No, traditional Greek feta is not lactose-free. If you enjoy fresh, tasty cheese, we bet you already tried this fantastic Greek variety. It is incredibly popular, made from sheep's milk or a combination of sheep's and goat's milk.
Feta is protected, meaning that it needs to meet certain requirements for production methods and geographical location. Feta can only be produced in certain areas of Greece, but salad cheese or white cheese is produced in many other countries, although there will always be differences in taste and texture.
The crumbly white cheese is typically formed into blocks that are aged in brine. This brine as well as the cultures added to the milk create the tangy and salty flavour that is characteristic of feta and salad cheese.
Read about other popular types of fresh cheese:
Is feta high in lactose?
No, feta is not high in lactose. Feta usually has a lactose content of 1-2 %, in other words, 1-2 grams of lactose per 100 grams, but this depends on the specific product, brand, ingredients, and production method.
Read more in our articles ‘Cheese lactose chart: Which cheeses have low levels of lactose?’, and ‘Cheeses with higher levels of lactose’.
In general, the lactose content in cheese often depends on its ageing process. Fresh cheeses contain more lactose because they undergo a shorter ageing process. During ageing, lactose is broken down into lactic acid by bacterial cultures, which reduces the content in the cheese.
In the production process, bacterial cultures and rennet are added to the milk. These bacteria consume the milk's lactose, turning it into lactic acid, which not only helps solidify the cheese but also reduces its lactose content.
Following the curdling, the whey, which holds a significant amount of lactose, is drained away. Then, the feta is salted and left to age in brine. The salt and brining time, as well as the cultures added to the milk, are what gives feta its signature flavour, and it also plays a role in further reducing the lactose content.
How to make lactose-free feta and lactose-free salad cheese?
To make delicious lactose-free feta involves adding lactase to the cheese concentrate. The enzyme lactase breaks lactose down into simpler sugars: glucose and galactose.
Then begins the curdling process, where bacterial cultures and rennet are introduced to form the cheese curds. It is then left to mature in brine. In this stage, the simpler sugars are converted into lactic acid by beneficial bacterial cultures, resulting in lactose-free feta.
Lactose-free salad cheese
On the other hand, when making lactose-free salad cheese or white cheese made from cow's milk, the process has a preliminary step. The cow's milk undergoes ultrafiltration, a process that concentrates certain components of the milk, to make the cheese concentrate.
Then lactase is added to this concentrate to break down the lactose during the maturation of the white cheese or salad cheese. This is the case with our range of Arla LactoFREE products, which include tasty lactose-free salad cheese.
The same flavour and goodness just without lactose
Lactose-free feta tastes just as delicious as regular feta. Its fresh, tangy, and lightly salted flavour is instantly recognisable, and the texture is soft and crumbly as always. The tangy flavour makes it a great companion to a range of different vegetables, and most famously, it is served in a Greek salad with ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and olives.
The slightly salty and savoury flavour also makes it a refreshing addition to pasta dishes, omelettes, and sandwiches as well as in dips and spreads. Feta and salad cheese pair well with a range of different herbs and spices and is delicious in hot as well as cold dishes.
