What is Lactose Free Cheese?

Our lactose-free cheese range was developed primarily – but not exclusively - for people who are lactose intolerant. This was the Coolamon Cheese Co response to our customer’s health issues as traditional cheese, being always made of real milk, contains lactose, a simple sugar that the lactose intolerant cannot digest properly.

Normally, the body breaks down lactose into its simpler components with the help of the enzyme lactase but without this enzyme or not enough of it – or even if it is simply ineffective – then the lactose intolerant can experience digestive problems such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, gas and bloating – denying them the opportunity of the goodness in dairy based cheeses.

Though Coolamon Cheese Co make both hard and soft cheeses – our harder cheeses (such as our cheddar styles) have been known to reach near zero levels of lactose – or very close to it. This is mainly because lactose naturally reduces with the lengthier maturation times for this style of cheese. We decided that a more progressive approach was needed to make lactose-free cheeses - not just in a range of styles - but also demonstrating the remarkable flavours of hand-crafted cheese but still used real dairy milk.

We believe using award-winning milk is the key to hand-crafting our award-winning lactose-free cheese. We collect and pasteurise it ourselves from a nearby Riverina dairy farm owned by Neil & Simone Jolliffe – a farm 100% independently Australian owned. Though it is pioneering the use of natural lactase enzymes throughout the Coolamon Cheese Co lactose-free range, that we are able to provide assurance that no-one whatsoever needs to sacrifice either the quality - or the taste - of true, artisan made cheese. This is something our dairy industry awards ably demonstrate.

Our Master Cheesemaker, Jenn Nestor worked tirelessly for 18 months to create our lactose free cheeses with a focus on well-balanced flavour profiles.

This is, by no means, simple. To achieve this, Jenn had to work with the initial curds much as she would normally do but - as lactose-free curd behaves differently to other types of curd - she also had to use instincts born of years of experience to hand-craft a product that is truly special.

Coolamon Cheese Co, by presenting a number of cheese varieties in a lactose-free range, can give everyone confidence that they can finally present worthy, distinctive artisan cheeses for guests at their next gathering, entirely without concerns for the lactose intolerant guests that may be among them.