Lactose-free milk and mozzarella

I am one of those unlucky SOBs that suffers from lactose intolerance. I love cheese. I understand that the cheese making and aging process leaves only trace amounts of lactose in cheeses, but I love mozzarella!

I searched the HBT forums and turned up no information so I went outside and found some info. I thought I would share it for any other L.I. people wanting to make some cheese with lactose-free milk

"Since cheese is a cultured product and the bacteria need to feed on sugar (lactose), the absence of lactose would short circuit the entire process...
There are some direct acid products where the cheese coagulates from adding acid directly to the milk rather than the bacteria producing it. Our 30 min. Mozzarella kit is one of these ... "

".....Here is the good news about lactose in cheese....
Most of the lactose found in cheese is removed with the whey during the manufacturing process.
Most ripened cheeses, such as Cheddar and Swiss, contain about 95% less lactose than whole milk.
Aged cheeses contain almost no lactose - only 0.4-1 gram of lactose per ounce.

Processed cheeses contain about 0.5-4 grams per ounce.
When shopping for cheese, look at the Nutrition Facts panel on the labels. If the amount of sugars listed is 0 grams, it does not contain lactose. You can always call the manufacturer if you are still unsure. In addition to its low lactose content, cheese is nutrient dense. The milk curds, which form cheese, retain almost all of the milk's protein, and important vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, riboflavin, and vitamin A."

"With a lactose-free milk, that is not ultra-pasteurized, you will be able to make our 30 Minute Mozzarella and Ricotta. However, you will not be able to make the other cheeses. The process of cheese making is based on the bacterial cultures converting the lactose in milk to lactic acid. This process drives the conversion of liquid milk to curds, which eventually becomes cheese. This conversion also causes the moisture to be released. Without lactose in milk there is no food to support the bacterial cultures."

- Cheesemaking.com

I think the downsides here are going to be price ($4-$5 per .5 gallon) and taste. I don't drink regular milk and only use lactose free in cereal. SWMBO say's it tastes a little weird.

I'm going to try this tonight and I will share my results.

Also, try any of Cabot's cheeses. All of the one's I've tried have clearly stated they are lactose-free on the side of the packaging.

I too am lactose intolerant, and it sucks. I really enjoy milk stouts, but can't drink them.

Ok, I just finished up for the night and here is what I found. I made two 1 gal batches of mozzarella, 1 with Ultra pasteurized Lactose free milk (cannot find only pasteurized) and 1 with local whole milk. Same methods (1/4 tablet renet, 1.5 tsp citric acid).

Lactose Free milk: Curd was not very solid at all. The whey definitely separated from the curd, but it was very tiny curds. I was able to drain all of the whey and attempted the hot water bath method. It wouldn't really melt and I got little to no stretch out of it. The final product ended up looking like something between dried play-doh and real mozzarella. It tasted pretty good though. I'd give it a 6/10 for taste. 3/10 for texture.

Whole Milk: Worked great, as expected. Pulled like taffy, and shaped looking better than store bought. The taste was delicious. 9/10 compared to all mozzarella I've had. Texture was 10/10.

I'd say the real downside here is cosmetic. Ultra pasteurized lactose free milk won't look or act like real mozzarella. It it will taste pretty delicious though. I'd be interested in seeing how it melts. This was 2% milk versus the whole milk so I don't know if the taste had to do mostly with the more milk fat. I have to think it did. Until there is a pasteurized version of lactose free milk (currently only ultra-pasteurized), I would say use whole milk and take a lactaid.

I will be making this a lot more often!

Edit: I used walmart brand lactose free milk and Trauth dairy whole milk.

any well aged cheese should be totally free of lactose.

get on those cheddars!

ps I lived in Cincy for 15 years!

two_hearted said:

Ok, I just finished up for the night and here is what I found. I made two 1 gal batches of mozzarella, 1 with Ultra pasteurized Lactose free milk (cannot find only pasteurized) and 1 with local whole milk. Same methods (1/4 tablet renet, 1.5 tsp citric acid).

Lactose Free milk: Curd was not very solid at all. The whey definitely separated from the curd, but it was very tiny curds. I was able to drain all of the whey and attempted the hot water bath method. It wouldn't really melt and I got little to no stretch out of it. The final product ended up looking like something between dried play-doh and real mozzarella. It tasted pretty good though. I'd give it a 6/10 for taste. 3/10 for texture.

Whole Milk: Worked great, as expected. Pulled like taffy, and shaped looking better than store bought. The taste was delicious. 9/10 compared to all mozzarella I've had. Texture was 10/10.

I'd say the real downside here is cosmetic. Ultra pasteurized lactose free milk won't look or act like real mozzarella. It it will taste pretty delicious though. I'd be interested in seeing how it melts. This was 2% milk versus the whole milk so I don't know if the taste had to do mostly with the more milk fat. I have to think it did. Until there is a pasteurized version of lactose free milk (currently only ultra-pasteurized), I would say use whole milk and take a lactaid.

I will be making this a lot more often!

Edit: I used walmart brand lactose free milk and Trauth dairy whole milk.

Click to expand...

do you still make this cheese lactose free ??? if so, I would love an update on techniques and results. also, I use the Ricki's brand kit and notice I have to use a slightly higher temp than they say with the 365 brand milks from whole foods. have you tried raising the temp 5-10 degrees to see if that helps with curd formation? I know my cheeses are problematic if I even miss by 3 degrees (very sensitive to temp) thanks for any input you have on this.

also, can you eat the regular mozzarella as a lacrosse intolerant person???