Milk protein/whey in cheeses

Question
QUESTION: Dr. Zilberter,

Does cooking or baking cheese eliminate or significantly reduce the lactose?

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Respectfully,
RD

ANSWER: Dear Rochelle,

It depends on the cooking or baking technique. For example, home-made cheese made of cooked yogurt contains less lactose because lactose is water-soluble, so a significant amount is discarded when the solid part is separated (using coffee filters or cheese cloth).

The most hard cheese that include milk solids and if during cooking the liquid part is discarded, the lactose amount can indeed be decreased. However, the radical process resulting in next to nothing lactose content is cheese ripening for at least two years. Examples are Franche-Comt?or Gruy鑢e de Savoie, Italian Taleggio, or Spainsh Torta del Casar or Queso de la Serena.

Tanya Zilberter

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Dr. Zilberter,
Thank you for your response to my question about lactose in cheeses.
I have a follow-up question, please. I love the idea of eating cheese that has ripened for at least 2 years and am excited about the fact that these cheeses contain very little lactose. Do these cheeses contain whey/milk protein? And if so, is it just a little?
Thank you, again, for your time and attention to this matter?

Answer
Hello,

I'm happy you liked the idea. As to you follow up question, most of the protein stays in the cheese both milk and whey, and these numbers are only higher in ripened cheeses. Out of the 80% total protein kept in cheese, 4-6% are from whey.

So, you see, it's not a little but this is what makes cheeses so good!

T.Z.

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