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Lactose-free

Lactose intolerance is an enzyme shortfall, not an allergy, and the dose matters: most people handle 12 g of lactose — one glass of milk — without trouble, and struggle with two.

8 dishes in the database satisfy it.

The science

Fermentation converts part of the lactose to lactic acid, so yoghurt is tolerated far better than milk, and its live cultures help digestion. Aged hard cheeses contain almost none.

Excluded 6

Yoghurt

Milk

Lor whey cheese

Kefir (plain)

Heavy cream (unsweetened)

Buffalo milk

Handle with care

White cheese

Tarhana (dry)

Kaymak (pasteurised)

Çökelek curd cheese

Keş dried yoghurt curd

Van herbed cheese

Strained yoghurt

Labneh

Yoghurt and aged cheese are fine for most people, and butter contains only traces.

Kitchen rule Lactose belongs to milk, not to dairy: fermentation and ageing consume it. Yoghurt cultures digest roughly a third of it, strained yoghurt and labneh lose more of it with the whey, and hard aged cheeses keep almost none. Butter is 80% fat and carries only traces; clarified butter has none at all. So the only thing that usually has to leave the list is milk itself — and in a cooked dish yoghurt, a plant milk or the cooking liquid takes its place.

What you can eat

Dishes that qualify

This is not a list of things that work if you modify them. Under each dish is the reason it qualifies: some as they are, some in one of their own forms, some only once you have read the packet. A dish with an ingredient we cannot verify is left out, because a wrong badge is a health risk.

Soups 2

Wedding soup

A ceremonial soup cooked in meat broth whose identity is its terbiye: strained yoghurt, egg yolk, flour and lemon juice beaten separately, tempered, and stirred in. Finished with butter and chilli.

Suitable if the label checks out İç Anadolu, Marmara

Strained or aged: most of the lactose is gone, but not all of it.

Toyga soup

A thicker, more archaic cousin of yayla çorbası: hulled wheat instead of rice, strained yoghurt instead of plain. A hospitality dish made in big pots at religious holidays, eaten hot or cold.

Suitable if the label checks out Afyonkarahisar, Amasya, Kayseri, Sivas

Strained or aged: most of the lactose is gone, but not all of it.

Mezze 1

Haydari

A thick mezze of strained yoghurt, garlic and herbs. One thing separates it from cacık and it is decisive: haydari has no cucumber and the yoghurt is strained, so a spoon stands up in it.

Suitable if the label checks out

Strained or aged: most of the lactose is gone, but not all of it.

Breads & pastry 1

Bazlama

A leavened flatbread about 2 cm thick, cooked on a griddle and turned to cook both sides. Soft inside, slightly crisp outside, and known as village bread.

Suitable as it is Anadolu

Preserving & fermentation 2

Keş

A hard cheese made from strained yoghurt and put through a ten-day drying. Bolu keş comes in blocks; the related katık keşi is shaped like a spinning top.

Suitable if the label checks out Bolu

Strained or aged: most of the lactose is gone, but not all of it.

Antakya sürk

The most heavily spiced member of the çökelek family. The curd is kneaded with pepper paste and a broad spice battery led by wild thyme, then formed into cones and matured.

Suitable if the label checks out Hatay

Strained or aged: most of the lactose is gone, but not all of it.

Sauces & finishes 2

Sizzled butter

Butter heated in a small pan until it foams, met with chilli flakes and poured over cold garlic yoghurt. The most characteristic Turkish finish there is: mantı, yayla çorbası, Ali Nazik, çılbır.

Suitable as it is

Dried mint in butter

Dried mint bloomed briefly in hot butter and poured over a yoghurt dish. Standard on yayla çorbası, mantı, cacık and haydari.

Suitable as it is