Rennet in cheese

A very important part of classic cheese making involves rennet, a substance used to break the solid particles in milk away from the water content in order to form a solid mass.

Traditionally, rennet is made from the stomach lining of young ruminants, but there are other ingredients that can mimic this chemical reaction.

What is rennet

Where does rennet come from

How is rennet extracted

Microbial rennet

Is rennet vegetarian

Almost all formed cheeses contain rennin, the enzyme used to make rennet.

What Is Rennet?

Rennet comes from an organic substance that contains the enzyme rennin. It's mainly found in the lining of the fourth stomach of young goats, calves and lambs.

Where to buy rennet

It only occurs in these animals when their main diet is still milk. Once they start to eat only grass that enzyme disappears; it curdles milk as part of digestion—that's why it is found in the stomachs of dairy-consuming young animals.

But it's not just animals that have this component. Plants such as cardoon thistle, artichokes, and nettles

how to use rennet in cheese making

cheese using rennet