Rennet is a complex organic substance that is produced in the stomach of calves, lambs, and other newborn cattle. As you know, such a substance contributes to the breakdown, as well as the processing of mother's milk , which is consumed by the cub. It should be noted that this enzyme cannot be obtained artificially. In this regard, it is quite expensive, but very effective in the preparation of dairy products.
Self-extraction and drying of the enzyme
If you want to cook homemade cheese or cottage cheese with the use of such a product, then it can be purchased at a pharmacy. As a rule, the presented ingredient is sold in the form of a light gray or white powder, which is neither odor nor color. It should also be noted that in pharmacy chains it is sold extremely rarely. Thus, in the absence of a factory product, rennet can be prepared at home. To do this, the extracted abomasum should be cleaned after slaughtering the calf or lamb, and tie the ends of the holes, inflate with air and leave for several days in the shade or in a warm room (at 18-20 degrees). Next, the dried product should be wrapped in dark paper and stored until immediate use. For the preparation of cheese or cottage cheese, it is advisable to use such an enzyme after 2-4 months after drying, because mucus may appear from the fresh ingredient in the solution used.
What role does rennet play in the production of cheese and other dairy products?
Rennet is often used to make cheeses. Indeed, during the production of this product requires the rapid separation of the protein components of a fresh milk drink from whey. As you know, such a substance of animal origin consists of two elements: pepsin and chymosin. And thanks to these components, rennet acts as a kind of catalyst in the process of preparing tasty and tender cheese. After all, it is precisely its addition that quickly curds milk by separating protein components from whey.
Is it profitable for manufacturers?
Despite the fact that such a component is expensive, it is actively used by manufacturers of dairy products. After all, cheese without rennet is less tasty and tender. In addition, the process of curdling milk using this substance is much faster, which allows you to produce much more products.
It should also be noted that rennet has absolutely no effect on the organoleptic properties of the final product. In other words, cheese made using this substance does not change in color, in taste, and remains fragrant. By the way, by the appearance of the dairy product, it is completely impossible to understand whether it was made using the enzyme or not.
How are cheeses made?
After rennet is added to milk, it is converted into a dense clot. In this case, the serum is separated from the protein component. If at this stage the production is stopped, then you will get very tasty cottage cheese. If you want to make hard and flavored cheese, then the grain, which has reached a certain percentage of moisture, should be laid in a mold with holes for draining the whey, and then pressed and sent to salting. In brine, the formed bars should be around 10 days, after which they need to be put on the shelves for full maturation (about 3 weeks).
Rennet: Is it harmful to the body?
As mentioned above, it is quite difficult to determine whether a particular cheese is made using this substance. Indeed, in the composition of the product you will never find such an enzyme. This is due to the fact that abomasum is not found in cheese or cottage cheese, as it is used only for curdling milk. However, it should be noted that in view of the complexity of its extraction from the stomachs of young calves, lambs and kids, from the beginning of the 1990s they began to produce a similar enzyme (rennin) as a result of gene biotechnology. Its manufacturing principle is approximately as follows: its gene is extracted from the animal, which is copied millions of times. After that, they are placed in a bacterial environment, where they are artificially grown. At the moment, the effect on the body of products that were obtained through
genetic engineering remains unclear
. In this regard, it is rather difficult to say whether such an enzyme is harmful or not.
How to replace rennet?
Currently, there are several substitutes for rennet, which are actively used for the preparation of various cheeses and cottage cheese. Their use is also popular among dairy producers. For example, in Italy, in addition to rennet, other enzymes that are produced by the tonsils of lambs, kids or calves are also used to create aromatic cheeses. Such substances give the product a specific piquant taste highly appreciated by gourmets.
It is also worth noting that the use of non-animal substances during the preparation of cheeses allows them to be used by adherents of vegetarianism. So, in the 1960s, scientists isolated strains of the
fungi Mucor miehei and Mucor pusilus, which synthesized suitable enzymes, but with low activity. A little later, methods were developed for obtaining similar substances from Bacillus licheniformis, Pseudomonas mixoides, Edothea parasitica, etc. Three decades later, with the development of genetic biotechnology, rennin, which was produced by bacteria-copies of the young calf gene, was actively used to produce cheese. As you know, it has greater purity, stability and activity than natural abomasum. Currently, more than 60% of hard cheeses are produced using this component.
Among other things, today there are herbal substitutes for rennet. So, instead of it they use fig juice or starter grass. However, in large-scale production of dairy products, such enzymes are used extremely rarely.