Lactose intolerance can be the bane of your life. When you find out that your body has a hard time digesting lactose, it might seem like so many delicious things are suddenly completely off the table. Tasty dairy products from cheese to ice cream flash before your eyes as you realise that maybe you won’t be able to have them anymore.
But things don’t have to be that bad. Being lactose intolerant doesn’t necessarily mean that all dairy products are now a no-no. You can still have a wide choice of products that you can eat and drink, just by using a few different methods.
One of the options you have is seeking out low-lactose foods like cottage cheese. Although it still contains lactose, it’s in smaller amounts than other dairy products and so easier to digest. Most people with lactose intolerance can handle small amounts of lactose and fresh cheeses – such as cottage cheese and ricotta – have very low levels of lactose and are usually well tolerated in small amounts.
Cottage Cheese and Lactose Intolerance: Can They Coexist?
Can you eat cottage cheese if you are lactose intolerant? The good news is lactose intolerance doesn’t make cottage cheese off-limits! Low-lactose and lactose-free products are perfect for people who are lactose intolerant.
Cheese IS still a possibility if you can’t digest large amounts of lactose. The most important thing is that you choose your cheese carefully. Hard, aged cheeses are lower in lactose. So are cheeses like mozzarella, cheddar, and Swiss cheese. But be careful of soft cheeses such as cream cheese, as these tend to be higher in lactose and are best avoided by people with lactose intolerance. Other low-lactose cheese options include cottage cheese or feta cheese (feta only when made from goat or sheep’s milk).
If you want to avoid dairy completely though, try lactose-free and dairy-free cheeses. Brancourts Lactose-Free Cottage Cheese means you can still enjoy it in any way you like, without having to worry about the lactose. Lactose-free cottage cheese has simply had the lactose removed, so you can enjoy the same great taste without the difficult digestion.
Exploring Cottage Cheese as a Dairy Alternative for the Lactose-Intolerant
Soft, fresh cheeses such as cottage cheese typically contain more lactose compared to harder or aged cheeses. This is because hard cheeses have most of the lactose removed along with the whey during the cheese-making process, and what remains is turned into lactic acid. This might make you believe that cottage cheese isn’t suitable for you if you are lactose intolerant, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
One way to guarantee you can eat cottage cheese is to choose a product like Brancourts Lactose Free Cottage Cheese. Our lactose-free cheese is made from 100% dairy from Aussie cows and still has the same great taste as our other products, but we’ve taken out nearly all the lactose. Less than 0.1g remains in each 100g, making it suitable for people who are lactose intolerant.
So, can you eat cottage cheese if lactose intolerant? Yes, if you choose the right product.
Understanding the Lactose Content in Cottage Cheese
Lactose-free cheese has no (or very little) lactose in it, but how much lactose is ordinarily in cottage cheese?
During the process used to make cottage cheese, which involves heating milk and adding enzymes, the amount of lactose is reduced. However, it still contains around 3.5g of lactose per 100g. This is roughly the same as products such as yoghurt and fromage frais and more than soured cream or creme fraiche, but it’s less than milk from cows, goats, and sheep, processed cheese, and even other soft cheeses such as mascarpone.
However, this lactose content only matters if you choose a cottage cheese product with the natural amount of lactose content, after standard processing. Lactose-free cottage cheese offers another option, so you can enjoy cottage cheese without the lactose. Ours has virtually no lactose, at less than 0.1g per 100g.
Cottage Cheese vs. Milk: Which is Better for Lactose Intolerance?
Soft cheeses like cottage cheese are higher in lactose than hard cheeses. But they still contain less lactose than milk, some yoghurts, lassi, custard, and some other soft or processed cheese products.
Cow’s milk, which is used to make our cottage cheese, contains 4.6 – 4.8g of lactose per 100g. Sheep’s milk contains 5.1g and goat’s milk contains 4.4g per 100g. These amounts are reduced in the process of making cottage cheese, so there’s less lactose in cottage cheese compared to milk before it’s processed into cheese.
But neither milk nor cottage cheese is as high in lactose as some other dairy products, such as condensed milk, which has a huge 12.3 per 100g!
If you’re picking a product for lactose intolerance (whether for you or someone else), then cottage cheese is the better option over milk. However, if you really want to play it safe, a lactose-free cottage cheese is even better.
Lactose-free cottage cheese can be a straight swap for cottage cheese in any recipe – or just eaten as a delicious snack! Cottage cheese is also a fantastic substitute for a number of other ingredients, including cream cheese. It can be used to make a tasty chocolate mousse, cheesecake, dip, pasta, and much more.
As well as offering a lactose-free option, our cottage cheese is lower-fat, packed with protein, and high in calcium. All of our high-quality cottage cheese is made using the finest Aussie milk. It’s batch-made and has a delicious creamy taste, whether you go for the Lactose Free option, Classic Cottage Cheese, or our Protein+ Cottage Cheese with extra protein.
Brancourts has a proud history stretching back more than 125 years, and over these years, we have perfected our cottage cheese recipes and branched out into products like our Lactose Free Cottage Cheese, so no one has to miss out. Our traditional recipes have been handed down through the generations and are still made with the love and care they deserve today.
Lactose intolerance doesn’t have to stop you eating cottage cheese. You can still enjoy tasty cottage cheese in hundreds of ways, including with our lactose-free version!
