Are all organic cheese's rennetless?!
Are all organic cheese's rennetless?
I have recently discovered the wonder of microbial enzymes used in some cheeses. I have gone about 11 years without eating cheese, and then about 6 months ago I found that not all cheese is made with rennet from calf’s stomachs. The hardest part for me is finding which cheeses are ok and which ones are not. Is it safe to say all organic cheeses are rennet less? Or is this an unsafe assumption?
p.s. here’s a great link for anyone looking for a list of rennet less cheese:
http://cheese.joyousliving.com/...
Answers:
Technically, few cheeses are rennetless. Microbial, GM, and vegetable rennets are indeed rennets.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that all organic cheeses are vegetarian safe. I'd guess a good portion are, but organic does not equate to vegetarian.
no, just because its organic is does not mean it doesnt contain animal rennet. Cheeses that have vegetarian rennet will be clearly marked. If it just says rennet, then its cows rennet. I solved this by purchasing vegetarian rennet and learning to make my own cheeses. Its a very rewarding hobby, and well worth the effort! Its fascinating to turn raw, unpasturized fresh milk into a wheel of cheddar!
There is vegetarian rennet, too.
It would not be safe to assume organic cheese is rennetless.
Organic certification doesn't address the rennet source at all, and ingredient labeling doesn't always help either- the word "rennet" in an ingredient list does not necessarily mean the rennet was animal sourced. Two listed ingredients can be considered vegetarian: "vegetable rennet" means it is plant derived (usually from a type of thistle, but this is rarely used in this country), and "microbial rennet," which is derived from mold. However, there is a third source that can be considered vegetarian by most people, and which is also by far the most likely to be found in the US.
The vast majority of cheese in this country, especially cheaper, non-artisanal cheese, is made from a microbe that has been genetically engineered to produce chymosin (the enzyme that coagulates the milk). It is far less expensive in a production setting than using the stomach of a young ruminant. In 1999, 60% of the hard cheese produced in the US was made with genetically engineered chymosin, and that number has only gone up in the last 8 years.
One quick way to check if a particular cheese has vegetarian rennet is to look for a kosher seal (usually a K in a circle or star very small on the back corner somewhere). The use of animal rennet to make cheese is not kosher, because it constitutes mixing of meat and dairy.