Lactose free cottage cheese

Today I’m adding a lactose free cottage recipe to my collection of lactose free dairy recipes. I have a few cottage cheese based recipes in the pipeline (like this green pasta) and I figured that not everybody would have access to lactose free cottage cheese. A quick google showed me how easy it is to make your own, and here we are! An easy, delicious lactose free cottage cheese recipe that is sinfully similar to my lactose free cottage cheese.

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I should say that both methods are probably not the ‘authentic’ way to make either cheese. They are just a simple homemade lactose free option.

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Lactose free cottage cheese is very easy to make. It is basically the same as making lactose free ricotta, except some cream or milk is added to the curd at the end.

To make lactose free cottage cheese, lactose free full cream milk is heated to just below a simmer. Once it is thoroughly heated through, vinegar is added to coagulate the curds. If the milk has been properly heated, the coats and whey should separate almost immediately.

White cloud like curds will form in the liquid, which should have turned an opaque lemon yellow. If not, keep the mixture on the heat and very gently stir until it does.

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The mixture needs to rest off the heat for 10 or so minutes before it is poured through a muslin cloth or nut milk bag. You can keep the whey (liquid component) or allow it to drain off.

Now all that is left to do is add in some lactose free milk, cream or yoghurt until you reach your desired consistency. There it is: super easy and inexpensive lactose free cottage cheese.

A bright and airy sunlit image of a white ceramic speckled bowl filled with lactose free cottage cheese. The bowl sits atop a white bench top and is surrounded by water glasses, which cast a light and shadow across the image.

What is the difference between lactose free and dairy free?

Sometimes I get questions about why I would develop a lactose free version of a dairy product. Obviously these people have never had a bathroom incident after a milkshake, but I digress. Let’s quickly delve in a bit.

Lactose free and dairy free are two separate things. Lactose is a component of milk and dairy products that can cause digestive distress for some people. A dairy based product is made lactose free by adding an enzyme, lactase, that breaks down lactose in dairy.

Dairy encompasses all milk based products, whether or not they are lactose free. Dairy free products contain no milk or lactose at all. An example of dairy free milk is oat milk (sorry, I get this question a lot so I feel I need to be explicitly clear). If you have a dairy allergy or need a recipe that is dairy free or vegan, not just lactose free, this recipe is not for you.

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Method for your homemade cottage cheese

Making cottage cheese traditionally involves coagulating milk with rennet, as far as I can ascertain. Rennet is made from the stomach lining of calves, which is not appropriate for vegetarians. It’s also not something that your average home cook has on hand.

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This lactose free cottage cheese, like my lactose free ricotta recipe, is not authentic. It uses lemon juice or white vinegar to coagulate the curds.

Once the milk hits a low simmer, the acid is added to form curds and whey. When thoroughly heated, the curds and whey will separate, the latter becoming a lemon coloured translucent liquid as opposed to an opaque milky liquid.

After leaving the mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes, it is strained into a nut milk bag or muslin cloth.

An aerial photo of a white ceramic speckled bowl filled with lactose free cottage cheese sitting atop a white stone bench top. Glasses of water sit to the left of the bowl and the sun streams through them, creating a light and shadow pattern across the image.

What are the differences between lactose free ricotta and lactose free cottage cheese making?

These homemade, not quite authentic recipes for lactose free dairy differ in a few ways. While the initial process is the same, what happens after differs slightly. Firstly, ricotta needs to be strained longer than cottage cheese (depending on how thin you want it). Cottage cheese contains more liquid than ricotta.

Secondly, with this DIY style of cottage cheese, it’s important to be careful when straining or stirring. The curds will easily disintegrate into a ricotta like smooth-ish mixture when stirred or interfered with. They don’t hold up that well when compared to store bought cottage cheese. So, if little lumps of curd are important to you, stir carefully.

Thirdly, a second form of lactose free dairy is added to give the cottage cheese creaminess and that traditional mouthfeel. I like using lactose free full cream to make it extra rich and delicious. You could also use a lactose free yoghurt or even extra lactose free milk.