BTW, doing a lot of looking around online for DIY products. Our 2 grocery stores do not carry lactose-free dairy items other than milk, cottage cheese & some Cabot cheddar cheese. No cream cheese, yogurt or sour cream. I found lactose-free cream cheese 45 minutes away .... $7.99 for a ‘block’ of one brand & over $4 for an 8 oz. tub in another brand. No way I’m paying that kind of money.
What I found was that I can easily make cream cheese with 2 ingredients (lactose-free milk & lemon juice or white vinegar). Yogurt is a little more complicated, but again I can use lactose-free milk. Unfortunately, sour cream cannot be made with lactose-free milk although it is super easy to make otherwise. Greek yogurt, which I can make lactose-free, is a substitute for sour cream, so I’m ‘good’ there, too :-)
Also, as easy as it is to make cream cheese, I can make it when I need it so it’s always fresh & good. Mom eats yogurt every morning, so I plan to start making our own. I may invest in a yogurt maker to super simplify the process. Evidently, homemade yogurt is far superior in beneficial active cultures to store bought, plus no additives, & mom/I could both benefit from that.
Glad you’re finding solutions to your Dairy Dilemma!
Do you have an Instant Pot? You can make yogurt in that. I haven’t tried yet, but it’s on my list.
I love making butter. I have this little jar gizmo (you can use a Mason jar) and it is so much fun. BUT - have a few other people around when you’re making butter - it’s like hand-churned old-fashioned Ice Cream and needs a lot of hands to help with the shaking. ;)
Another project I ‘Tom Sawyer’ out to anyone near me, LOL! But they’re always AMAZED at how easy it is to make something as everyday as butter. I love it! :)
(And the Buttermilk left behind can be used for many other things.)