I have a dirty little secret I probably shouldn't reveal, since I make some of my living as a restaurant reviewer. But here it is: I'm lactose intolerant. Well, more like lactose low-tolerant. Or milk allergy. I'm also alcohol low-tolerant. This probably means I will never rise to the ranks of big time reviewer, but I can live with that.
My body will put up with a small amount of lactose, it seems, but certain things will really set me off. I once had Thai iced tea with half and half that sent me running off the train at Grand Central. (TMI?) Straight up milk is a no-no. But ice cream seems to be okay in small amounts. I miss cottage cheese.
The worst offender, however, is yogurt. Yogurt! Benign, creamy, calcium-rich yogurt! Yogurt which anoints my balls de falafel! Strained and thick, dotted with cucumbers in tsatsiki! Full of friendly fauna, crimefighting bacteria to police my intestines!
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to suffer the consequences of eating lactose when I'm in my own home. And one of these days I'll probably try that Lactaid pill.
In the meantime, I've been exploring the world of dairy alternative yogurts. Flavor and texture vary wildly in non-cow's milk yogurts. Here's my take on the brands I got my hands on at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
Stonyfield O'Soy, $0.99 for 6 oz. cup, $2.69 (I think) for a pack of 6 4 oz. cups
This is the soy yogurt for people who don't like yogurt. It's completely devoid of that spoiled milk tang that makes yogurt distinctive. There's also quite a pronounced soy milk flavor to it. The strawberry and peach varieties in the six pack don't have any fruit pieces in them -- they're just flavored and colored with fruit juice (and beet juice, I believe). The vanilla O'Soy has a very mild vanilla flavor and a gentle sweetness. Creamy texture, like pudding. Thickened with pectin, not starch, which is nice. But no fruity pieces in the fruit flavors.
RATING: 6 out of 10
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This piece will be...pieced together slowly. Hey, I can only eat one carton of yogurt at a time, and I'm not just going to eat a teaspoonful of each and chuck the rest. This blog has a budget of bupkis. Also, I've been adjusting to the rigors of a new job.
please try liberte from canada. full fat. delicious.
You must try lactaid pills. they change everything.
It's an asian thang!
I've tried some of those pills - they'tre not 100%.
At best, they minimize the effects to give you more time before you need to -er, withdraw. Or they'll change the runs into gas.
I haven't bothered using them in years. I just calculate the lactose temptation value against proximity to bathroom. Friend's wife says whole (unpasteurized) milk works for her. Haven't tried it yet.
Have you tried Laloo's Goat's Milk Ice Cream? Low fat, low lacto. And in my opinion it tastes better than most regular ice creams. Available at Whole Foods.
www.goatmilkicecream.com
Don't give up on yogurt, what you've been eating is more of a half yogurt - kind of like fil milk in Sweden. Without a ton of gels and stabilizers, the store bought stuff is still very liquid.
Try making your own and let it incubate for a good 6 hours. Every bit of lactose will be split into simple sugars (glucose + galactose), and you should be good to go.
Interesting, yogurt maker...do you use pasteurized milk? Do you have a yogurt maker? I want to hear more...
I'm lactose intolerant too! But I can - and do - eat the Fage lowfat greek yogurt. It is delicious, thick, not too sugary. And it's got that good bacteria that my digestive system needs. Any type of dairy that is fermented or aged is usually easier to digest because the milk sugars get broken down. And
The Salton 1-Quart yogurt maker is handy for homemade batches. (The brands that use individual glass jars are just too fussy to deal with.) So far, I've used goat milk, organic cows' milk, and other fatty 'boutique milks' with the hope they'd be more tummy-friendly, but truth be told, they're all kind of irritating. Nothing as gut-friendly as the milks and yogurt in Vietnam and Japan. Another dairy-averse friend from Nepal speculates that it's the homogenization or pasteurization process that makes milk here indigestible. And maybe he's right -- Ronnybrook Farm's milk (not homogenized) is a lot less devastating to drink.