, already low in lactose, with confidence.
It's up to you to dose sensibly your intake of capsules (1 to 2 are sufficient before consuming a cheese product), depending on the severity of your intolerance and the quantity of cheese to be consumed.
Pressed and hard cheeses are particularly rich in calciumWith its high biological value protein (very well absorbed by the body) and vitamins (A, B2 and D), don't deprive yourself of a precious food that is common in our European countries - but watch the caloric intake and the amount of fat!
Please feel free to consult our lactose-free recipes for easy cooking!
Hello, I'm Vincent 😄
Like you, I'm lactose intolerantI know exactly what you're going through and the difficulties you encounter on a daily basis. For more than 10 years, I've been helping our customers to use our food supplements and giving advice and tips on how to improve their digestive comfort. I'm also a keen cook and a gourmet, so in this blog you'll find my favourite recipes for a more balanced diet. lactose-free diet.
Lactose intolerance is not inevitable! With Lactolerance you can digest with complete peace of mind 😉
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