If You Are Lactose Intolerant Can You Eat Parmesan Cheese
Parmesan is a famous cheese from Italy. Due to a very long aging time, this cheese is full of flavors and has a hard, granular texture. This make it especially a good companion for pasta dishes, soups and risottos. But also the famous Italian Lasagna is made with Parmesan if you follow the original recipe.
The long aging time has also one great additional benefit, if you have lactose intolerance, because during the ripening, lactic acid bacteria convert lactose into lactic acid. This can help you tremendously, because if you have lactose intolerance, you lack the enzyme which breaks down lactose from foods. If lactose passes through to your colon without being digested, gut bacteria will digest the lactose instead. This could lead to unwanted side effects like gas and bloating. But in case of Parmesan, you don't have to worry, because Parmesan is lactose-free.
Why Is Parmesan Lactose-Free?
Parmesan is made from cow's milk and cow's milk does contain lactose. So, why is Parmesan lactose-free? To further investigate this, we will take a look at some parts of the production process. Traditionally, the production begins with the milk in copper-lined vats. Certain thermophilic lactic acid bacteria are added to the milk. This also starts the lactose breakdown process by the bacteria. The cheese maker control the pH-value of the milk. When the desired value is reached, calf rennet is added. This starts the coagulation. After this, there are couple more steps involved, but the further steps are not important regarding the lactose breakdown. But finally, the cheese has a round form like a wheel. Each cheese is placed on wooden shelves and has at least 12 months to ripen or typically even more. This is very important, because during these 12 months, lactose is further broken down to lactic acid. So, the long aging time is not only important for an awesome flavor, but it also guarantees that Parmesan is lactose-free.
What Does This Mean for Dishes Made With Parmesan?
Because Parmesan is lactose-free, you don't need to worry about it, if you have lactose intolerance. However, many dishes, which include Parmesan, also include other dairy products. And often, these other dairy products contain lactose. One example would be Alfredo sauce, which often contains heavy cream. Unlike Parmesan, heavy cream does contain lactose. Also, Lasagna is problematic, because it includes Béchamel sauce. In its traditional version, Béchamel sauce is low in lactose, but not lactose-free. However, more commercialized versions could contain significant amounts of lactose, because cream is used.
Even, if you think about pasta with pasta sauce and grated Parmesan, you could run into problems with lactose. There are clean and simple pasta sauces, which are lactose-free, so your dish could be lactose-free. Often, these lactose-free pasta sauces are called classic or traditional. Tomato and basil is another popular pasta sauce, which is in almost all cases lactose-free. But there are also pasta sauces which include cream, ricotta or other dairy products, which are not lactose-free. So, you should keep an eye on the ingredients list when you go to your grocery store.
To make a well-informed decision, you should know that small amounts of lactose are mostly tolerated, even if you have lactose intolerance. Small amounts could mean a little bit of butter like the original recipe for the Béchamel sauce. However, if milk or dairy products like cream come into play, there is usually also a significant amount of lactose involved.
Where Does Parmesan Come From?
The legal name for Parmesan in its country of origin is Parmigiano-Reggiano. In Europe, "Parmesan" and also "Parmigiano-Reggiano" are protected designations of origin (PDO). Only Parmesan which is produced in some specific provinces of the regions Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy are allowed to be named "Parmesan" or "Parmigiano-Reggiano" with a PDO status.
However, outside of Europe, "Parmesan" could be used as the name for other cheeses, which are similar but not exactly the same. Only "Parmigiano-Reggiano" always refers to the original products. This has some implications, because the key aspect in case of lactose intolerance is the aging time. Only during a long aging time, lactic acid bacteria convert lactose to lactic acid. Parmesan is only lactose-free if this happens. It does not have to be 12 months or more, but if a cheese ripens for less than 3 months, chances are that it could contain some remaining lactose. This is a great advantage of an original "Parmigiano-Reggiano", which is also protected by the PDO standards. PDO means "Protected designation of origin". The European Union sets standards regarding where this product comes from but also standards regarding quality and key properties. For PDO Parmigiano-Reggiano, minimum aging time is 12 months and typical is even more. This is enough time for the lactic acid bacteria to convert all lactose into lactic acid.
Typically, DPO also guarantees some other quality standards. Since consumers become very aware these days, it is particularly notable that original Parmesan from Italy is only produced with grass fed milk. The cows are only allowed to be fed with grass or hay. This is one of the reasons why Parmesan has been called the king of the cheeses.
If You Are Lactose Intolerant Can You Eat Parmesan Cheese
Source: https://lactosefree101.com/parmesan-lactose-free/