Lactose and me, we don’t see eye to eye. Milk has always caused me tummy trouble, and I mostly gave up on it until I discovered pre-treated Lactaid milk. Finally, I could eat bowls of cereal and make lattes at home again without my stomach rebelling.
I recently decided to switch to organic milk at home, but I was faced with the obvious lactose problem. While I’ve heard organic pre-treated Lactaid milk exists, I couldn’t find any in Edmonton. After digging around on the net, I learned that Lactaid drops are available for DiY types who want to de-lactose their milk of choice. One trip to a pharmacy later, I’d found a bottle for … eek … $20. The bottle is TINY. Still, I took the chance, handed over the cash, and have been treating jugs of organic milk ever since.
The label suggests you use between five and 15 drops per litre of milk, so I initially settled on the middle figure of 10, then upped it to 15 when I found my stomach was still a bit grumpy with the result.
That first little bottle served me well, having plopped out 260 drops by the time it ran out. In practical math, that’s 17 litres of milk treated with 15 drops each, which works out to $1.18 per litre. Or, with 10 drops per litre, it’ll treat 26 litres at a cost of $0.77 per litre.
Seems to work just fine for me at 15 drops per litre. No tummy issues with the new milk. Tastes great. No side effects that I’ve noticed.
The process is as simple as opening the jug of milk, adding 15 drops per litre into the jug, closing the lid firmly, then lightly shaking the jug so that the drops mix into the milk. Then it’s back into the fridge to work some science-type magic.
Note that you’ll need to do a bit of pre-planning. The label says to treat the milk 24 hours before using, but I’ve seen other reports on the interwebs about the ideal time being 48 hours. So don’t leave your milk-run to the last minute. If you think you’ll need a new jug in a couple days, do it now.
RATINGS AND DETAILS
Cost: About $20 for a tiny 15.5 ml bottle at a pharmacy.
Value for cash money: Not cheap, granted. But if you don’t mind paying $6 for two litres of organic milk, this is hardly a deal-breaker. For the pain-avoidance, it’s worth it.
Availability: Found it fairly easily. Pharmacies are apparently the way to go.
Nutrition?: In itself? Negligible, I’d guess. As the catalyst that allows me to switch to organic milk? Wonderful.
How many drops in a 15.5 ml bottle?: 260 by my count.
The verdict: Not cheap, but it means I can finally switch to organic milk without worrying about the lactose throwing me off.
Thanks for the breakdown/how-to Iain, Lactaid has long been hovering about in my subconscious. Now all that I need to do is pick up the drops & some milk next time I’m shopping. Oh & some Cookies By George…nothing like milk & fresh-or reasonably fresh-cookies…except milk & cinnamon buns…or milk & brownies…possibly milk & doughnuts(mmmmm doughnuts!;-))
Strange but true: I’ve never liked milk on its own. With cereal? Perfect. As pudding? Wonderful. In a latte or a white Russian? Super. But on its own? Nope. I blame it on the lactose intolerance from a young age — I never developed a taste for it on its own, as drinking it on its own would only ever bring me pain. But I could sure dunk a Cookies by George (Edmonton-based!) Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk cookie in a warm bowl of cafe au lait (or cold glass of chocolate soy milk). 🙂
Now I want cookies! Thanks guys.
Where did you buy the drops?
I think it was Save-On-Foods in Edmonton, but I’ve seen them in tons of grocery store pharmacies. If you ask the pharmacist, they’ll likely be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck!