Lactose Intolerant Egypt
Guide for the Lactose Intolerant Traveller
Download this Free Lactose Intolerant Translation Card in Arabic
Fortunately, if you’re looking for a lactose intolerant Egypt experience you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Much of Egypt’s finest traditional cuisine is naturally dairy-free.
That’s not to say there aren’t things to watch out for, but if you follow the simple set of rules below you should be able to your travels sans bloat and munch some delicious food in the process.
1) Stick to fresh foods & avoid processed rubbish
Lactose is prevalent in many of the foods we eat, sometime more obviously than others. For example, it’s relatively simple to avoid cheese, cream, milk, curd etc but far more difficult to navigate around the various lactose binding agents used in processed foods such as delactosed, lactalbumin, lactoblobulin, casein to mention but a few.
Similarly many everyday foods in Egypt and elsewhere also contain lactose. These may include cereals, breads, crackers, protein bars and vegetarian meat products.
In Egypt you won’t have the convenience of a label ensuring the product is ‘lactose free’ so it’s advisable to give processed foods a wide berth in general.
The goods news is that Egyptians consume ‘whey’ less (see what I did there?) processed food that we do in the Europe or the states and that most food in Egypt is made and eaten fresh.
2) Always ask the Chef and trust you gut!
As most food in Egypt is prepared onsite from fresh ingredients, Egyptian chef’s can usually list their recipes with a respectable degree of accuracy. Use a translation card to ensure you are fully understood but do double check with the restaurant even if you know the food ‘should’ be lactose free.
Egyptians aim to please and are occasionally guilty of saying what they think you want to hear. So make sure you’ve been understood and if you’re in any doubt, try the place the next door instead.
3) Use a translation card!
Translation cards are a simple way to get your message across in Arabic and list all the food you can and can’t eat. Do bear in mind that illiteracy rates in Egypt remain around the 30% mark (according to the CIA World Fact book), so if the waiter doesn’t read, make sure he shows it to someone who does.
4) Do your research before you go
It is important to know what food should be lactose free before you set off, this way you know what to look for on the menus and can then make further enquiries with the staff.
Below is a non exhaustive list of delicious, theoretically lactose free dishes commonly found on Egyptian menus.
Koshari – An awesome, vegetarian/vegan friendly mix of pasta, lentils, chickpeas and noodles smothered in spicy tomatoes sauce. Kosheri restaurants are all over Egypt and typically have just three variations on the menu, small, medium and large!
Meats – Egyptians love to barbeque meat and most main courses have at least one element of simply prepared skewered meat or meat balls known as ‘Kofta’. Steer clear of the yoghurt sauces that often accompany them.
Seafood – The closer you are to the sea the more delicious seafood is available and even Cairo has some great fish dens. The fresher the fish, the more simply it should be prepared. Barbequed with a few drops of lemon is a great option for a lactose intolerant Egyptian dinner.
Hummus & Other Mezzes – Most meals in Egypt are served with a plethora of small hot and cold dips and salads known as mezzes. Many of these should be suitable for the lactose intolerant traveller. Hummus is a well known favourite made from chickpeas and sesame paste; others include baba ganouche (mashed aubergine) or tabouleh (green salad with bulgur wheat).
Fresh fruit and vegetables – Every town/city or resort in Egypt has a colourful souk or market, full of, among other things, fresh fruit and veg. Tomatoes, onions, peppers, sugarcane, mangos and melons are just a few of the readily available treats.
5) Bring supplies!
There’s a growing list of lactose free foods available for order online in the UK, Europe and the USA. If you want to be sure that you always have something to nibble (particularly in more remote regions) then it’s not a bad idea to bring a few choice items on your trip. You can even bring lactose free milk in your hold luggage if you secure it well enough.
7) If all else fails, go self catering!
And finally, if you have a few basic skills in the kitchen there’s no reason that you can’t buy your own ingredients fresh at the local market and then cook up an Egyptian style storm in the comfort of your own apartment. Here are a few Egyptian recipes to get started with.
For More Information:
Lactose Free Products - preparation for a lactose intolerant egypt vacation
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