How are lactose-free products made?

From milk to yogurt to ice cream. Here's how it really works

Lactose-free has long since ceased to be a niche. In the supermarket you can find milk, yogurt, cream, ice cream and even chocolate milk labeled lactose-free. But how do producers actually make these products. In this blog, we take you behind the scenes. Clear, practical and totally NooMooo.

Note. I try to do as much research as possible so you don't have to and find everything collected in one place. I am not a doctor and do not give medical advice. If in doubt, consult with your doctor or dietitian.

Brief beginning: what is lactose-free

Lactose is lactose. Your body uses the enzyme lactase To cut lactose into glucose and galactose. If you do not make enough lactase, lactose remains undigested and symptoms may arise. Lactose-free means that the producer's lactose in advance from the product or breaks down in those two separate sugars. The result. dairy that many people with lactose intolerance tolerate better.

More basic reading. See What is lactose and What does lactase do.

Method 1: enzymatic degradation with lactase

This is the most common way, especially in milk and yogurt. The producer adds lactase to milk and gives the enzyme time to remove the lactose to be cut loose into glucose and galactose. Then the product is cooled and usually pasteurized or sterilized for shelf life.

In the factory, there are several ways of working. Sometimes this is done in a tank in which the milk is quietly moved. Sometimes inline, in which milk flows past a carrier on which lactase is attached so that clipping continues continuously. At UHT milk is often sterile lactase added just before packaging.

Step by step in plain words

1. The manufacturer adds lactase add to milk.
2. The milk gets time So that lactase can make the lactose cut into glucose and galactose.
3. After that, the product is cooled and usually pasteurized or sterilized for shelf life.

Variations in the factory

• Batch: lactase goes into a tank of milk, which is moved quietly.
• Inline: the milk flows along a kind of filter or column on which lactase stuck. Thus, continuous clipping occurs as the milk passes.
• UHT and shelf life: sometimes sterile lactase just before packaging added to UHT milk.

What do you notice about this

Lactose-free milk often tastes sweeter sth.. This is because glucose and galactose taste sweeter than lactose. The nutritional value remains about the same, but on the label the proportion of sugars turn out slightly different because the sugars are now separate.

Method 2: lactose removal with filtration

With membrane filtration can you literally remove lactose from milk seven. At ultrafiltration keeps the membrane proteins and fat fixed, while lactose and water pass through. The lactose can then be removed. At diafiltration water is added to further flush out the remaining lactose. Then the milk is again in balance brought to the desired composition.

Step by step in plain words

• Ultrafiltration: the milk passes through a membrane that proteins and fat holds but lactose and water passes through. The lactose is then removed.
• Diafiltration: there is water added to wash out the remaining lactose.
• After filtration, the manufacturer may use the milk back on taste bring by parts to mixing to the desired ratio.

What do you notice about this

The taste is often less sweet than in enzymatic degradation, and the texture may be slightly fuller are due to the higher protein content after filtration.

What about yogurt, cottage cheese and kefir

At plain yogurt bacteria convert some of the lactose into lactic acid. This often makes yogurt somewhat easier tolerable, but not automatically lactose-free. For lactose-free yogurt the manufacturer usually does same as milk: add lactase, sometimes combined with a longer fermentation.

Quark and Skyr are often leaked, allowing whey containing lactose partially drains away. Still, lactose remains. If you really want lactose-free, choose varieties where lactase to it and check the label.

Kefir works similar to yogurt: fermentation lowers the lactose content, but does not guarantee it at zero. Lactose-free kefir is usually created by lactase to use.

And cheese then

At cheese much of the lactose goes with the whey along. What is left over is used during the mature further degraded by bacteria. Therefore, they contain aged hard cheeses often hardly any lactose. Do you want security at fresh cheeses such as mozzarella or cream cheese, then in production there are two routes. add lactase to the milk in advance, whether the curd extra rinse so that less lactose is left behind.

• Lactase in milk before the cheese is made.
• Extra coils of the curd during cheese making, so that less lactose remains.

For a handy overview for your cheese board read: Which cheeses contain high or low levels of lactose.

How to make cream, ice cream and chocolate milk lactose-free

Room and cooking cream are usually treated with lactase. For whipped cream the recipe is often custom so that beating and structure remain good. At ice one first deals with the dairy base with lactase. As a result, that mixture tastes sweeter and has a slightly different freezing. Recipe and process are tuned accordingly to provide the right smoothness get.

Chocolate Milk can become lactose free by add lactase, or by a filtered milk component with little lactose to use.

• Cream and cooking cream: often by lactase add. For whipped cream, producers work with modified recipes so that whipping and texture remain good.
• Ice: the dairy base is first used with lactase handled.
• Chocolate Milk: either lactase add, or a filtered Use milk component with low lactose.

Why lactose-free sometimes tastes just a little different

In the enzyme method, you taste more often more sweet due to the loose sugars. When heated, those sugars can react faster making the taste sometimes fuller or light caramel becomes. After filtration, the texture what creamier feel because of the relatively higher protein.

• Sweetness: by glucose and galactose you taste sweet faster.
• Color and caramelization: when heated, loose sugars react more easily, sometimes causing the taste to be fuller or caramel can be.
• Texture: upon filtration can proteins relatively increase, which is a fuller mouthfeel gives.

Important distinction with cow's milk intolerance

Lactose-free says something about sugar. At cow's milk intolerance do you respond to milk proteins. Lactose-free dairy contains those proteins still. If you suffer mostly from protein, then plant-based alternatives often the better route. Explanations can be found in What is cow's milk intolerance and you can read the difference in What is the difference between lactose intolerance and cow's milk intolerance.

How to check the label

If you want to quickly make sure what you're buying, check out targeted. Search for the words lactose-free or suitable for lactose intolerance. State lactase in the ingredients, then that's a hint that the lactose has broken down. Note milk powder, whey powder and milk ingredients in processed products. That doesn't say anything about lactose-free, but it does say that there are dairy in it. Apps such as AllergyCheck can help with quick checks. More tips in Check the ingredient list.

• Search for the words lactose-free or suitable for lactose intolerance.
• Check for lactase is in the ingredients. That's a hint that the lactose is aborted.
• Note milk powder, whey powder, milk ingredients in processed products. That doesn't say anything about lactose-free, but it does say that there are dairy in it.
• Apps such as AllergyCheck help with quick control.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is lactose-free milk made?

Manufacturers make milk lactose-free by lactase adding or by membrane filtration. With lactase, lactose is split into glucose and galactose. In filtration, lactose is physically removed via ultrafiltration. UHT milk can get sterile lactase just before packaging.

How are lactose-free yogurt cottage cheese and kefir made?

Ordinary fermentation lowers the lactose content, but does not automatically make a product lactose-free. For lactose-free varieties lactase added at the base. At quark and Skyr runs off some lactose with the whey, but some always remains without lactase. Kefir works similarly: fermentation lowers lactose, lactase ensures truly lactose-free.

How is lactose-free cheese made and which cheeses are low in lactose?

In cheese making, much of the lactose goes with the whey with. Residual lactose is released during the mature further degraded, causing aged hard cheeses often contain very little lactose. For fresh cheeses, the manufacturer may add lactase or rinse the curd extra so that less lactose remains.

Is lactose-free the same as sugarless?

No. The milk sugar is split into glucose and galactose. The total carbohydrate remains about the same, so lactose-free does not mean sugarless.

Can I use lactose-free dairy with cow's milk intolerance?

Usually not convenient. With cow's milk intolerance, you react to milk proteins, and those remain present in lactose-free dairy. Rather, choose plant-based alternatives.

Is plant-based milk always lactose-free?

Yes. Plant-based drinks such as oats, soy or almond naturally contain no lactose because they are not dairy. Always check the ingredients for additives, though.

Why does lactose-free milk taste sweeter and sugar sometimes ranks higher on the label?

After treatment with lactase, lactose molecules are split into glucose and galactose. These taste sweeter and count as individual sugars on the label. Total carbohydrates usually remain the same as regular milk.

Continue reading at NooMooo

• Basics and complaints: What is lactose intolerance
• The cut in the gut: What does lactase do
• Sugar versus protein: What is the difference between lactose intolerance and cow's milk intolerance
• Deciphering labels: Check the ingredient list
• Choosing cheese: Which cheeses contain high or low levels of lactose

Note. this blog is informational. I am not a doctor and do not give medical advice. When in doubt, consult with your doctor or dietitian.