Lactose free products in Italy

Why a post about lactose free products in Italy? Well, I’ve already mentioned my lactose intolerance a couple of times. I still can’t believe it. I’ve always drunk milk, eaten cheese, mozzarella, etc. I was ignorant about it and I thought that intolerances was only something you are born with. So when I had tummy ache or related problems I never even for a minute suspected that milk was involved.

At first was a huge shock cause I adore cheese, mozzarella, yogurt, gelato and basically all the dairy products. Moreover it seems almost impossible to dine out and find something without lactose. And plus no one ever told me that a saviour pill exists called Lactidigest, which helps you out digest the lactose and so you can bend the rules (imagine me singing the Hallelujah from Handel’s Messiah).

Before discovering it I had to renounce to countless delicious things for months, and in return I didn’t even loose a pound! 🙁

Luckily in supermarkets I started finding more and more lactose free products. I haven’t tried them ALL… yet. First of all, not every supermarket has the whole products line of a single brand. Second, I tried this and that according to the recipes I wanted to prepare or the things I needed. But I can do a little overview of those I know.

By the way, lactose free in Italian is senza lattosio [SEHN-zah laht-TOH-syoh]

My favourite lactose free products in Italy:

1. Mozzarella Brimi. It is the only mozzarella as tasty as a normal mozzarella, I love it! In Padova (my city) I only find it at Supermarket Aliper in via Saetta.

   

2. Dalla Torre Val di Non burro (BOOR-roh, butter). I find it at Coop supermarket. This butter is very tasty and I prefer it rather than other brands. The main flaw is the package. The “paper” tends to break into small fragments when you fold it or when you cut a piece of butter. I must be always careful not to eat it (the paper)!

   

3. Bella Vita yogurt senza lattosio Latte Merano. This yogurt are very good, in flavours: plain, strawberry, vanilla, cherry (yummy) and peach/apricot.

   

4. Exquisa cream cheese. What I like is the slightly sour taste.

   

5. Yogurt greco Zymil. When I feel like Greek yogurt or I have to prepare a yogurt based sauce or cake, I can rely on this brand. It’s very good. PS I just tried the one with blueberries… mmmmh super yummy!

   

6. Stracchino Accadì. This soft fresh cheese is quite good and in a small portion for a… panino, of course!

   

7. Panna da montare Accadì. When you have to prepare a cake or a hot chocolate with whipped cream, here it is!

   

8. As for the simple milk, in Italian latte, there’s an embarrassment of riches. I often use the Sterilgarda because it’s available in the 250ml size. Since I try to avoid milk as much as possible, it’s convenient to have just a small amount at my disposal, for a cake, a hot beverage, or a food preparation and not to be forced to open a litre bottle and then let it rot in the fridge.

   

9. I had just published the post the other day, when I found a good gelato at the supermarket. Labeled Carte d’Or. Very good, not so different from other packaged ice creams in Italy.  Another good gelato is cono La Cremeria senza lattosio.

   

Attention, please: Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus new gelato! I recently discovered at the local Despar supermarket a new Algida gelato, lactose free and gluten free, called Cucciolone Bikini. I’m partly happy and partly devastated… because it’s too yummy… I can’t stop eating it!

Another new entry: the soft cheese Robiola Osella. It’s a kind of cheese I love so I’m very happy it finally exist ini the lactose free version. 

Greek Feta cheese is now available in Padua!

That’s my list of favourite lactose free products you can find in Italian supermarkets.

Still missing

The things that are still missing and I’d really love to buy are:

• Ricotta cheese. Those available are not as tasty as the original fresh ricotta. And the one by my favorite brand (the one of the mozzarella) is not available in the shops I go to.

Let’s hope that brands will soon resolve this issue! 😉