The best lactose-free Italian cheeses

Why are we lactose intolerant?

Lactose intolerance is a condition in which the body is unable to completely digest the sugar found in milk and its derivatives, caused by an insufficient presence of the enzyme lactase. It is often associated with annoying symptoms, such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation, but these can be avoided by limiting the lactose introduced through the diet.

Lactose is the sugar contained in milk and its derivatives; it is a disaccharide, meaning it is composed of two simpler sugars: galactose and glucose. In the small intestine, to be properly digested by the body, lactose is split into its two primary components by the enzyme lactase. If the enzyme lactase is deficient or insufficient, lactose cannot be separated, and therefore the body cannot digest it. There are, therefore, various levels of lactose intolerance, depending on the severity of lactase deficiency.

The recognized forms in which lactose intolerance differs are three: primary genetic lactose intolerance, which can be a normal consequence of growth; a transient lactose intolerance, due to a decrease in lactase for a period of illness, and congenital lactose intolerance, which is a rarer condition caused by a mutation that completely prevents the digestion of milk and results in a total absence of lactase, even before weaning.

3 Characteristics of Lactose-Free Cheeses and More

Lactose-free cheeses are an excellent solution for people suffering from this intolerance. Our products, while being free of lactose, maintain the unaltered flavors and tastes of classic cheeses and can be enjoyed by everyone, as they do not contain any type of allergen. In reality, there are various cheeses that can also be consumed by those who are lactose intolerant, and we are talking about aged cheeses.

Hard cheeses aged for at least 30 months indeed do not contain lactose, as it is transformed into lactic acid during the aging process. This is why you will find in our selection cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano DOP aged for 50 months. The only minimal trace of milk sugars is galactose, in an amount less than 0.01 g per 100 g of product. This is such a low amount that it becomes easily negligible. Parmigiano Reggiano requires only 3 ingredients: milk, salt, rennet, and lysozyme, and during the aging phase, the milk present in Parmigiano Reggiano completely loses its lactose within 6-8 hours after cheese-making, with very numerous colonies of lactobacilli developing inside the milk that transform the lactose into lactic acid.

Low lactose content
There are also milks with low lactose content, such as goat's milk, which contains 4.2 g of lactose per 100 ml. Consequently, it is not suitable for consumption by those who are lactose intolerant, but as explained earlier, those who have had low lactase due to transient causes may start reintroducing goat cheese into their diets.

What do we aim to do?

Spaghetti & Mandolino is very sensitive to everyone's tastes, whether for those who make their choices without dietary restrictions or for those who, instead, make them knowingly, knowing that certain foods could compromise their health and are therefore forced to give up eating cheese. To offer people with lactose intolerance the opportunity to enjoy this pleasure, we have selected products that expand the range of foods to be included in their diet without lactose.