What is rennet?

Question

I do not eat pork or anything containing pork. But I have heard that rennet which is found in most cheese's is pigs intestines? Is that true?

Also is there anything else that is or has pork but has a hidden name on the ingredients? Thanks

Answer 1

Rennet used to be made from the inside of a calves stomach - before the calf was weaned, but I doubt the current product is made from anything animal. According to the link below, if it's made in the United States, I am correct. Look for cheese that's labeled "rennetless". Rennetless has become a generic term for any cheese made without any animal derived enzymes.

If you are after foods that don't contain pork, you can look at both "kosher" foods and "clean" foods. Neither Jews or Muslims eat foods containing pork. The link below is a good one for 'clean' foods and also shows a number of unclean ones (which will help you find the hidden one's you are looking for). They not only explain why it's unclean, but how they arrived at that meaning. For example, Sara Lee products and all canned biscuits made their unclean list because they contain pork products (probably pork fat).

Answer 2

It is very unlikely that rennet contains pork, rennet is generally taken from the stomach lining of calves or goats, and it is natural enzymes used to curdle the milk used in producing cheese. I am chef, by trade, and although not completly familiar with the cheese making process, I have never encountered or heard of rennet from pork being used in making cheese. There are several dishes containing pork with out pork in the title, ham, bacon, spam etc, but most people are aware that these items are pork (although they are available in turkey or beef varieties. On the other hand many foods such as adobo (pork marinated in vinegar), chitlings (pork innards), scrapple (pork scraps), traditional hotdogs, traditional kielbasa, Yakisoba (buckwheat noodles and pork) are a few examples of cleverly named dishes containing pork

Answer 3

Rennet is used in a lot of cheeses, look for either rennet or enzymes on the label. It is a substance containing an enzyme having the property of clotting, or curdling milk. Is used in making cheese and junket. It is obtained from the stomachs of young mammals living on milk, or especially from the lining of the 4th. or true stomach of milk fed to calves. Now extract of rennet is made and sold commercially: having been prepared by soaking the tissue in warm, salted water and straining preserving the resulting liquid.
Heat interferes with the action of rennet.

Answer 4

Not necessarily. There are different types of rennet in use, but most are a by-product of the veal industry. You can look for a kosher cheese and be safe as they use a vegetable-based rennet.