Cheese is considered a real go-to food for the vegetarian – pizzas, nachos, and yummy salads all topped with the wonderful yellow delicacy – makes grabbing a meat-free meal so much more convenient and delicious. But did you know some cheeses are not vegetarian? This is due to the ingredient called rennet. Rennet is the magic component which turns milk into cheese and is extracted from a baby calf’s fourth stomach, after slaughter.
According to history, this process of coagulation stems from the Ancient Egyptians over 4000 to 5000 years ago. They used the stomachs and intestines of calfs to store food. Through storing milk, it was found to curdle and preserve in the stomachs. The modernisation of the process unveiled the importance of the enzyme chymosin which is found in the stomach juices. Here is a list of cheeses containing rennet:
