{"id":34881,"date":"2018-07-28T07:45:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T11:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=34881"},"modified":"2021-08-24T15:35:33","modified_gmt":"2021-08-24T19:35:33","slug":"the-definitive-guide-to-vegetarian-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/the-definitive-guide-to-vegetarian-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"The Definitive Guide to Vegetarian Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think all cheese is vegetarian? Think again.<\/i><\/strong><\/h4>\n

If you\u2019ve ever dabbled in vegetarianism, the cheese platter has probably saved you from a meat-filled spread. Or, at a meat-laden restaurant, while your dining partners might go for the steak or roast chicken, you opt for the cheese-covered pasta. Rich and satisfying, cheese easily rivals carnivorous options. But if you think cheese is automatically the vegetarian alternative, think again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grab some cheese and read the ingredients and you might see, right there after milk, <\/span>rennet<\/span><\/a>. Rennet is a mixture of enzymes that act as a coagulant. It clumps the milk\u2019s casein proteins together so that curds and whey can separate, an essential step in the cheesemaking process. Your cheese label might specify animal rennet or microbial rennet\u2014and it\u2019s specifically the animal rennet that doesn\u2019t quite qualify as vegetarian.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Animal Rennet<\/b><\/h4>\n

Animal rennet<\/span><\/a> comes from the fourth stomach of a ruminant animal. After a young calf, for example, drinks milk, enzymes like chymosin and pepsin in the fourth stomach work to separate the lactose, whey, and minerals from the curd. Those nutrients can then be digested more quickly than the casein and fat. Traditionally, animal rennet comes from washing and drying the fourth stomach obtained from calves. It\u2019s then turned into a solution that can be added to milk. <\/span><\/p>\n

Procuring the organ is a byproduct of meat production; the animal generally isn\u2019t killed for its stomach alone. While making use of it can be seen as resourceful from a nose-to-tail standpoint, that sourcing can violate the ethics of eaters distancing themselves from the meat industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using animal rennet has the draw of following traditional practices, and, according to some cheesemakers, it avoids the bitterness that can come from alternative coagulants, especially in the case of aged cheeses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Animal rennet remains the coagulant of choice for many Old World cheeses, including Comt\u00e9<\/a>, \u00c9poisses<\/a>, Manchego<\/a>, Parmigiano Reggiano<\/a>, and Roquefort<\/a>. It also finds a use in many American cheeses. That means that if you\u2019re a staunch vegetarian, or if you\u2019re making a spread for a group of mixed eaters, you\u2019ll do well to read the label. <\/span><\/p>\n

But never fear, there\u2019s no need to swear off cheese forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"thistle_rennet\"

\u00c9vora PDO, a cheese made with thistle rennet<\/p><\/div>\n

Alternative Rennet<\/b><\/h4>\n

Thanks to coagulants like microbial rennet and vegetable rennet, your cheese obsession can continue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Made in a lab, microbial rennet is made from mold strains that contain chymosin. It\u2019s commonly found in soft, young cheeses, since it can develop a bitterness with age. Alternately, vegetable rennet is derived from plants like nettles, fig leaves, and <\/span>thistle<\/span><\/a>, which are steeped into a liquid extract that can be added to milk. Thistle-rennet in particular lends a distinct flavor: It\u2019s traditionally used in Spain\u2019s <\/span>Torta Del Casar<\/span><\/a>, a spoonable sheep\u2019s milk cheese to which it adds a sour, bitter bite.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"CornishCornish Kern<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Shop<\/b><\/h4>\n

If you\u2019re unsure as to whether a cheese contains sneaky, unwanted animal ingredients, follow the trusty adage: Ask your monger<\/a>. They\u2019ll be able to guide you through your options and advise you on cheeses that will fit your, or your guests\u2019, dietary needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shopping online? While you won\u2019t necessarily get a chance to converse with an expert, it\u2019s easy to figure out your options. Online retailers like <\/span>Murray\u2019s<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>DiBruno Brothers<\/span><\/a> allow you to filter cheeses by rennet type. Simply unclick animal rennet from your search results and there\u2019s a world of vegetarian-friendly cheese still at your fingertips.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"original

Point Reyes Original Blue<\/p><\/div>\n

Try These<\/b><\/h4>\n

In a pinch? Try these vegetarian-friendly cheese recommendations to make selecting your spread a little easier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blue: <\/b>Point Reyes Original Blue<\/span><\/a>
\nCh\u00e8vre: <\/b>Goat Lady Dairy Smokey Mt. Round<\/a>
\n<\/span>Washed-Rind: <\/b>Cricket Creek Tobasi<\/a>
\n<\/span>Bloomy-Rind: <\/b>Fromager D\u2019Affinois<\/span><\/a>
\nHard:<\/b> Sartori <\/span>SarVecchio<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rich and satisfying, cheese easily rivals carnivorous options. But if you think cheese is automatically the vegetarian alternative, think again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":31480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[1286,2087,943,2106,1891,4135,4138,773,1671,4134,4133,3142,1946,670,1748,4132,690,1647,4137,4136,4139,3493],"coauthors":[1504],"class_list":["post-34881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cheese-iq","tag-animal-rennet","tag-cheese","tag-cheese-plate","tag-comte","tag-cornish-kern","tag-cricket-creek-tobasi","tag-dibruno-brothers","tag-epoisses","tag-fromager-daffinois","tag-goat-lady","tag-goat-lady-dairy-smo","tag-goat-lady-dairy-smokey-mountain-round","tag-manchego","tag-parmigiano-reggiano","tag-point-reyes","tag-point-reyes-blue","tag-rennet","tag-roquefort","tag-sartori","tag-sarvecchio","tag-torta-del-casar","tag-vegetarian-cheese"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Definitive Guide to Vegetarian Cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rich and satisfying, cheese easily rivals carnivorous options. 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