Ultrafiltration Turns Classic Brie Into a Lactose-Free Indulgence

Ultrafiltration Turns Classic Brie Into a Lactose-Free Indulgence

If you’re lactose intolerant, you’ve probably been told the same advice for years: stick to hard, aged cheeses and avoid anything soft and creamy. Parmigiano Reggiano? Safe. Brie? Risky.

Why Cheese Is Often Easier to Digest

Cheese naturally contains less lactose than milk. Most of milk’s lactose ends up in the whey, which is drained off early in the cheesemaking process. Then, as cheese ages, bacteria convert remaining lactose into lactic acid, making it easier to digest.

That’s why long-aged, firm cheeses have long been the go-to for lactose-intolerant eaters. The older and firmer the cheese, the less lactose it contains. That rule still holds—but it’s no longer the whole story.

The Technology That Changed Soft Cheese

In 1981, Jean-Claude Guilloteau, founder of Fromagerie Guilloteau, introduced ultrafiltration to soft cheesemaking. Instead of starting with whole milk, the milk is filtered through ultra-fine membranes before becoming cheese. This process retains fat, protein, and minerals while removing water and small molecules like lactose.

What’s left is a concentrated milk base that’s naturally extremely low in lactose—before cultures and rennet are even added. While ultrafiltration was already used in yogurt production, Guilloteau was the first to adapt it specifically for soft cheeses, according to the company.

The result? A cheese that’s rich, buttery, and creamy—without the lactose load.

Meet Fromager d’Affinois

Fromager d’Affinois is the most widely known example of this process. While it looks similar to brie, it’s made differently. Instead of the traditional Penicillium mold, Fromagerie Guilloteau uses Geotrichum candidum, which creates a very thin rind and helps prevent strong ammonia flavors as the cheese ages.

Although it’s not always marketed front-and-center as lactose-free, the numbers matter: the cheese contains less than 0.01 grams of lactose per 100 grams. Under both U.S. and European regulations, that qualifies it as officially lactose-free.

More Than Just One Cheese

Better still, this isn’t a one-off. The brand offers an entire lineup of soft, lactose-free cheeses:

• Le Fromager, a double-cream cow’s milk classic
• Florette (goat’s milk)
• Brebicet (sheep’s milk)
• Excellence, a triple-cream version
• Plus blues, washed rinds, and flavored options like black truffle, garlic and herbs, and chili pepper

For lactose-intolerant cheese lovers, this is a quiet but meaningful shift. Soft, spreadable, brie-style cheese no longer has to be off-limits. Thanks to ultrafiltration, creamy indulgence is back on the board—no hard cheese rules required.