Making lactose free milk!

[michoutim]

Hello my Friends!
I am a home cheese maker and doing rather well, French living in Australia.
I have made cheeses with Lactose-free milk, and successfully so!
However, where I live, it is downright impossible to find lactose-free GOAT milk.
Can you help me with advice, and which products to use to delactose commercial milk, please?
I would be extremely grateful for that!
I very much want to make a L-Free Sainte-Maure... For a friend who craves goat cheese and can't have any, so far!
Many thanks and kindest regards. 

[MacGruff]

I am not a specialist, so please ask those who do know these things, but in the United States, goat's milk is very low in lactose. Also, the process of aging milk tends to eat up the lactose that is there anyway - as it is converted - and so lactose intolerant people have very few problems eating goat's milk cheeses. Again, please check with those who really know these things, but my lactose-intolerant niece eats goats-milk cheeses with no problems of any kind.

[michoutim]

Hi MacGruff,
Many thanks for your input!
My friend can't even drink goat milk, unfortunately.
However, I have found a liquid lactase called Intoleran, that should solve my problem. We can also find Lacteeze in Australia.
This is the product: https://intoleran.com.au/products/lactase-enzyme-drops with instructions for use.
I keep on searching anyway...
Best regards.

[mikekchar]

Actually goat's milk is not generally lower in lactose than other milk (you can check nutrient databases for confirmation).  It's very common for people to think they are lactose intolerant when they are not.  There is likely something else bothering your niece when drinking cow's milk, MacGruff.

michoutim, Lacteeze is the way to go.  It's just an enzyme that splits the lactose into smaller sugars.  Completely safe and effective.

[michoutim]

Hi Mike,
Many thanks! I'll check whether I can find Lacteeze in liquide form! My local health food shop has tablets but not liquid Lacteeze.
It is my supplier who told me that using lactase to ¨digest¨. divide, lactose into inoffensive glucose and galactose is the method used by producers of lactose free milk.
Best regards.

[estherlabran]

Your friend is lucky to have you. That's a very thoughtful gift you're planning.

You're right, finding lactose-free goat milk in Australia is a real challenge. The easiest and most reliable workaround is to treat the milk yourself. The liquid lactase you found is exactly what you need.

Goat milk naturally has less lactose than cow milk (about 4.2% vs 5% in cow milk). That lower starting point means you need to use fewer drops, but the process is still important. A drop of the enzyme does the job on its own, but for a sensitive friend, treating the whole batch is a safer bet.

Here's a simple method to create a lactose-free version of your milk:
*  For about 1 liter of milk, add around 4 to 5 drops of liquid lactase (like Intoleran or Lacteeze).
*  Give it a good stir and pop it in the fridge for about 24 hours. This gives the enzyme time to break down the lactose, and you'll find that the milk will taste a bit sweeter. If you need it in a hurry, you can also add a few drops directly to a cup of milk right before using it.

For a very sensitive friend, the 24-hour method is the most effective. Just remember that for a cheese like a lactic-set Sainte-Maure, the milk's protein structure matters, so I'd stick to your usual technique and just add this pre-treatment step.

If you're having trouble finding the drops locally, I've been able to order this sort of thing online. I use McGrocer to get hard-to-find ingredients and household bits delivered here in Australia, and their shipping is quite reliable.

Best of luck with the cheese. It'll be a wonderful surprise for your friend.