Question on Cheese?

Question

OK, I have recently become vegetarian after doing alot of research on how animals are killed and all that..I just recently found out Cheese is made from the inner lining of calves..SO..my question is..is there a GOOD alternative/replacement to use in place of cheese? I cook alot of things with cheese so I am a little confused on this...Is all cheese made with rennet?

A crucial ingredient in the production of most commercial cheeses
is an enzyme that comes from the lining of the stomach of calves,
called rennet. Sometimes an enzyme from pigs is also used.
Obviously, this is of concern to vegetarians, since these are
products obtained from slaughtered animals. According to the
American Heritage Dictionary, `rennet' is actually the lining of
the fourth stomach of calves and other young ruminants, but this
term is also used to refer to the enzyme that is extracted from the
stomach lining for use in making cheese. `Rennin' is another word
for this enzyme, although it is less commonly used. These enzymes
are important because they are the ingredients that cause milk to
coagulate and eventually become cheese.

And to those of you with smarta** answers, I am not an idiot..I know there is no MEAT in cheese....But to those of you that know about rennet, thank you for your answers!!!

Answer 1

If I didn't know any better, I'd presume that you are all crippled and unable to reasearch topics. The way you are ingorantly calling the asker "blonde," and suggesting that it this whole matter is made up because you have never heard of it. Just because you have never heard of this being true does not mean it is not. Have you looked it up? Most likely not because you're too busy insulting those that actually took the time to do research. Stop sitting there wondering why it sounds so silly and untrue and actually read about it. That's just a little tip on life-if you want to become educated, take the time to do it.

Back to the question-most cheeses do contain animal rennet, which is, infact, derived from the scrapings of a killed calf's stomach. Don't believe me? http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Rennet/Rennet.html
Now, as the website points out, there is an alternative. This alternative is vegetable rennet/microbial enzymes. There are cheeses out there that you will find without animal rennet. The "Cabot" cheeses, which are usually at every grocery store, do not contain animal rennet. "Horizon Organic" is another brand that is free of animal rennet. You might want to check the back of the packages just to make sure, but the flavors that I got said that they did not contain animal rennet. There are other cheeses you may want to look at as well, and this website contains a list of them: http://cheese.joyousliving.com . Make sure, as always, that you check the packages before buying them. Most of them will note whether they contain animal rennet or not, like I've said. You also might want to look at the websites of cheese companies before you buy any cheese and read what information you can find. Good luck, and I hope that I've helped.

Answer 2

Many cheeses, if you check the ingredients, will have rennet, which is from the cow's or calf's stomach. It is what turns the milk into cheese (actually, whey and curds, the curds are what becomes the cheese). Most major food chains and health food stores carry cheese that use a non-meat based subsitute, some of the names used are “microbial enzyme” or “vegetable rennet”.

The following are definitions from a website which I have included following the list...

ANIMAL RENNET
This enzyme is obtained from the stomach region of a suckling mammal, usually a calf or lamb. Animal rennet is the traditional rennet used to make cheese. Most European cheeses use animal rennet.

VEGETABLE RENNET
Vegetable rennet is derived from plants. The enzymes are extracted from the plants and modified into a form similar to that of animal rennet. This type of rennet is acceptable for a lactovegetarian.

MICROBIAL RENNET
This is a common enzyme made from microorganisms through a process of fermentation. Common microorganisms include fungi and bacteria. This type of rennet is also acceptable for a lactovegetarian.

ENZYMES
Additional enzymes may be added during the cheese making process. Unless otherwise noted these are microbial. (Note: the enzymes sometimes used baking bread are also microbial.)

http://www.traderjoes.com/products/brochures/rennet_west.asp

Answer 3

Fortunately, rennet is an enzyme that is also cultivated (often by using a sugar solution often used for growing other lab cultures) rather than taken from slaughtered animals. It is important to note, however, that to make cheese, yogurt or other items of this nature, you are still ingesting the bodies of dead animals - namely of micro organisms used to culture these products. Billions of them. And they were used only to create the product, and now they are dead, and some are alive, but all are floating in that thing you're getting ready to eat. Even without rennet, you're gonna be eating these organisms in dairy products. But also they are on your veggies, your fruits, beans, everything you eat. There is no way, no matter how you try, to avoid eating animals as a result. I don't like to think about this much, but it's true -- all things we eat are killed so we can eat them, including plants. Broccoli even has primitive nerve fibers in it and shares roughly a fourth of our DNA in common. Why am I saying all this? Mainly because being vegetarian is a value, and it's good to have values. I just hope you don't lose too much enjoyment of life by worrying too much about these things. Sadly, there are people out there who will try to tell you all sorts of things to make you doubt what you want to eat. Follow your heart and if you don't enjoy eating it, dont do it.

Answer 4

Some cheese is made with no rennet at all, some cheese is made with animal rennet & some is made with vegetarian rennet. You would have to check the back label to be sure. Look for a cheese marked "suitable for vegetarians" and you can be sure that apart from the milk it would contain no other animal products.

Answer 5

Many cheeses are made with plant derived rennet.
Your cheese monger should be able to point some out to you.
If the ingredients don't actually say the word 'rennet' or 'rennin' it is not animal rennet.

Answer 6

It's called animal rennet. There are MANY companies that do not use it though. Many of the Cabot cheeses do not use it and Horizon does not use it either. For a full list, google Vegetarian cheese.

I know for a fact that Cabot 50% light cheddar (which is very tasty) is animal rennet free and available almost everywhere.

Answer 7

Rennet is stomach acid, not flesh. All cheeses are made from coagulated milk, i.e. cottage cheese is the first stage. Cheese is aged and pressed to rid the water. There is artificial rennet. Trader Joe's sells "vegetarian" cheese made without rennet. Check with Trader Joe's on how they do it.

Answer 8

Today, there are non-animal sources of rennet and almost no one uses animal stomachs to make cheese anymore-- not the cheese you'd find at your typical market. You'd have to go to some small cheese maker in Switzerland out in the middle of nowhere to find animal-rennet cheese. Commerical cheese is made from artificial coagulants or citric acid-- there just aren't enough animal stomachs to go around to product vast commerical quantities of cheese these days.
Don't worry about it - you will probably never (99% never) eat animal rennet in today's modern cheeses.

Answer 9

That is very silly and I am not sure where you heard this, but cheese is in no way taken from a cow...other than the fact that it is made from milk, in turn coming from a cow. I have been a veggie for a long time and have eaten cheese with no angst. No worries, sweetie, cheese is a-ok. If you're still worried, go check out the vegetarian section in your local WalMart (or other good-sized grocery store), as they have things called "veggie slices" that actually taste an awful lot like good ol' cheese. Take it from me - a Cheesehead from Wisconsin, lol.

Answer 10

theres no meat in cheese but if your a vegetarian you cant eat cheese or any dairy product for that matter so guess you can forget about your recipes with cheese and yes they dont kill a cow to get milk to make cheese but the cow does have a baby and then they take the baby away to steal the milk and they put the baby in front of the mother to stimulate her so she can continue to produce milk but shes not able to be with her baby I did research and saw the whole video on that go to peta and take a look