# Fontina cheese, any sub?



## kimba66 (Feb 3, 2012)

I am lactose intolerant.  Is there a substitution for fontina cheese? I'm making a crab,spinach pasta dish and calls for fontina


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 3, 2012)

I have no experience in this but I found it interesting to Google cheese substitutes:

Google: lactose free cheese substitute

I think you might find some reasonable substitutes within those links.


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## NoraC (Feb 3, 2012)

Welcome!.  There are other cheeses you could use, but they are cheeses.  I would go in a different direction altogether rather than using a fake ingredient; try an equal volume of quartered artichoke hearts. That said, the lactose in milk is consumed by the good bugs that make it cheese; you may want to investigate further what the cause of your distress is.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 3, 2012)

Q: All cheeses contain lactose, right?


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## NoraC (Feb 3, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> Q: All cheeses contain lactose, right?


No; all cow's milk contains lactose. I would have to check to see if every mammal's milk does, though it seems likely.  Lactose (like all -ose's) is a sugar, which is consumed by the bacteria and fungi that turn fluid milk into cheese. Some cheeses have some lactose left, some almost none.  Because lactose intolerance is in fact an intolerance, not an allergy, small quantities of lactose usually are not a problem for the intolerant. If a moderate amount of cheese causes the difficulty that one identifies with consuming milk, it is likely that the problem is not the lactose, but something else, assuming an overall good health otherwise.  One would expect a person with for instance Crohn's disease, who was also lactose intolerant, to have a lower dose response. Having been and raised lactose intolerant kids, I would investigate further if an ounce of cheese caused an adult intestinal distress; there is probably something else going on as well.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 3, 2012)

Thanks for the response Nora. I just presumed that all milk contains lactose and all cheese is made from milk, Q.E.D. Not knowing the OP's situation I can only offer the suggestions to cheese substitutes as I did.

I know little about lactose intolerance because I don't have that, and quite thankful. I have almost never a day that I don't consume some cheese and I often consume quite a lot. I can't imagine life without cheese.


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## GLC (Feb 3, 2012)

Look for highly fermented cheese. The more fermentation, the more lactose must be consumed. That means mostly hard cheeses and soft ripened, but you have to know that the cheese was produced by traditional methods. Some modern factory methods don't convert lactose like that. I would think traditionally made yogurt cheese would be a good bet. It would lose lactose at both stages.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 3, 2012)

I saw yogurt cheese mentioned within some of the links I googled above.


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## 4meandthem (Feb 3, 2012)

Extra firm tofu


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 4, 2012)

Goat Cheese.  Goat's milk is used for babies that cannot handle Mom or Cows milk.


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## GLC (Feb 4, 2012)

Different thing. Some babies are allergic to cow's milk, and goat's milk sometimes gets around that. But goat (and other bovids) produce milk with about the same lactose content. But there seems to be something about goat's milk that makes it easier on some lactose intolerant systems, so it's worth a try, especially since any natural cheese process will reduce the lactose anyway.


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## Margi Cintrano (Feb 8, 2012)

*What about goat or ewe milk cheese verses cow ?*

I am writing to inform you, that in Spain there are Lactose free cheeses and lactose free milk. This is relatively recent here in Spain. 

It has become more prevalent in recent years, to have lactose intolerance or gluten intolerance problems. 

I have found less of this problem in Greece and Italy, perhaps as they utilize more goat and ewe milk cheese varieties. 

Are you lactose intolerant to ewe milk or goat cheese ? 

If not, this could be an alternative. 

Margi Cintrano


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