If you've read any of the cheese reviews you will no doubt have noticed that I try my best to hunt down the basic facts on each cheese, displayed dutifully next to each masterful bit of photography. While Origin, Milk, and Affinge are probably pretty obvious, Rennet could cause confusion, especially given the different values given for different cheeses. By the way, if Affinage is not straightforward it's how long the cheese is matured before being considered ready for sale or before the ripening process is stopped.
For the topic at hand, though, I've been writing in either Animal, Vegetarian, or Microbial in the Rennet slot, and labeling certain cheeses as vegetarian-friendly. Why is this.
One of the first steps in the cheese-making process is the addition of a coagulating agent, rennet, to the milk, causing the individual casein cells to bunch together. This creates the separation between the curds, which will then go on to become cheese, and the whey, which is typically just tossed. There are some whey-based dairy products, namely a few exciting ones from Norway, but all in good time. The friendly enzyme behind this process is known as rennin, or chymosin, and it is present in most all young mammals as it allows the nutrients from milk to be slowed down and absorbed rather then passing too quickly through the system. While it does a great job of this in animal's intestines, it also excels when removed and introduced to vats of milk in dairies. Typically the type of rennet used is dictated by the animal from which the milk comes, but there are alternatives for those who find it unpleasant to use such rustic, if traditional, methods.
Enter Science! With the massive grown of the cheese-making industry, the need to be able to function independent of a constant supply of animal-sourced rennet became a matter of great importance. This has lead to some creative solutions, such as an instance where British cheese makers would add black snails to their milk, with great success, but most of the alternatives have been fairly straightforward and safe. One possibility is a vegetable-derived rennet, using coagulating agents from anything from thistle to soy to curdle milk while still being PETA approved. Microbial rennet from certain molds will also do the trick, as will GMO concoctions that use a mix of the previously stated alternatives and a litle Dr. Frankenstein-magic to mass produce a suitable rennet. Even citric acid is sometimes used as a creative solution, but obviously with any of these alternatives there are consequences for the future of that cheese.
Cheeses, being sums of their whole experience from plant to milk and so on, derive some of their flavor characteristics and nuance from the rennet used. When alternatives are used, the flavor is, well, altered. This effect can be more or less benign depending on the affinage of the cheese and other factors, but it has been noted that microbial rennet, for example, can lead to bitterness when used in long-aged cheeses.
Despite these concerns, and the basic uncertainty of putting GMO anything into one's products, alternative rennet types are gaining in popularity across the board. Between the consistency of supply, the appeal to vegetarian markets, and the (unfounded but persistent) concern for animal safety, there is a trend of traditional cheese-makers making the switch. Most of the UK, for example, uses alternative rennets, as do a number of US producers. As synthetic versions come ever closer to mirroring the real thing we will likely only see a rise in its use, but my opinion on the matter is that if centuries, yea millenia of traditions aren't broke, then don't try and fix it.
 | |
| Curds and Whey and some Lady |
One of the first steps in the cheese-making process is the addition of a coagulating agent, rennet, to the milk, causing the individual casein cells to bunch together. This creates the separation between the curds, which will then go on to become cheese, and the whey, which is typically just tossed. There are some whey-based dairy products, namely a few exciting ones from Norway, but all in good time. The friendly enzyme behind this process is known as rennin, or chymosin, and it is present in most all young mammals as it allows the nutrients from milk to be slowed down and absorbed rather then passing too quickly through the system. While it does a great job of this in animal's intestines, it also excels when removed and introduced to vats of milk in dairies. Typically the type of rennet used is dictated by the animal from which the milk comes, but there are alternatives for those who find it unpleasant to use such rustic, if traditional, methods.
 |
| What rennin looks like. I guess. |
Cheeses, being sums of their whole experience from plant to milk and so on, derive some of their flavor characteristics and nuance from the rennet used. When alternatives are used, the flavor is, well, altered. This effect can be more or less benign depending on the affinage of the cheese and other factors, but it has been noted that microbial rennet, for example, can lead to bitterness when used in long-aged cheeses.
Despite these concerns, and the basic uncertainty of putting GMO anything into one's products, alternative rennet types are gaining in popularity across the board. Between the consistency of supply, the appeal to vegetarian markets, and the (unfounded but persistent) concern for animal safety, there is a trend of traditional cheese-makers making the switch. Most of the UK, for example, uses alternative rennets, as do a number of US producers. As synthetic versions come ever closer to mirroring the real thing we will likely only see a rise in its use, but my opinion on the matter is that if centuries, yea millenia of traditions aren't broke, then don't try and fix it.
Thanks for your well-written article! I do differ in the opinion that just if something has been used for a long time, that justifies its continued use. In my opinion, if an animal does not need to be killed for its stomach lining and there is another way to obtain is with like results, all the better :)
ReplyDelete