[Sca-cooks] period cheeses, lactose-free cheesemaking

[Linda M. Kalb]

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At 04:49 PM 7/20/01, you wrote:

>I live in Namron (Normam Ok).

I used to live in Oklahoma City.  One of my little brothers was born there.

>I probably will not get to Pennsic until after
>I retire sometime in the next four years because both Bear and I work for
>the state and find August the worst time to get time off as new equipment
>starts coming in then. If you find out how to make lactaid cheese please let
>me know. As I said before the only thing we are sure I am allergic to is
>capsicum. I have been told that I really should not eat anything in the
>cabbage and citrus families and highly restrict anything that gives me gas.
>Anything fried is a no-no and I'm also supposed to avoid nuts and seeds. Oh
>and no chocolate or caffeine. I stay with this much of the time but
>occasionally eat things like cauliflower and beans. Since the doctor did not
>restrict milk products but said to go easy on the lactaid pills I pick my
>moments. It would be nice to add something back that I'm currently avoiding.
>Margarite


Uh oh, it looks as if lactose is crucial to cheesemaking:

 From the New England Cheesemaking Supply page
http://www.cheesemaking.com/intro/clean.html

You need to make sure that your selected strain of bacteria is the only
strain of bacteria that is allowed to chow down on all that lovely lactose.
Therefore, EVERYTHING that touches the milk, culture, rennet, etc needs to
be carefully sterilized before it can be used to make cheese.

On the other hand, here are two testimonials from the same site at
http://www.cheesemaking.com/honors/index.html

Hello! I ordered your Mozzarella Kit a few weeks ago to try with Lactaid
milk. At the time I promised to let you know if it worked. My first try
didn't, but it did become a nice batch of ricotta cheese. The next try did
work--a nice ball of mozzarella which made a great batch of lasagna. Thank
you so much. It's wonderful to be able to eat cheese again!
Sincerely, Fara F.

Dear folks and Ricki in particular, Your company is the best mail order
company I've ever dealt with. You almost feel like family. And a 'fun'
family at that! Somehow you manage to mix that all in with professionalism
and quality. Good Job! ...I really can't thank you enough. We have
allergies to cows milk and also to mold. Goats milk mozzarella is a
blessing for us.
Thanks again, Terry H. from Michigan

***

So apparently it is possible to make at least soft cheese from Lactaid
milk.  And if you only have a problem with cows milk and cows milk products
but not goats milk you can eat cheeses made from goats milk.

Other info I found (I didn't know about the drops, do they carry the same
risk as the tablets?):

 From Food Allergies page
http://www.hphood.com/nutrition/month/nutrit_nutrimo_allergy.htm

Try these tricks to help improve your tolerance of lactose-rich foods:
·       Drink milk with food. For example, cereal with Hood milk or milk
and a sandwich may improve lactose tolerance.
·       Choose lower-lactose foods. American, cheddar, Swiss, and Parmesan
cheeses, yogurt, Hood cottage cheese, and Hood
·       Eat only small portions of dairy foods at a time. For example,
limit Hood milk to 4 ounces, instead of 8, or 12.

Lactose-reduced foods, such as Lactaid milk, Lactaid cottage cheese, and
Lactaid ice cream are free of lactose, or else contain minute amounts that
won't produce stomach upset in most people. Another option for reducing
lactose in dairy foods is over-the- counter-drops of the enzyme lactase
that can be stirred into foods such as milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, and
pudding.  Tablets containing lactase can be consumed along with more solid
foods like pizza, lasagna, and ice cream to make them more tolerable

***

Hopefully I'll find out more from the cheesemaking experts at
Pennsic.  I'll keep you posted.

Inga Guthbrandsdottir

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