Rennet cheese benefits and harms. What does rennet cheese mean. What rennet enzymes are of plant origin

How to recognize cheese without rennet?

Rennin (chymosin) is an enzyme from the class of hydrolases, which is produced in the gastric glands of mammals, including humans. In ruminants, it is produced by the glands of the abomasum (4th section of the stomach), hence one of its trivial names is rennet. Virtually ALL cheeses are made using rennet. Typically, rennet is extracted from the stomachs of calves, goats, or lambs.

Many novice milk-vegetarians often do not know that not all cottage cheese and cheese can be eaten. The fact is that in the production of cheese and sometimes cottage cheese rennet, which is extracted from the stomachs of calves, can be used.

In order to get this enzyme, the calf is killed, so cheese made with rennet of animal origin cannot be considered vegetarian, because. This product uses a kill product.

How cheese is made

Cheese is made from dense, flaky particles that appear in milk as it matures. Thus, in order to make cheese, it is first necessary to separate the solids from the whey, a process called milk curdling. According to the type of milk coagulation, cheeses are divided into rennet and sour-milk.

Rennet cheeses

Rennet is often used to quickly separate the protein components of milk from whey. Rennet is a complex organic compound consisting of two components: chymosin And pepsin . In the process of making cheese, rennet acts as a catalyst for the process of curdling milk - in its presence, protein components are more actively separated from whey.

The use of rennet is quite beneficial for the manufacturer. Judge for yourself: the process of rennet curdling of milk is reduced to a matter of minutes! In addition, rennet has no effect on the organoleptic qualities of the product - neither its color, nor the smell, nor the taste change. By appearance there is no way you can tell if the cheese was made with or without rennet.

Some time after the addition of rennet, a dense clot is formed, which is carefully crushed. The whey is separated, in which there is a "cheese grain" evenly distributed by stirring.

Remarkable fact. By the way, if production is stopped at this stage, it will turn out ... cottage cheese. So commercially produced cottage cheese can easily be made using rennet.

When the grain reaches a certain percentage of moisture, it is time to give the cheese a shape - the grain is placed in a mold with holes (so that the whey leaves), pressed and sent to salt. The bars are in brine for up to 10 days, and then they are put on the shelves to ripen. Here they will spend 3 weeks. And this is a minimum - some varieties of cheese "languish" for years. Then the cheeses are sealed and sent for sale. Depending on what kind of cheese the cheese maker wants to end up with, the details of the technology, of course, may vary.

It would seem that we have a complete technological idyll - milk is curdled quickly and efficiently. True, rennet is a rather expensive pleasure, but its quantity, which is necessary for the production of cheese, is small. True, we forgot one essential detail, which is often taken not to be remembered.

Where does rennet come from?

And he appears - neither more nor less - from the stomachs of newborn calves. Calves must be no older than a certain age and, until the moment of slaughter, eat only mother's milk. Rennet - a special secretion of a small calf - is necessary for him to best digest his mother's milk. That is why it separates proteins from whey so qualitatively and completely. That's why the process happens so quickly - like in the stomach of a newborn.

We don't have indispensable

As it turned out, there is and is successfully applied.

There are microbiological substitutes for calf enzyme. Milk coagulation is also enhanced pepsin, microbial aspartyl proteinases and chymosin obtained by fermentation. All of them are widely used in European countries for the production of a product loved by many, but, unfortunately, they are much less popular with domestic manufacturers.

There are also vegetable substitutes for rennet, for example, fig juice, starter herb but they are rarely used.

What to do

You can, for example, cook cheese and cottage cheese at home on your own - so you can be sure of the composition? But if there is no opportunity or desire to do this, you can find an ethical product on the shelves of the supermarket.

How to understand if rennet was used in the preparation of cheese? And again we go to the study of labels! Alas, but this time the proud inscriptions "Only from natural ingredients", as well as all kinds of "Eco" and "Bio" will not be able to give us confidence. After all, rennet is the most natural product.

Here are the lines in the composition that should alert the attentive consumer:

> Rennet extract - many manufacturers do not consider it necessary to hide the fact of its presence in the composition;

> rennin ;

> Animal chymosin ;

> Kalase – natural rennet;

> Stabo-1290 - also an enzyme of animal origin (80% - beef pepsin, 20% - beef chymosin);

> Abomin - another name for rennet. It is sold in pharmacies and is often used by private sellers.

> Sweet milk cheese - this is the name of cheeses prepared using veal enzyme. We saw such an inscription on the front side of the package - you can no longer study the reverse.

And so it is indicated in the composition of coagulators of non-animal origin, but they can be obtained through genetic engineering (GMO)!

>100% chymosin. As we have already mentioned, rennet consists of two components - chymosin and pepsin. The inscription on the package "100% chymosin" means that it means chymosin isolated during the fermentation of a special mold fungus (for example, Mukor Miehei, or Rhizomucor meihei, as well as Rhizomucor pusillus (formerly called Mucor pusillus). Proteinases from Cryphonectria parasitica (formerly called Endothia parasitica) are most suitable for cheeses with high temperature second heating (for example, Swiss);

>Chymosin of non-animal origin- the previous item can be displayed on the package and with the help of such an inscription;

>microbiological enzyme;

>Mucopepsin(English mucorpepsin);

>microbial rennin;

>Milase is a microbial enzyme, a very good coagulant of microbial origin. Producer - "CSK food enrichment". Produced through the fermentation of Rhizomucor miehei (non-genetically modified mushrooms). Milase contains milk-clotting enzyme systems, which are specific proteases comparable in amino acid composition to calf enzyme. No GM technologies are used in its production. It is an alternative to natural enzymes of animal origin, used for the production of soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses. The organoleptic characteristics of cheeses at 100 days of age, in the production of which the Milase enzyme was used, are completely identical to cheeses made with natural rennet. The official representative of CSK food enrichment in Russia is Pavlov Company;

But contrary to popular belief, the real Feta has been and is produced using rennet, chymosin.

The old Feta recipe has been known for a long time and is simple as a stick. Fresh milk was poured into a bag from the stomach of a goat, sometimes resin from fig branches was added.

Now on the Russian market you can find, the so-called feta, produced mainly in Germany, Lithuania, France, Czech Republic. This product is not bad at all, but it differs from the snow-white, first-class Greek Feta, made in the old fashioned way, which can still be found somewhere in Greece, as “sir”, from “Sovereign Emperor”.

Whether natural chymosin is used in the manufacture of these Fet or not - one can only guess. The indirect criterion here is the price. Natural chymosin is extremely expensive and a kilo of feta rennet costs about $20 per kilo. retail in Moscow. Feta made with a vegetable substitute for chymosin is much cheaper, although it’s not a fact that the manufacturer, for the similarity of taste and consistency, didn’t stuff any dubious additives there, but that’s a completely different story.

rennin (chymosin)

An enzyme from the class of hydrolases, which is produced in the gastric glands of mammals, including humans. In ruminants, it is produced by the glands of the abomasum (4th section of the stomach), hence one of its trivial names - rennet extract . It is the first enzyme isolated chemically: Danish scientist Christian Ditlev Ammentorp Hansen isolated it by saline extraction from a dried calf stomach (gold medal in 1874).

The use of renin in industry

Rennet extract is a traditional product for curdling milk, most commonly used in cheese making.

Christian Hansen, who was the first to isolate rennin, founded the company in 1874 Chr-Hansen for the production of rennin; currently it is one of the largest companies in the bioproduct market. According to other sources, the Italian Martino Clerici was the first to isolate rennin and create drugs based on it. This happened in 1873, the company is still working. (CAGLIFICIO CLERICI).

The main source of natural rennin - frayed stomachs of dairy calves, the age of such calves is usually no more than 10 days. At a later age, along with rennin, a significant amount of pepsin begins to be produced, which worsens the quality of the cheese.

Animal rennin substitutes

In Italy, besides rennet, other enzymes are used, produced tonsils of calves and lambs, which gives a specific piquant taste to Italian cheeses.

In the 1960s, strains of the fungi Mucor pusilus and Mucor miehei were isolated, synthesizing suitable enzymes, but with less activity. Later, methods were developed for obtaining enzymes from Pseudomonas mixoides, Bacillus licheniformis, Edothea parasitica, etc.

Since the early 1990s for cheese production As a result of advances in genetic biotechnology, rennin, produced by bacteria that have copies of the calf rennin gene, has been used.

Company Genencor International developed and marketed a biotechnology product Chymogen® with greater purity, potency and stability than natural rennin. It is reported that more than 60% of hard cheeses are produced using it.

Company Pfizer developed and the company Chr-Hansen brings a product to market ChyMax® to replace natural rennin. This product is used, for example, in the production of Lamber cheese.

Cheese classification

1. Soft cheeses

Technology. Rennet or its vegetable substitute is mixed into milk for fermentation and left for a certain time. Then they are placed in gauze bags or perforated vessels so that the serum can drain. They are not pressed or salted. They may or may not be sustained. These are the famous Riccotta, Feta, Brynza, Mozzarella, Telemes, Manuri, Mizita, Antotiro, Kopanisti.

Produced in Russia:

>a. unseasoned: Smolensky Nemunas Pyatigorsky, Russian Camembert.

>b. aged: Adyghe, Moale, Naroch, Klinkovsky, Amateur, Peasant, Ostankinsky, Creamy.

2. Pressed uncooked cheeses

Technology. The curd cured with chymosin is scooped out, crushed and laid out in appropriate forms, whey is squeezed out, dried, taken out of the mold, processed in brine, then kept in large perforated forms, turning over and brushing from time to time. These are Pecorino, Edamer, Gouda, Reblochon, Cheddar, Cantal. In Russia, this technology is used to produce Russian.

3. Pressed boiled cheeses

Technology. Heating milk to 33 C, adding chymosin, after fermentation heating to 42 C for low-temperature ones, and up to 53 C for high-temperature ones (the so-called roasting). These are Gruyère, Emmentaler, Parmesan, Conte, Beaufort. Produced in Russia:

>a. from low-temperature ones: Dutch, Steppe, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Uglich, Estonian, Bukovinian.

>b. From high-temperature: Soviet, Swiss, Emmental, Altai, Carpathian, Biysk, Mountainous, Ukrainian.

4. Cheeses with noble mold

Technology. These varieties are either pressed or fired. After thickening with chymosin and lactic acid bacteria, the cheese is salted and sprinkled with a solution of a special fungus. These are Camembert, Briia, Savarin or Brie.

5. Cheese with washed edges

Technology. When ripe, these cheeses are regularly washed with brine, allowing only red mold to develop on their surface. This is Epoisse, Maroy, Livaro, Munster, Remudu or Limburgsky (Between Limburgsky cheese and golden pineapple. A.S. Pushkin)

6. Cheese with natural edges

Technology. These cheeses, after fermentation with chymosin and whey straining, are put to mature in a dry cellar. As a result, it turns out with wrinkled edges, in which a bluish-gray mold develops. These are Chabischu du Poito, Saint-Maur, Crotten de Chavignon.

7. Blue cheeses

Technology. This cheese is fermented at a temperature of strictly 30 C, strained under its own weight for two weeks, when the cheese reaches a dense consistency and stops falling apart, it is rubbed with salt, stuffed with a fungus depending on the desired variety - Roquefort or Gorgotzolla and placed in appropriate rooms, I hope Everyone remembers the legend... These are Stilton, Gorgotsolla, Fourm d'Amber, and Roquefort himself.

8. Pickled cheeses

Technology. Brine cheeses differ from other types of rennet cheeses in that they are salted, ripened and stored in concentrated brine. The range of pickled cheeses is quite diverse. Along with widespread cheeses - Kobi, Ossetian, Georgian, Imeretian, table, suluguni, brynza - many types of local (national) cheeses are produced. They are produced from pasteurized cow, sheep, goat, buffalo milk or mixtures thereof.

Types of pickled cheeses: Suluguni, Kobi, Ossetian, Imeretian, Georgian, Table, Lori, Tushinsky, Chanakh, Armenian, Limansky, Brynza

9. Processed cheese

Technology. Reflowing one or more varieties of pressed cheeses, with the addition butter, cream, milk, spices. This is Schabziger. Druzhba, Volna and other good snacks are produced in Russia.

conclusions

Rennet is used in the production of cheap cheeses, because in this case the production process is accelerated many times, and the cheese matures faster. There is an alternative to rennet cheeses, vegetarian cheeses are fermented with a microbiological culture bred in the laboratory. In Germany, on the packaging of such cheeses they write: Milchsaeurebakterien, vegetarisches Lab.

All hard cheeses are made using rennet. But, the rennet itself can be of both animal origin (pepsin) and non-animal (microbial).

Chymosin is also of animal origin. Therefore, the very name of the enzyme in the composition of the cheese - 100% chymosin - does not automatically mean that the cheese is vegetarian.

Non-animal (microbial) rennet can be obtained through genetic engineering.

Summarizing the above, we note that any absolutely any cheese of industrial production can be made using rennet.

Furthermore. The “correct” cheese, be it soft, be it hard, cannot be done without rennet.

Thus, you can only buy cheese with rennet of microbial origin, not obtained by genetic engineering.

But in order to be absolutely sure that you, by an absurd accident, will not eat the waste products of the enzyme (rennet), you must either stop eating all the cheeses produced by the domestic and foreign industry and make them yourself. Or stop, as already suggested, to bother about this topic.

Just in case here good recipe homemade Adyghe cheese from a good girl. Checked multiple times. Min is not.

Homemade Adyghe cheese recipe

Take it first more milk. At the best of times I bought six liters. Remember! Good milk makes good cheese, bad milk makes cheese tasteless!

It is best to have a cauldron, but you can also cook cheese in an enamel saucepan.

The second is good sour whey. Usually in the Adyghe family, it is kept from the previous preparation of cheese.

For the first time, you can use sour cream starter. But the more acidic the whey, the tastier the cheese will be.

When the milk begins to boil, start slowly pouring the whey into it, pour not all at once, but little by little, gradually, starting from the sides of the pan, stirring, pouring a little into the middle. You will see the milk begin to curdle. When the milk curdles and separates from the whey, it is not necessary to keep the pan on fire for a long time: the cheese will turn out not very juicy.

Throw the curdled milk into a colander, squeeze it out and transfer it to a special wicker basket.

Let the cheese be imprinted on the pattern of the basket on both sides: when it is ready, the pattern will very beautifully outline the sides of the cheese.

Lay out on a plate. Salt the cheese on both sides. Put a weight on top and soak throughout the day.

Pour the remaining green whey into a glass dish and place in a warm place. Whey cannot be stored for a long time, so it is used to prepare the next batch of cheese.

Examples of vegetarian cheeses

Adyghe is not rennet cheese.

The following cheeses are also produced with rennet of microbial (non-animal) origin:

Brynza Fetaki (in a blue pack); some cheeses "Svalya"; some cheeses "Crossroads" (in particular, "Maasdam").

It is not difficult to find vegetarian varieties among Ukrainian cheeses: for example, Dobryana, Pyryatin and Cheese Club trademarks do not use rennet at all.

Cheese with lactic acid bacteria is produced by TM "Hercules" ("Health", "Adygeisky", "Brynza"). This also includes processed cheese TM "Romol", as well as "Mozzarella" and "Ricotta Fresca" TM "Dobrynya".

Among the imported products, the line of vegetarian cheeses is represented by the trademarks Valio, Kaserei Champignon, President, Arla, Friendship, Akadia, Babybel, Dairyland, Kiri, Prestige, "Galbani", "Hermis", etc.

Non-rennet cheese - "Umalaut". All soft cheeses are usually non-rennet - Camembert, Brie. Epiim cheeses are variants of "Estonian", Edam, Gouda (in slices, in packages, not very expensive - 50 - 60 rubles for 150 - 200 g). On the package it says: "microbiological abomasum".

The main thing is to carefully read the label and make sure that the product is made with the addition of a milk-clotting enzyme of microbial origin. However, this is not the only thing worth paying attention to: it is also important, for example, whether the manufacturer has replaced part of the milk fat with harmful palm fat.

It is best to read the composition of the cheese on the factory labels, and not on the stickers that the supermarket leaves directly (this information can often differ).

Cheese always requires prior preparation of dense particles resembling flakes. They are obtained from when the raw material goes through the ripening stage. This explains the technological need to first separate the solid fraction from in order to obtain the desired raw material.

In professional cheesemaking terminology, this process is called curdling. Depending on what influenced the acceleration of the procedure, two types of product are distinguished. The first is a fermented milk category, where special microorganisms come first. In the second case, the main actor rennet stands out.

Organic Helper

To quickly separate the protein components from the main milk liquid, experts use a special enzyme. From a chemical point of view, this is a complex organic type compound that includes two components: pepsin and chymosin.

Both components help to obtain high-quality solid goodies, as they are listed as a natural catalyst for curdling. And if initially only private cheese dairies or people who prefer to cook everything at home used this method, today factories are interested in this method. With its help, it turns out to reduce time costs, which has a beneficial effect on financial costs. At the same time, the finished product fully complies with the requirements that GOST insists on. All organoleptic properties remain unchanged, which guarantees the preservation of taste and aroma characteristics. Non-professionals will not be able to distinguish between two different versions of a cheese product by telling exactly which ones were affected by rennet.

After an unusual starter enters the prepared semi-finished product, it forms a dense clot that needs to be crushed. So it will be possible to separate the whey, in which, with uniform stirring, there is a cheese grain. If left specifications at this level, instead of cheese, .

Specialists at dairy factories figured out this feature a long time ago and now they use it to get curd mass without significant time and financial costs. Consumers don't even know about it.

After the grain reaches the required moisture mark, the experts begin to give the mass a characteristic shape. To do this, the workpiece is transferred to a mold with holes for the free flow of whey. The semi-solid concentrate is then pressed and salted.

The term of salting varies from case to case, but usually never exceeds ten days. After the stage is completed, the resulting bars are sent to storage so that the goodies ripen there. This will take about three weeks.

But if we are talking about elite varieties that are created according to special recipes of private eminent cheese factories, then one head can be aged for several years. After the desired condition has been reached, the head is sealed and sent for subsequent implementation.

Having become interested in an unusual method of cheese making, many amateurs begin to look for where to get a miracle helper and are surprised at its rather high cost. But due to the fact that the minimum consumption is provided here, the consumer still wins. You can buy the ingredient at a pharmacy or in specialized stores.

Origin story

Historians have not yet found exact information about where the tradition of getting the rennet product first came from. But there are plenty of legends about this.

The original component is isolated from the stomachs of newborn calves. Moreover, these should be animals that have not yet reached a certain age and, until the moment of obtaining the enzyme, ate only mother's milk.

Not all farmers are ready to destroy domestic livestock stocks in order to obtain a precious component. Yes, and animal advocates are not asleep, believing that this is far from the most humane reason for killing calves.

So what is it and why is it possible to get a natural enzyme only in this way? The rennet secret is inherent only in young cattle, which is secreted in the stomach of babies so that they can better digest the milk coming from the mother. This explains why the liquid so easily separates into two main fractions in a matter of minutes.

Initially, the recipe for gourmet cheeses of this type provided for the use of exclusively an enzyme of natural origin. But with the development of the food industry, people have been able to find more human approaches to getting soft delicacies. Most often, for identical purposes, pepsin is chosen, which is responsible for the coagulation of milk.

Sometimes the technology involves the addition of microbial aspartyl proteinases and chymosin, which are released through the passage of the fermentation phase. All this is readily used by many European factories, which support the idea of abandoning the old method, which is far from the concept of humane.

In very rare cases, some manufacturers resort to vegetable substitutes, which are:

fig juice;
starter grass.

These techniques are supported by the vegetarian movements. At the same time, aces warn that if a consumer wants to purchase a ready-made product, then the label “Organic composition” or “Natural components” will not save him from eating particles of rennet. In fact, it is also a natural component, so marketers do not seem to deceive a potential client.

To recognize the catch, you need to carefully read the full composition. Since today the range of these fermented milk products is quite wide, it will be possible to find suitable option simple enough. To help with this, chemists have compiled a kind of summary with clues that deciphers the obscure ingredients listed on the label:

Renin and animal chymosin testify to that classic enzyme.
Another natural filler.
Stabo-1290. Element of animal origin.
Abomin. The same enzyme that is easy to find at the pharmacy. It is actively used by people who know how to make cheese at home with a minimum of tools.

Also, experts advise to carefully read the label, where there is a mention like “Sweet milk cheese”. This indicates that the product includes veal secret.

Separately, there is a classification for coagulators identical in properties that are of non-animal origin. The most common substitute is pure chymosin, which is labeled "100% chymosin". This indicates that under laboratory conditions it was extracted during the fermentation of special moldy fungi. Most often it is:

Mukor Miehei;
Rhizomucor pusillus;
Mucorpusillus.

If the instruction provides for the mention of proteinase, then Cryphonectria parasitica has been here. Its particles are suitable for a narrow range of cheese masses that have received an increased temperature for the second heating. A striking example of this are the Swiss varieties.

Rich choice

Before you look for how to cook the cheese you like during the initial tasting, you need to decide which category it belongs to. This will allow you to understand how they differ and which option to give preference to, based on your skills.

Most often, factory cooking provides for solid varieties. It is quite problematic to create them manually at home, at least later, because the shutter speed stretches for about half a year, or even more. Not all amateurs are able to provide goodies with conditions suitable for aging. Separately, you will need to make sure that the pressure load on the head is really large. The result is the following delicacies known to all gourmets:

It is a little easier with semi-solid solutions, because it takes only a couple of months for their final maturation. Them distinctive feature the presence of eyes - branded holes in a dense mass. Depending on the specific type, the format and size of the eyes will vary significantly. The most famous representatives of the camp are Emmental and.

For home cooking, mild variations are usually preferred, the original recipe of which is quite easy to repeat. Moreover, each hostess independently decides what flavor to give her masterpiece. Also, the chef will be able to decide: whether the resulting dish should be immediately, or postponed for the sake of aging for a couple of days. The most common representatives of the group are called and.

Another popular solution for copying is pickled offerings, which include:

They are distinguished by the addition of a new item to the technology, which provides for the need to undergo salting for several days. This guarantees an appropriate aftertaste as well as a brittle and layered structure. Such goat cheese can often be found among the stocks of enterprising rural residents of most of the countries formerly part of the Soviet Union.

But processed delicacies are already more difficult to repeat without the appropriate equipment. Here you have to juggle not only cheese combinations, but also dosages:

milk;
oils;

It is difficult without a certain experience to do everything by eye, which will please the family with a pleasant consistency of the resulting product.

It is even more difficult to repeat originals with mold. In some cases, amateur experiments can even be dangerous. To create them, only a special food mold is involved, which in minimal quantities has a positive effect on the digestive processes. Only now, pregnant women and mothers during lactation should avoid such delicacies.

Cypriot recipe

Each nationality has its own signature cheese recipe, be it classic Russian or spicy Italian. Among the inhabitants of Cyprus, it passes under the name halloumi and provides for belonging just to rennet solutions.

For its preparation, you will need to strictly follow the established proportions:

5 liters of milk;
1 g of calcium chloride;
0.5 g of rennet;
tea spoon ;
dried tablespoon.

First, the milk is heated to a temperature of 32 degrees. If the milk turned out to be pasteurized, then calcium chloride is first poured into it, and then the enzyme. After that, the workpiece is left for 45 minutes to form a clot.

For control, a clean fracture test is performed. If the desired consistency is not reached, the lump is left for another 15 minutes, after which the mixture is cut into equal cubes of 1.5 cm and left for 10 minutes.

The clot is again sent to the fire, where in slow mode it heats up in 15 minutes to 38 degrees. Mix very gently at first, and then more intensively. As soon as the desired temperature is reached, it will take another 20 minutes to stir the semi-finished product. Then the mass is left for another 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

At the stage of removing the whey, it is not necessary to pour it into the sink, as it will still come in handy. The masses are laid out in a mold with holes and crushed by hand to start the self-pressing process.

After 15 minutes, the cheese is turned over, leaving it in this position for another 15 minutes. While this is happening, you should have time to heat the serum to 95 degrees and put the workpiece in the hot liquid so that it does not touch the day.

Now you have to wait until the clot pops up. Usually 40 minutes is enough. The cheese is then dipped in cold water for a couple of seconds, and then immediately put on the board and flatten.

It remains only to grate with salt and sprinkle with mint from the inside. The Cypriots fold the cheese into a crescent shape at this stage, but this is not strictly necessary. You can simply roll it up with a bar, after which you can hold the treat in the refrigerator for three days for better impregnation. Halloumi should be eaten after roasting on a grill or a dry frying pan.

Modern cheeses are so numerous and diverse that it is even somehow wrong to generalize them - they are too different from each other. This variety not only affects the flavor of the cheese, but can also make a huge difference to the consumer when choosing one or another variety - for example, conscious buyers often want to know exactly what they are buying. If we talk about varieties that are common, but still not very clear to consumers, then a group of rennet cheeses should be singled out separately.

Features and Distinctions

If we talk about the difference between “ordinary” cheese and rennet cheese, then it’s worth starting with the fact that the rennet variety appeared much earlier, and in general, if not for it, mankind would not even have guessed about any cheese. The fact is that cheese, like many other brilliant inventions, was originally created by accident. Prehistoric people had big problems with utensils for storing food, and even before the development of pottery, many peoples used the stomachs of dead animals as a kind of vessel.

In a culture that did not even master pottery, the concepts of sanitization were very arbitrary, therefore even enzymes characteristic of a living animal could often be preserved in “fresh” dishes. For example, an enzyme found in the stomach of young calves accelerates the curdling of milk, and at some point our ancestors realized that this does not spoil the milk, but makes it possible to obtain a completely new product that is at least as healthy.

Since then, the technology of cheese making has undergone significant changes, and the stomachs of animals are rarely used as dishes for storing anything. Milk for making cheese is also fermented in different ways, and in most cases everything is done by ordinary lactic acid bacteria that enter the liquid either from the air or from the starter, which is all the same milk, only already pre-sour. However, in some cases, cheese is still produced today using special enzymes. Another thing is that they are either extracted from the stomachs of animals in factory conditions and sold as a ready-made starter, or synthesized artificially. The result is the so-called rennet cheese, and it differs from the ordinary, therefore, in the type of leaven used.

Rennet cheese is not one specific type of product, but a whole group of cheeses that are prepared according to different recipes and with the addition of the most unexpected ingredients, such as herbs and spices, herbs and nuts, and even dried fruits. At the same time, in Russia there are two GOST standards at once that regulate these varieties - they include GOST 7616-85 for hard varieties of rennet cheese and 27568-87 for the same export-oriented products.

In general, the product is very versatile - it can be used both in its pure form, without anything, and as a component for any dishes that theoretically could contain cheese. For example, it is added to salads and side dishes, appetizers, sauces and even desserts. Cheese lovers are usually very partial to rennet varieties, but such products are usually quite expensive, since even with current technologies, obtaining rennet is not so easy.

Like all other cheeses, rennet varieties fall into different categories that are specific to cheese products in general. It should be noted that many varieties will seem familiar and not so expensive, but the problem may be that cheese of the same variety, but from different manufacturers, can be both rennet and “regular”.

Solid varieties are a kind of classic. In particular, the mentioned GOSTs apply specifically to them. The masterpieces of this trend include such well-known brands as Parmesan, Russian or Dutch. The trick lies in the fact that in the store the last two varieties are usually not presented in the rennet variety, since it requires maturation for at least six months.

Semi-solid varieties are much cheaper, if only because their ripening period is not so long - several months are enough for the head to reach optimal conditions. A striking example of this variety is Latvian cheese.

Soft rennet cheeses are good because they can be eaten immediately after the completion of a relatively short cooking process, although in general rennet is different in that long exposure is always only good for him. If Roquefort is quite often really rennet, then with Adyghe cheese the story is about the same as with Russian or Dutch - any type of sourdough can be used.

Pickled cheeses do not require any special introduction at all - everyone has probably tried Brynza or Feta. Another thing is that such a lactic acid product belongs to the most natural, therefore it is better not to buy it at all in a store, tasting a delicacy in the village, and rennet is rarely used there.

Rennet cheeses are even processed, although this type of product is very rare - so much so that it is even difficult to single out some well-known leader. It should be noted that in order to avoid loss of properties, the rennet variety should not be heated just as much, therefore only some manufacturers who have enough money to purchase complex technology can afford heat treatment. In most cases, the melting effect is achieved through the use of salts that melt the head chemically.

Varieties with mold, like rennet cheese, are created by man, they appeared quite by accident, therefore it is not surprising that one is not a hindrance to the other.

Composition and calories

If rennet is not mentioned in the composition of the cheese product, you should not immediately think that in the cooking process it was necessary to do without it. The fact is that, as it should be in a chemical reaction, when two reactants interact, both turn into something new. Consequently, the enzyme is no longer in its pure form in the cheese - it has broken down into quite familiar components that we don’t even notice, especially considering the fact that a huge amount of cheese product is obtained from a small bag of the substance. Otherwise, the composition of rennet cheese is no different from any other - the main ingredient there is milk, and various seasonings are usually used as additives.

Concerning energy value, then it can only be determined in general syrts, because, as already mentioned, we are not talking about a specific product, but about a whole group of products. However, on average, the calorie content of rennet varieties is estimated at 305 kcal, that is, such a product cannot be called a light snack.

On the other hand, BJU hints that such a snack is not so harmful for the figure, since there are zero carbohydrates in it, and proteins and fats are equally and relatively few - within 25% for each.

Since rennet cheese is practically no different in composition from all other varieties, it would be fair to assume that its benefits for the body are similar. As a result of its regular use, one can expect a significant, clearly noticeable improvement in the state of all body systems, unless, of course, we are talking about natural product. Possible restrictions on the use of such a product are very few - it should not be eaten except by people with lactose intolerance, and smoked and salted varieties are also not recommended for those who have certain problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Separately, we should mention vegetarians, who are not prohibited from rennet cheese for medical reasons, which does not prevent them from massively refusing to consume such food. Natural rennet is obtained from the stomach of calves, which must be killed for this, and although such an ingredient is no longer present in the final product, it is quite clear that without the death of the animal, such a cheese will not work. Today, there are many cheese starters of vegetable or fungal origin, so vegetarians, for whom cheeses in general are one of their favorite foods, can afford to choose.

cooking recipes

There are many ways to make rennet cheese - it all depends on what product you want to get and what ingredients you have on hand. However, in any case, it is worth starting with the maximum simple recipe. For the simplest variety of rennet, you should choose a substance called pepsin, which is sold in most pharmacies and some large supermarkets.

Milk will be the main raw material, in our conditions it is most reasonable to take cow's milk - it is publicly available and does not have any unusual properties and features. It should be understood that for maximum benefit the resulting cheese is better to take whole milk, after all, only such raw materials retain all vitamins and microelements. Ideally, of course, you need to take village milk, although such an extreme can be fraught with risk, because without pasteurization, in addition to useful, harmful microorganisms may be present in the liquid.

One pack of pepsin requires about 8 liters of milk, but the enzyme does not dissolve in it, but first in ordinary water. It should be remembered that this is a complex organic chemistry, because the water must first be boiled so that there is definitely no infection in it, and then cooled to a cool state so that the enzyme does not lose its properties.

When the powder is completely dissolved in water, it should be mixed with milk. The latter, by the way, is not suitable in any of its forms - its temperature should be about 35-37 degrees, and this requirement should not be neglected. Those who studied biology well at school know that most of the active substances in the body lose their abilities when the temperature deviates from the norm even by a few degrees.

This statement also applies to pepsin, because the desired effect will be achieved only if the temperature of the milk approximately corresponds to the body temperature of a healthy calf. It is important to thoroughly knead the milk for several minutes. so that the enzyme, whose proportion in the liquid is extremely small, can interact with the entire volume of the future cheese. If everything is done correctly, fermentation will take very little time - the milk will turn sour in just an hour.

In the calf's body, the function of pepsin is to help separate the generally useless whey from proteins, and since we are pursuing the same goal, it means that we will have to create conditions for the enzyme that resemble natural conditions as much as possible. To do this, a container with sour milk is placed in a larger container filled with water at a temperature of 37-38 degrees, which must be maintained. After a while, it is desirable to even increase the degree so that it reaches +40.

If the instructions are followed, after two to three hours a clot with a characteristic “rubber” consistency is formed.

Here the cheese is almost ready - it remains only to remove the whey. For this purpose, a colander is lined with two or three layers of gauze, and then almost ready cheese is laid there so that it stacks. When the bulk of the liquid subsides, you can intensify the process by hanging the head in the same tissue or even squeezing the cheese without unfolding the gauze. You can use the product right there, although, as already mentioned, exposure (but in the right conditions) will only benefit him.

This recipe involves the simplest preparation of homemade cheese, but if you succeeded the first time and have a desire to experiment further, you can try to implement more complex recipes. In this case, the sequence of actions will correspond to what is written in the recipe, only the enzyme should be used as a starter.

If such a component was not listed among the original ingredients, it should be understood that the duration of each stage of making a cheese head is significantly reduced - this is the beauty of pepsin.

Storage

The shelf life of rennet cheeses is usually quite long. Under the right conditions, they not only do not deteriorate, but also acquire new, even more expressive notes in taste and aroma. Under the right conditions, a low temperature is assumed in the range from 0 to 4 degrees Celsius, as well as the absence of drafts and any extraneous odors. In the context of the last two requirements, it seems most correct to store the cheese in a tightly closed enameled or glass container wrapped on the outside in cellophane - in this sequence, and not vice versa.

Cheese is well stored in the refrigerator (up to several months) and requires fairly low temperatures, but it is undesirable to put it in the freezer - although it will last longer, it will turn into an inexpressive tasteless crumb when defrosted.

For information on how long to store homemade cheese, see the video below.

Rennet in cheese making: what is it and can vegetarians eat rennet?

Most new vegetarians who eat dairy products do not even think about the fact that not every cheese or cottage cheese can be classified as a vegetarian, ethical category. It turns out that those that include animal rennet in their composition should also be considered forbidden dairy products. Modern manufacturers very often use abomasum to make hard cheeses, and sometimes cottage cheese, curd products (glazed curds, etc.).

Read the article to the end! Rennet is not always an animal product, learn how to correctly determine the composition of cheese in order to be sure to distinguish a vegetarian product from a non-vegetarian one. For those who are in a hurry or do not want to go into details, you can use the list of cheeses without animal ingredients.

Adyghe cheese (or paneer) in 90% of cases has a vegetarian composition, 100% ethical in vegetarian stores or in outlets Hare Krishnas. In ordinary stores: brands "Green Meadow" - Russia, "Starodub" - Russia, "Hercules" - Ukraine.
Cheese - TM "Denmax".
Cheese with blue mold from TM "Lazur", production Poland.
Cheese Belebeevsky from the dairy plant "Belebeevsky".
TM "Kazerai Champignon" - all cheese products.
Smetankovy hard cheese - manufacturer TM "Ferma".
ТМ “President” — cheeses: “Emmental”, “Edam”, “Maasdam”, “Madrigal.
TM "Romol" - Ukraine, only processed cheese.
Ukrainian cheeses from the trademarks "Pyryatin", "Slavia", "Zdorovo!". Also TM "Zvenigora", "KOMO". All TM "Cheese Club".
Bulorus - Postavy Dairy Plant: Ranitsa, Rivera and Servant cheeses.
Wimm-Bill-Dann Lambert hard cheese without rennet only in European countries! Production in the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine has a different recipe. The same story with Edam”, “Gouda”, “Maasdam”, “Atleet”, “Oltermanni” - the manufacturer is the Finnish company Valio.

This list is not complete, as it is difficult to collect information and check all cheeses. You can add information in the comments.

Where does abomasum come from and what do they do with it?

Where does abomasum come from? Rennet is contained in the stomach of a newborn calf; in adulthood, the production of the enzyme stops, which is why, in order to extract the necessary component, small calves are slaughtered. For this reason, the use of cheese produced by killing, for the purpose of extracting rennet, is unacceptable for any type of vegetarians (and -lacto, and -ovo, etc.).

Hard cheese, which can often be found on the shelves of the dairy department, is made in this way: in the milk, during the fermentation period, thick particles are formed, similar to dense flakes: it is necessary to wait until the milk begins to curdle, it is at this time that it will be possible to separate its solid part of whey. Homemade cottage cheese is prepared in a similar way or: with the help of gauze or a strainer, milk flakes are separated from whey.

So, in order to speed up the process and quickly separate the protein part of milk from the liquid (whey), manufacturers use rennet.
By itself, rennet is a rather complex compound of organic origin, which is based on two components called chymosin and pepsin. These substances contribute to the rapid separation of protein elements from whey. Such a "magic" ingredient that speeds up production.

Naturally, this approach is extremely beneficial for many companies producing fermented milk products. The long process of turning milk into cottage cheese and into cheese using rennet takes much less time! The presence of rennet in a dairy product cannot be detected in any way, since this substance in no way changes either the color, or the smell, or even the taste of the cheese produced. Although the last arguments can be argued a little. Vegetarians often share their experience, pointing out the specific taste of rennet cheeses: pronounced bitterness, which leaves an unpleasant aftertaste (as one of the points by which one can determine the unethical nature of the product). Although the manufacturer denies the effect of abomasum on taste qualities cheese.

Making cheese and cottage cheese with rennet

Let's go back to cheese making: as soon as the organic enzyme enters the milk and accelerates the separation of the protein, a very characteristic clot is formed in the milk - the "milk grain", which is then carefully crushed. After - the serum is decanted, separating the crushed particles from the unnecessary liquid. Here is such an unpretentious way to get cottage cheese! A little later, cheese will be made from cottage cheese, but now the product is ready for use and can get on store shelves. The same cottage cheese that real vegetarians should not use.

And back to cheese production. After the "grain" (cottage cheese) reaches the specified percentage of moisture, you can add to the fermented milk product desired shape. Holes are made in the workpiece so that the remaining whey is drained through them. Future cheese is pressed, and then sent straight to salting.

The resulting bars should stay in brine for about 10 days. Then they are put on the shelves until fully ripe, this process lasts approximately 14 days. However, for cheeses, such a period is not the limit, since individual varieties dairy product can "languish" for months and even years. Finally, the cheese is sealed and packaged and sent to store shelves. The production process can differ markedly depending on the objectives of the company and the needs of consumers.

Why does a calf need rennet?

To get rennet, humanity goes to extreme measures - killing, in this case, newborn calves. Abomasum is produced in the animal body only in infancy. At the time of slaughter, calves should be fed on their mother's milk and nothing else.
For a newborn calf, rennet is necessary, first of all, for efficient digestion and digestion of mother's milk. Hence its property of rapid separation of proteins from whey.

Is there an alternative? What kind of cheese can be a vegetarian?

However, vegetarians have a good alternative to animal rennet, which is microbial in nature. This substance of non-animal origin can be found in many imported cheeses and less often in domestic ones. To find the right cheese, you need to carefully read the contents - the list of ingredients, which should indicate microbial (or, alternatively, rennet) enzyme. In some cases, the ingredient may be called "microbial rennin".

If in the composition you are studying you stumble upon any derivative words “microbial” or “microbiological”, then you can safely purchase cheese. Its non-animal origin can be indicated by the presence of a plant or microbacterial enzyme in it. By the way, it has many specific and scientific names, including the common people's concept of "abomasum".

What rennet enzymes are of plant origin?

In the manufacture of hard cheeses with the addition of rennet, such substances of non-animal origin can be used, such as:

Meito Microbial Rennet (Meito). It is produced from a food mushroom not only through its fermentation, but also through prolonged drying;
Maxiren. Its production involves lactic yeast belonging to the type Kluveromyces lactis;
Chymogen (Fromase). Obtained by splitting molds called Mucor miehei;
CHY-MAX. Made from Aspergillus niger;
Maxilact. Produced from dairy mushrooms of individual species;
milase. Produced from the fermentation process of Rhizomucor miehei mushrooms (non-GMO);
suparen. This plant enzyme can be produced through the digestion of Endothia fungi.

When interpreting 100% chymosin, manufacturers mean the type of substance that was obtained as a result of the fermentation of a special mold fungus.

E1105 in cheese - egg white!

Vegetarians should avoid not only animal rennet, but also such a well-known preservative as lysozyme. In the composition of cheese, it can be calculated by the code name E1105. It is made from egg white. You can meet this component, most often, in Polish-made cheeses.

If you really care about your health, then do not forget about.

Note that a plant enzyme is cheaper than a natural one, and therefore it is more profitable for cheese producers to sell products containing the second type of catalyst.

All hard cheeses have rennet in one way or another. The only difference is what origin it is. As you already understood, vegetarians should buy fermented milk products only with rennet of microbial origin.

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