What is the Difference Between Animal Rennet and Vegetable Rennet?

Don't you just love cheese? It is impressive amazing that it melts across a delicious burger or adds flavor to that least favorable food group, the vegetable. Maybe you love the way it can change boring rice, broccoli or Tuna into a scrumptious dinner casserole in just one a single dish for dinner. But have you ever put your mind to how we get this fantastic food? There is a unique aging and fermentation process used to a variety of milk and during this creation an enzyme called rennet is used.

Rennet is put into already acidified milk to force the proteins to form curds. During this process liquid runs off and is given the name whey. The amount of rennet used varies with the type of cheese the maker is trying to create. Traditionally, animal rennet comes from baby goats, cows, or sheep, before they've eaten anything but their mother's milk. It is an enzyme that comes from their stomachs. Some people have a moral issue with animal rennet because it is taken from young animals that are often slaughtered for mutton or veal. It did seem to come about in a time when milk was often stored in bags made from these animals' stomachs. Most European varieties are still made from animal rennet.

Vegetable rennet is a whole other matter. Early Greeks were known to use extractions of fig juice to coagulate milk. Other possible sources would be mallow, thistle, Ground Ivy, nettles, and soybean. Cheeses made with this form of rennet are often Kosher and fine for vegetarians.

Most people tend to think of microbial rennets as the same as vegetable. Their origin comes from a certain kind of mold, called Mucur Miehei. Something very interesting about microbial rennet is that even though its origin is with mold the end result doesn't contain any mold.

All of the above rennets can work very well in the making of cheese. Which rennet you decide to use is all variable upon the type of cheese you wish to create and the aging process involved. Generally speaking you want to use animal rennet for any of the cheeses that need longer to age. Most producers choose calf rennet for this. The microbial and vegetable rennets tend to create bitter flavors in the end product if aged longer than six months or so.

Hopefully the process we use to make this yummy food will only move you to try new kinds and enjoy in even more ways.