Nowadays it seems like most people have some kind of a food intolerance or allergy. Some people use it as an excuse to get special treatment at restaurants or just to get attention. Thanks to those "lovely" people, people who truly do have an issue with some kind of food group, sadly, get often served food that does contain an item they have noted to the serving staff that they have an issue with. I do not understand those people who lie that they have an intolerance, because i dream every day that I could eat anything and everything that exists in the world..
I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance many years ago. Way before it became what seems to be a mainstream disease at the moment. You know the question, "How would you spend your last day on earth?" Well, I would break into a cheese factory and stuff my face with as much cheese I could until I quite literally explode... Luckily, nowadays there's loads of LF food options, including cheese, sold at supermarkets; but, quite often the selection is tiny and it doesn't taste very good. What I have noticed, is that often you can actually find delicious LF cheese not at the free from sections, but right next to the regular dairy products, without any notice that they are lactose free.
A wise cheese maker at a food market in Stockholm, Sweden once told me a truly hidden and amazing secret - when cheese is aged more than 12 months, the amount of lactose becomes so low that it doesn't create any effect on people with lactose intolerance and becomes naturally lactose free! This means, for example, all parmesans are naturally lactose free! So are all other hard cheeses that have been aged more than 12 months. You can find loads of cheeses like that in your local supermarket that has a good cheese selection. (And i'm not just talking about expensive shops. Check out the selection in Aldi, it's amazing!) Just check the packages, good quality cheese has always an aging length written on it.
While visiting Finland (the country that has more lactose intolerance people than lactose tolerant people) I checked out the LF cheese selection in their local supermarket. Once back in Scotland, I was surprised to find one of the blue cheeses sold here in the midst of regular blue cheeses that is LF, but has no signs about it on the package. Just recently I came across a lovely Emmental type cheese that again, is not located at the free from section, but it even has a small notice on the package that it is suitable for people who are lactose intolerant!
Same goes with butter. Free from section has usually one type of a super expensive tiny pack of butter sold, yet there's numerous butters that have no actual dairy in it right there, next to the regular butters. This means, when baking, you don't have to worry about your baked good not turning out so nice due to the odd LF butter. For example, I've been using a Stork's baking butter lately and it has no dairy in it! So again, check the labels on the packages. Nowadays, dairy is always highlighted on the ingredient list so it's easy to find whether the product has dairy in it or not.
The pictures on this post are just few examples of LF dairy products found in most UK supermarkets that are safe to consume when you are lactose intolerant. Just remember, you won't find them in the free from section!
Happy shopping!
Comments