Most of us eat cheese. Indeed, why not! Good substitute for soy sausage good source calcium, and just delicious. Have you ever thought about what enzymes are used to make cheese, and how and from what they are obtained? Is it permissible under Shariah to eat rennet? Prominent Islamic theologians answer.
Used to make cheese the following ingredients: milk, rennet, bacterial starter, natural dye plus some calcium chloride.
Let's talk about rennet.
Traditionally, it was obtained from the abomasum (part of the stomach) of calves. It performs the main function in the production of cheese - it causes milk to coagulate.
To date, it is obtained in three ways:
- First - traditional way . The only downside is it's not cheap.
- Second - microbiological (microbial). Those. a strain of bacteria is selected that produces the same enzymes. Advantages - low cost, high activity. Disadvantages - aggressiveness, low quality cheese.
- Third - biotechnological. Those. gene is introduced into bacteria, which is responsible for the synthesis of chymosin - the main component rennet. Thus, pure chymosin is obtained, which seems to be not a GMO, but only a product of the vital activity of a GMO and does not contain bacterial DNA. And this is documented. In terms of technological characteristics, it is not inferior to natural enzyme, and it significantly wins in price.
So, today, I think, at least 90% of cheese in our country is produced using rennet produced by the third method.
Now let's think about whether it is possible to live today without using GMOs and everything connected with it...
Rennet is an enzyme used in cheese making to curdle milk. Virtually ALL cheeses are made using rennet. Typically, rennet is extracted from the stomachs of calves, goats, or lambs.
Is it permissible under Shariah to eat rennet?
Shafi'i madhhab (*):
Q: Whey is a by-product in cheese production. A milk-clotting enzyme is added to milk during the production of cheese. The separated liquid contains serum. Further processing completely separates the whey.
Answer: If the milk-clotting enzyme is najasa, then the resulting whey is also najasa and, according to the madhhab of Imam Shafi'i, it is forbidden to use it, since the addition of the enzyme will turn milk into najasa. Any liquid obtained from this mixture is also najas.
rennet obtained from non-halal slaughtered animals, ACCORDING TO OUR MAZHAB, IS NAJAS.
And only Allah knows the truth.
Sheikh Hamza Karamali answered.
Hanafi madhhab (*):
In the Hanafi madhhab, rennet obtained from an animal slaughtered by a non-Muslim or a Muslim (according to Shariah and not according to Shariah) is allowed for consumption in all cases, unless this animal is a pig.
<…>The permissibility of abomasum is determined not by who slaughters the animal (Muslim or not), but by whether there is life in the abomasum. Blood circulation is the source of life. There is no blood in the abomasum, therefore, it is not a living organ. It cannot "die", and therefore it is permissible to eat it.
<…>CHEESE MADE WITH RENOMENUM IS HALAL UNLESS THE ENZYME IS DERIVED FROM PIGS. However, it is better to avoid eating cheese that uses rennet of unknown origin, as there is disagreement between madhhabs regarding the permissibility of rennet.
And only Allah gives success.
Sheikh Ilias Patel replied.
<…>Whenever possible, it is better to eat vegetarian-friendly cheese.<…>
Sheikh Ilias Patel replied.
Rennet enzymes of animal origin CAUTION!
- Kalase- natural rennet.
- Stabo-1290- rennet of animal origin.
and many others!
If it says “rennet” on the package, then most likely it is of animal origin.
Although, of course, it is necessary to check. Sometimes they are mistranslated. If the cheese is not Russian-made, it is better to watch the composition in English.
The names of half of the ingredients are often simply omitted in translation, leaving only milk, salt and sourdough in the composition.
Cheeses that are sold behind the counter, too, as a rule, with rennet of animal origin. It is necessary to look among already packaged, factory-packed cheeses.
It should be noted that, theoretically, there may well be rennet of animal origin, obtained from a halal slaughtered animal, for example, a calf. Another thing is that such an enzyme would probably have a halal mark.
It is assumed that among the rennet enzymes of animal origin common in Russia and Europe, there are none.
Non-animal rennet
In the 1960s, strains of fungi were isolated Mucor pusilus And Mucor miehei, synthesizing suitable enzymes, but with less activity. More recently, methods have been developed to obtain enzymes from Pseudomonas mixoides, Bacillus licheniformis, Edothea parasitica and etc.
- Milase- 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.
- Meito Microbial Rennet (MR)- Looks like a cutie. Distributors in Russia -
- Fromase®- an enzyme obtained by DSM specialists. It is released during the fermentation of the mold Mucor miehei. In 1972, he entered the market under trade name Fromase®.
- Maxilact®- an enzyme obtained from special strains of dairy mushrooms.
- Suparen® - microbial enzyme derived from mushrooms Cryphonectria (endothia) parasitica.
Rennet enzymes obtained by genetic engineering. CAREFULLY!
- Chymogen (Genencor International),
- ChyMax (Pfizer)
- Maxiren®
Since the early 1990s, as a result of advances in genetic biotechnology, the use of rennin produced by bacteria that have copies of the calf rennin gene.
The technology is something like this:
- 1) A gene is extracted from the stomach (it seems possible and not from the stomach) of an animal (live or already slaughtered);
- 2) This gene is copied millions of times (a few original genes remain among the resulting genes);
- 3) Copies of the genes (along with the originals) are placed in the bacterial environment where they are grown.
As we see it is almost impossible to trace whether the animal was alive when the gene was taken from it.
It is almost impossible to find out exactly where the gene was taken from (the specialists we asked say that it can be obtained even from animal saliva, although it is unlikely that this is the case).
How the animal was slaughtered (if any) is also difficult to find out.
Is rennet produced in this way halal? complex issue fiqh.
However, it should be noted that there is a fatwa that it is better to avoid products obtained by genetic engineering, since their effect on the body remains unclear, and the introduction of animal genes into food plants creates certain ethical problems for Muslims and falls into the category of prohibited (see See http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=67).
It is not entirely clear whether the production of rennet by genetic engineering can be classified as the introduction of animal genes into plants, but the doubtfulness of this process is obvious.
However, Maxiren® is certified Kosher and Halal (see http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/dfsd/enzyme.htm) rennet…
What to do?
There is a list of cheeses produced using non-animal rennet. Most likely, they use enzymes of microbial origin (without genetic engineering).
At least, they are used by the Kaserei Champignon company (http://www.optitrade.ru/goods/germany/kaserei_champignon_hofmei/). Presumably, other companies also do not use the services of genetic engineering.
- 1. Oltermann (on the packages it is usually written that rennet is of non-animal origin)
- 2. Viola (classic, not cottage cheese)
- 3. Firm "Dobryana" (part of the products - see the composition)
- 4. Rokiskis (not verified yet)
- 5. Gojus Parmesan (not tested yet)
- 6. Adyghe (as a rule, according to technology, they do not put abomasum in them)
- 7. Umalat (it is necessary to look at each specific cheese, eat with rennet of both microbial and animal origin, see)
It should be borne in mind that even grandmothers in the markets may well use rennet by buying it at some pharmacy or ordering from a company. The production technology of most cheeses REQUIRES the use of rennet. It is always better to ask and look at the composition on the packages.
Rennet is also used in factory curds.
The results of communication with technologists from leading companies are disappointing:
DANON
Animal rennet is used. Rumor has it that it's kosher. A spokesman for the firm confided that a rabbi recently asked if their products were kosher. They replied that it was kosher.
After a couple of minutes, however, in the same conversation it turned out that their gelatin is pork. In general, everything is somehow doubtful ...
However, Fantasia yogurt from Danone does not use rennet, judging by the composition on the packaging.
WIMM-BILL-DANN (LIANOZOVSKY, MIRACLE, HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE, RED AP, BIO MAX, NEO, LAMBER, AGUSHA)
Animal rennet is used. However, if it is, it is always indicated on the package. If it says simply "sourdough", then there should not be rennet.
Application
Below are two more lists French cheeses produced without the use of rennet of animal origin. Most of the names will not say anything to the Russian consumer, but you never know. The lists are found on the Internet and have not been verified, but they can serve as a guide.
List 1
- Boursin
- Tartare
- Saint-Morêt
- Le Gylois
- Fromage Leffond
- Le Fin Fou 41%
- Le Charcennay
- Le Roucoulon
- L "Ortolan
- Kiri Cacher
- Fromages "Entremont"
- Brocciu "Société Fromagere Corse"
- Emmenthal "Rippoz"
- Ricotta "Louis Rigal"
- Brousse "Louis Rigal"
- Tendre "Rippoz"
- Morbier "Rippoz"
- Tomme "Rippoz"
- Fromages "Marcillat"
- Fromages "Oma"
- Feta BioPan
List 2
- LA COMPAGNE DES FROMAGES
- Costances de Coeur de lion
- Mini Cœur de Coeur de lion
- Petit Camenbert de Coeur de lion
- Brie coeur de lion
- Coeur de lion Pauvre en cholesterol
- Saint Aubin de Coeur de lion
- RICHES MONTS
- Révérend des Enfants Tourrée de l'Aubier (à la coupe)
- Fromage pour tartiflette Riche Monts (libre service)
- Brie Révérend Raclette Riche Monts (coupe and libre service)
- Ovale des Ducs
- FROMAGERS D'AFFINOIS
- Pave d'Affinois
- Pave d'Affinois Leger
- La Roche
- Le Brin
- Pave d'Affinois Pur Chevre
- Florette
- Brebicet Le Plaisir
- Les Paves aromatises
- Pave d'Affinois Brebis
- LAITA
- Fromages a tartiner "Paysan Breton"
- "Mme Loïk" Recettes apéritifs
- Petit Moule
- Camemberts pasteurises Paysan Breton
- Camemberts pasteurises Kergall
- Brie 500g Val d'Ancenis
- Brie 1 Kg Val d'Ancenis
- Emmentals Paysan Breton
- Bries Châteaux de France (portion ou à la coupe)
- MILLERET
- Le Roucoulons
- L'Ortolan
- Fin Fou 41%
- Charcennay
- SOIGNON
- Sainte Maure 200g
- Sainte Maure selection
- Chevre long 180g, 250g
- Byche kg
- Bychette 120g
- Le P'tit Soignon
- La pyramide de chevre
- Mini boches 150g
- Palets de chevre
- Crottin Le chèvre a tartiner
- Le chèvre a dorer
- Chèvre boîte 125g
- ENTREMONT
- Emmental Français (portion et rape)
- BOURSIN
- Boursin
- PRESIDENT
- Emmental President
- FROMAGES CARREFOUR
(*) Madhab(arab.) - school
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 abomasum is very often used 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 Hare Krishna outlets. 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 trademarks"Pyryatin", "Slavia", "Great!". 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. Similarly, it is prepared cottage cheese or : using gauze or a strainer, the milk flakes are separated from the whey.
So, to speed up the process and quickly separate protein part milk from 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 dairy 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 of a 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?
In order to obtain rennet, mankind goes to extreme measures - murder, 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 suitable 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 vegetable 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). Produced from 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 protein chicken egg. 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 somehow have rennet. The only difference is what origin it is. As you already understood, vegetarians should buy fermented milk products only with rennet of microbial origin.
Comments on the article: 30
Sasha
December 3, 2016 | 9:37 pm
Olga
February 2, 2017 | 7:54 dp
Vegetarianka
February 2, 2017 | 11:01 pm
Evgenika
April 17, 2017 | 12:51 pm
Vegetarianka
April 17, 2017 | 5:30 pm
Olga
May 27, 2017 | 3:52 pm
Tamara
June 5, 2017 | 1:45 pm
Tasha
June 24, 2017 | 11:05 pm
Natalia
August 6, 2017 | 3:29 pm
Vegetarianka
August 6, 2017 | 4:26 pm
Ivan
October 2, 2017 | 7:04 dp
Vegetarianka
October 20, 2017 | 4:58 pm
Inessa
November 10, 2017 | 10:43 am
Vegetarianka
November 10, 2017 | 12:12 pm
Lera
December 11, 2017 | 8:26 dp
Vegetarianka
December 11, 2017 | 11:29 am
Mayan
Many vegetarians have not heard of rennet, so they eat all cheeses without remorse. But because of this enzyme, not all cheeses can be considered a vegetarian product.
Why? It's simple - in order to get rennet, you need to kill a small calf, which still feeds on mother's milk. And now more about everything.
First, what is rennet and what is it used for?
It is clear that cheese is milk product and it is obtained by separating proteins from whey (the same white heterogeneous flakes that occur when milk is soured). Cheese can be obtained in two ways: by fermentation - that is, milk turns sour and protein (solid fractions) are separated from whey - such cheeses are called sour-milk and most often cottage cheese belongs to them. Other cheeses are made by speeding up the clotting process of milk to prevent it from going sour (as this directly affects the flavor of the cheese).
How can you speed up the clotting of milk?
A homemade way is to add acid to hot (almost boiling) milk, and the coagulation process will happen literally instantly, and the milk will not have time to turn sour. But this method is not suitable for large-scale production - therefore, special enzyme preparations are used in production, which act as catalysts for the milk coagulation process - because due to their chemical composition milk proteins begin to separate from whey.
One of these enzymes is rennet. This enzyme is obtained from the stomachs of young calves who have not yet had time to try other food than mother's milk, and it is this enzyme that helps the calves process that same milk. Of course, in order to obtain this enzyme, the calf is killed. Therefore, even though such an enzyme in the production of cheese requires 1 gram per 100 kg of milk, and the fact that the enzyme itself remains in the whey for the most part, that is, it practically does not remain in the protein, for careful vegetarians the use of such cheese is unacceptable. If you are one of those (which is right!), then you should avoid the following inscriptions in the composition of cheeses: rennet (or its English equivalent - rennin, rennet), chymosin of animal origin, abomin (available even in pharmacies - so grandmother's homemade cheeses are also not always a way out), kalase, stabo-1290 (the last two are more often found on the labels of foreign cheeses, but both of them are of animal origin).
What alternatives are left for vegetarians? What kind of cheese can you eat?
Be careful - many manufacturers use abomasum even for the production of cottage cheese and sweet dairy desserts - read the composition. There are a number of cheeses that do not contain rennet - for example Adyghe cheese, some types of brynza (you need to read the composition), and recently a lot of companies producing cheeses with enzymes of non-animal origin have appeared - there is even an analogue of parmesan, which does not contain enzymes of animal origin (rennet). What are these enzymes, what should be in the composition of such cheeses: an enzyme of microbiological origin (a product of genetic engineering), 100% chymosin (this enzyme of fungal origin), fromaza, milase, maxiren, chymax.
Separately, it is worth noting that rennet of animal origin and high quality is very expensive product, so among cheese makers it is considered very prestigious to use it for making cheese. Also, therefore, many manufacturers do not indicate the real origin of enzyme preparations in the composition of cheeses, simply calling them the general word rennet (but in more than 60% of cases, according to some reports, a product of non-animal origin is used in production). But until the legislative level is clarified and manufacturers do not indicate the real origin of the enzymes used, we, vegetarians, will not be able to eat rennet cheeses.
List of vegetarian cheeses
A small list of cheeses that do not contain rennet of animal origin (write your options in the comments):
- Almost all cheeses called Adyghe (in any case, it is better to re-read the composition)
- Cheese from some manufacturers (read the composition, if the cheese is by weight - the composition is indicated on the large barrel in which the cheese comes, you can ask the seller to look / read)
- Feta of some manufacturers - the same as with cheese
- Cheese Oltermani (Oltermanni)
- Cheeses TM Dobryana (not all, read the composition), but there are definitely brie, camembert, mozzarella, Russian, Dutch, etc.
- Cheeses TM Como not by weight, but packed in portions - no rennet
- Parisian Burenka by Flechard
- Dziugas hard cheeses (Lithuanian or Latvian made) are a worthy parmesan counterpart, especially when well aged
- Ricotta cheeses
- Philadelphia cheese
- Mascarpone cheese
- Cottage cheese - be careful, for example, TM President in Ukraine produces cottage cheese with rennet, it is better to read the composition
As you can see, there is a choice - just read the packaging carefully!
How to recognize cheese without rennetMany novice vegetarians often do not know that not all cottage cheese and cheese can be eaten. The fact is that in the production of cheeses 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 animal rennet can not be considered vegetarian, because. This product uses a kill product.
We will look at how cheese is made and what cheeses you can eat in this article.
cheese without rennet
How is cheese made?
Cheese is obtained 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 industrial-scale 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. 
Cheese production without rennet.
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 it 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 essentials?
As it turned out, there is and is successfully applied.
There are microbiological substitutes for calf enzyme. Pepsin, microbial aspartyl proteinases and chymosin obtained by fermentation also enhance milk coagulation. 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 grass, but they are used extremely rarely.
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, 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 - many manufacturers do not consider it necessary to hide the fact of its presence in the composition;
Animal chymosin;
Kalase - natural rennet;
Stabo-1290 is also an enzyme of animal origin;
Abomin is another name for rennet. It is sold in pharmacies and is often used by private sellers.
Sweet milk cheese - the so-called 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:
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 a high temperature of the 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; cheese without rennet
Mucopepsin (English mucorpepsin);
microbial rennin;
Milase is a microbial enzyme;
CHY-MAX® - enzymatically produced coagulant;
Fromase®, or Fromase®;
Maxiren® from the Dutch company DSM;
Chymogen (Genencor International);
ChyMax (Pfizer);
Sour-milk cheese - the so-called cheeses prepared using lactic acid fermentation.
As you can see, there are a lot of options. With some persistence and care, Russian market it is quite possible to find cheese made without the use of rennet.
And in conclusion, I would like to add that such cheese as Adygeisky, for the most part, is prepared without the use of an animal enzyme, which means it is suitable for a milk-vegetarian. In India, Adyghe cheese is called paneer.
(FROM NUTS).
Some lacto-vegetarians are unaware that not all dairy products are kill-free. This is especially true for people who are just starting to change their diet.
The fact is that industrial cheese(and they are often made on the basis of rennet (the so-called animal origin). And it is extracted from the stomach of newborn calves, which are slaughtered for this purpose a few days after birth.
Not to sponsor the slaughter of cows, you need to be able to choose cheeses produced without the use of this enzyme.
Or cook vegetarian cheese without abomasum on its own.
How are cheeses made?
Any cheese is made from mature milk, in which the solid fraction is separated from the whey. The very process of such separation is called milk coagulation.
To quickly curdle milk - that is, to separate the protein components from whey - most often they use rennet extract. This is beneficial for the manufacturer - he minimizes the process of maturation of milk.
And it is imperceptible to the consumer, since such an enzyme does not change either the color, the smell, or the taste of the finished product.
In curdled milk, a clot is formed, which, in turn, is crushed into a “cheese grain”, and it is already mixed with whey. It turns out cottage cheese - by the way, also with the "participation" of rennet.
To get cheese, the "grain" is left alone until it acquires a certain percentage of moisture. And put in a form with holes for draining whey. After salting and pressing.
In brine, the cheese ripens for 10 days, and then it is sent to ripen on the shelves in a special room. And there the cheese is from three weeks to several years, depending on the variety.
The cheese turns out to be of high quality, it cooks quickly, and there is little enzyme for curdling milk. It would be nice if not for one aspect.
Rennet extract
Where does the "rennet" come from, which simplifies industrial production cottage cheese and cheese?
It is extracted from the stomachs of newborn calves (sometimes goats or lambs), which feed on mother's milk.
This is the very secretion that crumbs need in order to better milk digest.
And that is why it separates whey from milk protein with such ease and speed in large vats of dairies and cheese shops.
The calf, which barely had time to know the mother and the taste of her milk, is slaughtered at exactly 3 weeks of age.
Can animal rennet be replaced?
Of course you can. For example, using the synthesized or plant pepsin, fermentation chymosin, or using microbial aspartyl proteinases, as is done in many European countries. To taste, such cheeses often even surpass the “rennet counterpart”.
There are also vegetable "curdling agents" - juices of figs and lemons, starter grass.
But all of the above cheeses still need to be able to find and distinguish from slaughter products. If you live in a big city, then this is not difficult - the main thing is to view and analyze the labels on purchases. The choice of ethical cheeses in supermarkets is quite large. But if you live in a rural area, the shops of which are not famous for their variety, then it will be more difficult. The solution is to make homemade cheese.
How to distinguish an ethical product from an unethical one?
Not worth buying cheese and cottage cheese, if their labels contain the following information 
1. "Rennet" - most manufacturers do not even hide this. Such an enzyme may also go under pseudonyms: rennin, animal chymosin, abomin, Kalase, or Stabo-1290.
2. “Sweet milk cheese” is the name of cheeses that are 100% prepared with the “participation” of rennet.
Feel free to take from the counter products, on the labels of which there are marks:
1. Non-animal chymosin or 100% chymosin - obtained from fermentation special kind mold fungi;
2. Microbiological enzyme; 
3. Mucopepsin;
3. Microbial rennin;
4. Microbial enzyme Milase;
5. Enzymatic coagulator CHY-MAX®;
6. Fromase or Fromase, Maksiren, ChyMax, Chymogen;
7. "Sour-milk cheese" - this is the name of cheeses prepared by lactic acid fermentation.
8. Milk-clotting enzyme of plant origin
9. Sometimes packers in a store illiterately sign “rennet of microbial origin” (or the same thing, only “vegetable”), forgetting that rennet is rennet (made from the stomach of an infant animal), and microbial origin is microbial . But here we must understand that the product is made on a microbial basis.
It is preferable to focus on factory packaging, and not on those that packers paste in supermarkets.
By the way, milk-vegetarians can no doubt buy Adyghesky cheese, in the recipe of which rennet is simply not provided. The Indians call this cheese in their own way - "paneer". This is a vegetarian cheese without rennet.
Vegetarian Adyghe cheese: cooking at home
You can make your own delicious paneer. It will take a little time and a set of products available to everyone. And in order to make the recipe “beautiful”, you can make paneer “in a crust”. Dill or spicy-nutty.
For cooking 350-400 grams homemade paneer you need to take:
- take 3 liters of milk, fat content 3.5%;
- big lemon
- a medium bunch of dill for rolling the finished cheese;
- 50 grams of crushed peeled walnut;
- a mixture of spices - 2 teaspoons. To prepare such a mixture, it is necessary to ceiling and mix in equal proportions Provencal herbs, white and black peppers, coriander, salt and turmeric.
Vegetarian homemade cheese: recipe
1. First, pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. As soon as a “bubbly” foam appeared on the surface, remove the milk from the heat.
3. Add the juice of one lemon. And the milk immediately begins to curdle - the whey is separated.
4. We must wait 5 minutes, and then drain the serum through cheesecloth. Paneer, at the same time, should remain on gauze. Whey can later be used to make pancakes.
5. The ends of the gauze must be tightly twisted, the whey is squeezed out, and the resulting cheese clot is placed directly in the gauze under the press (you can use a stone for sauerkraut or just a bottle of water).
