As many as 30 to 50 percent of Americans don't produce the enzymes needed to break down lactose, or sugar, in milk, reports the Ohio State University Medical Center. Dairy products contain calcium, so you would like to include them in your daily diet. But if you are one of these lactose intolerant people, the lactose in dairy causes gastrointestinal problems whenever you consume them. Dry curd cottage cheese supplies calcium, but contains relatively little lactose. If you like dairy products but have lactose intolerance, you may be able to tolerate this product.
Description
Dry curd cottage cheese is also known as farmer's cheese or baker's cheese. Like a number of cheeses, cottage cheese loses lactose during the fermentation process. Fermentation produces bacteria that break down the lactose in fermented products such as cheese, yogurt and sour cream. Adding milk solids or cream and milk to the curds produces creamed cottage cheese, which contains more lactose than the dry form. Cottage cheese made with rennet, which speeds up fermentation, retain more of their lactose content, biochemist and cookbook author Eva Kende reports on her website.
How It's Made
Dry curd cottage cheese is made by fermenting the skim portion of the milk. The bacteria in the milk ferment with the help of low heat, and lactose is used up during fermentation. The process produces soft curds, the solid portion, and whey, the runny portion. The whey contains most of the lactose, so pouring off the whey after cooking removes most of the lactose.
Lactose Content
The lactose content in dry curd cottage cheese is low, around 0.5 percent, according to one manufacturer. Regular cottage cheese ranges from 0.6 to 3.3 percent, according to Planet Lactose, a website maintained by Steve Carper, who has written several books on lactose intolerance. Most lactose intolerant people can tolerate food containing less than 2 percent lactose in normal quantities, according to Carper.
Considerations
Cottage cheese contains lower amounts of lactose than milk, which contains 3.7 to 5.7 percent lactose. Dry curd cottage cheese eliminates the cream and any added-back fluids that could increase the amount of lactose, giving it a lactose count even lower than that of regular cottage cheese. Supplements containing lactase enzymes, which break down lactose, can be taken by mouth; they may help if you still have symptoms from dry curd cottage cheese. Talk to your doctor to find out if lactase enzyme supplements are right for you.
References
- Steve Carper's Lactose Intolerance Clearinghouse: The Really BIG List of Lactose Percentages
- Friendship All Natural: Frequently Asked Questions
- The Ohio State University Medical Center: Lactose Intolerance
- Eva's Kitchen: Living With Lactose Intolerance?
- University of Missouri Extension: Homemade Cottage Cheese
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