Rennet

Introduction

There are more than 100 varieties of cheese and many of these have their presence on the dining tables worldwide. But cheese was not popular in India till a few decades ago. The reason for this was the rennet used for making cheese was obtained from the stomach of the calf and the majority of the Indians worship cows and slaughtering a cow is considered a grave sin. Rennet is an enzyme and coagulating agent and is an essential ingredient for cheese making.

However, with the introduction of vegetarian coagulation enzymes (vegetarian rennet) and microbial rennet (vegetarian), the popularity and consumption of cheese in India are increasing. The availability of branded pizzas and burgers, and fast-food products in cities and towns has increased the popularity of cheese; many of these products use cheese as their main ingredient.

Rennet meaning

Rennet is an enzyme and a crucial ingredient in the production of cheese. Rennet coagulates the milk for making cheese and separates solid cheese curd from liquid whey. Coagulation is a process of liquid changing to a semisolid or solid state. You can say rennet turns the milk into curd which is the initial step for making cheese.

Rennet can be of three types:

• Animal rennet
• Vegetarian rennet
• Microbial rennet (vegetarian)

Animal rennet

Animal rennet is extracted from the stomach of young calves. The vast majority of Indians are against animal rennet since cow is worshiped and cow slaughter is considered a heinous crime. Animal rennet is not available in India. Cheese manufacturers in India do not use animal rennet; they only use vegetarian rennet.

Vegetarian rennet

Many plant extracts have coagulating properties. Vegetarian rennet can be sourced from families of plant classes like Galium, dried caper leaves, thistles, etc. Paneer Booti and Ashwagandha of India have coagulation properties and some use Paneer Booti for making paneer.

Indian cheese manufacturers use vegetarian rennet for producing some types of cheese.

Microbial rennet

Microbial rennet is made from some types of mold, yeast, and fungus. Funguses like ‘Rhizomucor miehei’   can give proteolytic enzymes (proteolysis is the process of breaking down milk proteins into amino acids).

Please visit Wikipedia for more on rennet.

Today’s article is about ‘Microbial rennet‘ and we will discuss more about this in the next section.

Microbial rennet Vegetarian

Homemade Mozzarella cheese is a wonderful thing since it is made with your own hands and your people love and admire it. The happiness that comes from making something with your own hands and feeding your loved ones is profound!

You know cheese is made from milk. But, do you know what other ingredients are needed to make cheese from milk at home (or at a cheese processing plant)? Rennet is an important ingredient in making cheese from milk.

Rennet is used for coagulating the milk . It turns the milk into curd which is the first step of making cheese.

Microbial rennet is a vegetarian rennet created from fungi, mold, or yeast. Microbial rennet is used to produce processed cheese like cheddar.

You may watch this, this, and this YouTube videos on vegetarian and microbial rennet.

Advantages of Microbial Rennet

• Microbial rennet does not originate from animals; hence, it can be consumed by vegetarians.
• Comes with an organic label.
• Have a good shelf life.
• Not very costly

Microbial and vegetarian rennet in India

Below are a few microbial and vegetarian rennet available in India. You can search the internet for more.

Fermentaholics Vegetarian Microbial Rennet Tablets for Vegan Cheese Making, perforated for easy use

Features of this product are:

• Available in the form of tablets, the tablets are perforated for easy parting into 1/4^th or 1/2 size.
• The dosage mentioned is 1/4^th tablet (dissolved in 1/4^th cup water) for one gallon of milk (1 gallon = 3.785 litres)
• This product is from the USA
• Microbial rennet is derived from fungus and is a good vegetarian-friendly coagulant agent
• Use it to make your own Mozzarella, Gouda, Cheddar, and Ricotta cheese at home.
• Store it at room temperature for a short period or in the freezer for its extended life.
• The supply includes a 30-minute Mozzarella cheese recipe.
• Microbial rennet is obtained from the fungus of Miehei and it breaks down the protein bonds in milk, separates curd and whey, and maximizes the curd formation without making it bitter.
• The product is non-returnable.
• The star rating is 4.4 out of 5 stars (815 ratings). The ratings are from the USA, Canada, and other countries and the reviews are normally good.
• Please read the label on the product for actual information. Watch for the mark of ‘vegetarian product’ on the label.
• Please view the Amazon website for the price.

Powdered vegetarian rennet, posh flavors, 5 convenient sachets (each for 2 liters of milk), non-GMO, gluten-free, and 100 percent vegetarian. Make cheese easily at home.

Features of this product are:

• The brand name is Alla’s Posh Flavours
• Vegetarian product, watch for the mark of ‘vegetarian product’ on the label.
• The product is a microbiological coagulant in granule form. This is acquired from a form of rhizmucor miehei mushrooms.
• Each pack contains 5 sachets of microbial vegetarian rennet. The ratio is one sachet for 2 liters of milk.
• Non-GMO and gluten free. GMO stands for ‘Genetically Modified Organism.’
• The country of origin is Italy. Packed and marketed by, Alla’s Posh Flavors ^TM, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• Easy to use at home. Use one sachet for 2 litres of milk and it coagulates the milk and separates the curds from whey.
• The package contains only vegetarian rennet and does not include cheese cultures.
• The price is INR 399 for five sachets, but the price may change.
• The product is non-returnable.
• The star rating is 4.1 stars out of 5 stars (34 ratings). Reviews are generally favorable. Few comments say “it makes good paneer and not Mozzarella cheese.”
• View the Amazon website for more details.
• You can view the website of Alla’s Posh Flavours (click on this).

Alla’s Posh Flavors Cheesemaking Liquid Vegetarian Rennet, 100% Vegetarian. Supply includes measuring pipette, Recipe for Mozzarella, and support. Contents of glass bottle (30 ml) sufficient for 400 litres of milk, and makes About 50Kg Mozzarella.

Features of this product are:

• The brand name is Alla’s Posh Flavours
• Vegetarian product, watch for the mark of ‘vegetarian product’ on the label.
• Each bottle contains 30 ml of liquid vegetarian rennet. The number of drops per liter of milk is specified on the product.
• Non-GMO and gluten free.
• The country of origin is Spain. Packed and marketed by, Alla’s Posh Flavors ^TM, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• The package contains only the liquid vegetarian rennet and does not contain cheese culture (you must purchase it separately).
• The current offer Price of one bottle of 30 ml is INR 899. Prices are subject to change.
• The product is non-returnable.
• The star rating is 4.3 stars out of 5 stars (77 ratings). Reviews are generally favorable.
• View the Amazon website for more details.
• You can view the website of Alla’s Posh Flavours (click on this).

Alla’s Posh Flavors powdered Vegetarian Microbial Rennet, 5 convenient sachets, one sachet for 4 liters of Milk. Non-GMO. Gluten-Free. 100% Vegetarian. Quick Mozzarella Recipe is included in the supply.

Features of this product are:

• The brand name is Alla’s Posh Flavours
• Vegetarian product, watch for the mark of ‘vegetarian product’ on the label.
• Each supply contains 5 sachets of powder microbial vegetarian rennet. One sachet per 4 liters of milk (please confirm from the product label).
• Non-GMO and gluten free.
• The country of origin is Italy. Packed and marketed by, Alla’s Posh Flavors ^TM, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• The package contains only the vegetarian rennet sachets and does not contain cheese culture (you must purchase it separately).
• The current offer Price of 5 sachets is INR 425. Prices are subject to change.
• The product is non-returnable.
• The star rating is 4.1 stars out of 5 stars (47 ratings). Reviews are generally favorable. There are a few negative comments like ‘it makes paneer, not cheese’, ‘it did not work for me’, etc.
• View the Amazon website for more details.
• You can view the website of Alla’s Posh Flavours (click on this).

Disclaimer: Please note that ‘https: www.blogforcuriousmind.com‘ is not affiliated with any e-commerce sites and it does not benefit even if you purchase using the link provided. The above links are provided only to help you. Please read the label on the product for actual details and it may vary from the product description on e-commerce sites.

Conclusion

Homemade cheese is fresh and good to taste and vegetarian rennet is one of the main ingredients for making cheese at home. Hope this article was useful to you.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet

https://standingstonefarms.com/pages/microbial-rennet-what-is-it-and-how-important-is-it#:~:text=Microbial%20rennet%20is%20a%20coagulating,fungi%2C%20mold%2C%20or%20yeast.