Vegetarians -- Rennet-Free Cheese?!
Vegetarians -- Rennet-Free Cheese?
Did you know most high end cheeses are made with Rennet? Rennet is the enzymes from baby cow stomachs. Often, manufacturers just grind up the stomachs and mix it with the cheese to make it. I just recently found this out! I had no idea!
Anyway, I've found some organic rennet-free cheeses in my local Safeway grocery store. I live in Maryland.
Does anyone know if any groceries that sell rennet-free cheese? Does Whole Foods sell Rennet-free cheese? Not the soy or rice cheese. I don't like those! Thanks.
Answers:
I'm not sure of specific grocers, but if you want rennet-free cheese, buy any brand of kosher cheese. Jewish law forbids the mixing of meat and milk, so cheese made with rennet is not kosher (it would be "treif" - pronounced "trayf"); kosher cheese is rennet-free. Any synagogue office will be happy to direct you to a kosher grocer in your area; you can get office phone numbers out of the yellow pages or online. There are also kosher directories online.
I believe most hard cheese require rennet. The issue is the origin of rennet. There are three types animal, vegetable and microbial rennet. Most rennet is from the diggestive sytem of cows. There are growing number of vegetarian chese that uses microbial and vegetable rennet. Whole foods, wild oats and especially trader joes sells them. The great thing about trader joes is that they have flyers right in the store that tells you which cheese contains which rennet. All other store, you are required to reed the ingredients. Trader joes may not be in meryland yet. They are starting to show up in the east coast.
On some cheeses, I notice "microbial enzyme", on others I see "microbial enzyme and/or rennet". Strictly speaking, they should label it "rennin" if it's animal origin.
Most if not all cheese is made with rennet but not necessarily animal rennet. Several of the cabot cheeses are made with vegetable rennet. Google "vegetarian cheese" and you will get a list by brand.
It's not only high end cheeses either.