Gelatin and Rennet....how do I avoid it??

Question

I'm a vegetarian and one of the most frustrating animal products to avoid are gelatine and rennet. For example, I love yogurt and cheese but I have to search hard for products that don't have it.

-What products generally have gelatin that should watch out for?

-Also, what about candy, jam, etc? Do they always have gelatin?

-Finally, the cheese in my supermarket doesn't mention if it has rennet in it or not. Should I assume that it does or it doesn't if the label doesn't say?

For those who don't know, gelatine and rennet are made from boiled cow's bones or sheeps guts or something like that.

Answer 1

Read the labels... that's all I can really tell you. If the cheese label doesn't say it's rennetless or made with vegetable rennet, you must assume it's made with calf rennet. If you plan on eating out at all, you're either going to have to quiz waitstaff thoroughly or assume that you are getting gelatin even when you don't mean to (it's in at least half of the sour cream and guacamoles in the grocery store, for instance, so you have to assume that it's in the sour cream and guacamole you're getting in a Mexican restaurant... same with the cheese.)

Even candy and jam have ingredient labels. Starburst and Altoids are two candies I can think of off the top of my head that have gelatin. Jam is typically thickened with pectin.

Answer 2

Assume that it does unless it says it does not.
Stoneyfield farms yogurt is gelatin free and the horizon cheeses are animal rennet free. Try a brand called Veggie Slices..it's hard to tell the differance between that and real cheese. Many Cabot cheeses are rennet free too but not all so just drop them an email to find out.

There is no such thing as vegetarian gelatin. That just does not make sence. It's called carrageenan and is from seaweed. Dole Fruit in gel uses it instead of gelatin and is just like jello brand.

Many items that have gelatin are Margarine, yogurt, candy. Apparently Jelly may too but natural jams that I have found, do not. Just read the labels.

Answer 3

Tillamook cheeses are usually made with vegetarian rennet. Most imported cheeses are made with rennet, so if you are looking at an imported cheese and it just says 'enzymes' or 'cultures', it probably contains animal rennet. Fresh local cheeses tend to be safer, but you can't be 100% sure.

Yogurt from Trader Joe's and Wild Oats are usually easier to tease through. Remember that any gummy product, many desserts (especially those with clear glazes like tarts), and as mentioned earlier sour creams can contain gelatin. I've never seen jam or jelly with gelatin, so just make sure you read the ingredient labels thoroughly.

Answer 4

actually, I believe gelatine is boiled skin, although I may be wrong. There is vegetarian gelatine out there. It's made somehow with seaweed. But you can now get marshmallows and some sort of jello dessert with vegetarian gelatine. I cant remember the exact brand names. But look on the package. If it doesn't say vegetarian, or vegan, check the ingredients. If it uses vegetarian gelatine it will either say so, or give the ingredients in the gelatine.

Answer 5

first of all, read all ingredients.

second, shop at a health food/organic store. (wild oats or whole foods, for example). if the ingredients aren't clear (like rennet in cheese) the employees at that sort of store will know.

last, if you don't know, don't buy it. i've gone two months without cheese. i thought it would be impossible, but i hardly miss it.

oh, practically every kind of candy (other than chocolate) contains gelatin. (skittles, starbursts, etc.) there are a few vegan gummy candies, but in general, expect to give up candy.

Answer 6

Most non-healthfood brand cheeses have rennet. Shop the healthfood section of a large grocery store, or a health food store for certified organic dairy. They have healthier sweets too -- I get my daughter fruit juice sweetened gummy worms without gelatin. Otherwise just check the ingredients before buying anything, and get used to doing that forever. :-)

Answer 7

You said vegetarian right?
Vegans are the ones who avoid gelatin. And if rennet is one of the proteins or byproducts of a dairy nature, that would be considered vegetarian anyways, since vegetarians consume dairy foods, inlcuding milk, cheese, butter and eggs.

Vegans, however avoid both gelatin, rennet, casein (the dairy protein found in milk and cheese) and lots of other stuff.

Anything mold-shaped I would assume has gelatin, and when I found out, in my early teen years, what gelatin was made of, I indeed saw my last of my dear favorite Jell-O sadly.

Are you vegan or vegetarian?

and yes, gelatin is made from pig hooves that have been ground up

Answer 8

Also, beware of medication that comes in capsule form. The capsules themselves are made from gelatin.

Answer 9

Grow up you're an omnivore.