You're a vegetarian and at a restaurant with friends or family. You have the same dilemma — limited food options to choose from. Among the few choices are cheese-focused meals. Naturally, you opt for a dish with cheese. But did you know you still may be eating food that has traces of an animal in it?
Yes, that's right: Not all cheese is entirely vegetarian. Many cheeses are made with animal rennet, which comes from the fourth lining of the stomach of ruminant animals, usually a young calf.
Here, find out why cheese is not always a vegetarian-friendly choice and how you can find cheese not made with animal products.
What Is Rennet, and Why Is It Important?
Rennet is a staple ingredient for making cheese because it serves as a coagulant, helping milk to solidify.
"Rennet causes proteins in the milk to web together, which starts the process of separating the milk solids (protein, fat, sugar) from the milk liquid (water)," says Louella Hill, an artisan cheesemaker and owner of Ballerino Creamery in Staunton, Va.
In short, rennet is the ingredient that begins the process of making cheese.
Julia Birnbaum, cheese expert at Philly Cheese School, gives an example of why rennet is essential and provides a nice image: "Imagine you are a cheesemaker, staring at a huge vat of fresh milk. Rennet is what you will add into that vat to begin rearranging the molecules of that milk so that it can start firming up into curds, which will later be aged into cheese."
If you're wondering if you'd notice difference between rennets, Shannon McCracken, cheesemonger at Montrose Cheese and Wine in Houston explains, "The average person probably wouldn't be able to taste any difference between animal, vegetable, or microbial rennet; however, it has been found that microbial rennet can cause bitterness, especially in aged cheeses."
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Types of Rennet
There are several different types of rennet used in cheese making: animal-based, microbial, chymax and plant-based.
Animal rennet comes from the stomach lining of ruminant animals. It's considered a traditional rennet "since it's been used for the longest time and is an integral part of producing many classic old-world cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano and many English Cheddars," Birnbaum says.
Microbial rennet is "an enzyme harvested from the fermentation of a fungus called Rhizomucor miehei," Hill says.
Chymax is another non-animal based rennet that comes from yeast. "It does use genetic material (DNA) harvested from animal stomach cells which are then grown out in yeast, fermented, and filtered," explains Hill. "The final product does not contain animal material, so technically it's vegetarian — but I would say we are in the rennet gray zone. This might be the most common rennet in use commercially in the U.S. currently and does allow cheese to be labeled as 'vegetarian,'" says Hill.
Plant-based rennet takes enzymes from different types of plants, often the thistle plant, but isn't as common as other rennets.
Cheeses That Don't Use Rennet
Although a coagulant is an important component for making cheese, rennet isn't the only option. Soft-style cheeses often use an acid, such as lemon juice, vinegar, or whey.
"Many softer styles of cheese like mozzarella, paneer, ricotta, and cream cheese use whey or another type of acid as their coagulant instead of rennet, so they will be safe for vegetarians," says Birnbaum.
Is There a Way to Check the Label?
Many cheese labels will have some indicator as to what type of rennet is used in the ingredients list, but it's not a guarantee.
"You'll likely see some sort of 'enzyme' listed, and this is referring to the rennet," Birnbaum says. "Non-vegetarian rennet will be listed as something like 'animal enzyme', while vegetarian cheeses will say something like 'microbial enzyme' or 'vegetarian enzyme.'"
Sometimes, a cheese will be labeled suitable for vegetarians, which makes it easy to know what you're buying. However, if it's a traditional style cheese then it's unlikely a non-animal rennet was used.
Hill explains "that if it is designated as a very traditional cheese, such as AOC [Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée], it's manufacturing process was developed well before the advent of vegetarian-rennet alternatives" and therefore it's not going to be made with a non-animal based rennet.
However, not all cheese companies will indicate what type of rennet it has on the label. If you want to know or if it's essential that there isn't any animal-based byproduct in your cheese, the best way is to shop at a cheese shop. You can talk with the cheesemonger (someone who specializes in cheese) and is knowledgeable about the cheeses they are selling.
"If you have a question about a certain cheese or are looking for any kind of specific cheeses, your monger wants to help," Birnbaum says.
Brands That Make Vegetarian Cheese
The good news is there are several artisanal cheese companies that make cheese with a non-animal based rennet.
"Some notable ones include Beehive Cheese Company in Utah, Cypress Grove Creamery in California, Vermont Butter & Cheese in Vermont, and Pure Luck Dairy in Texas," McCracken says.
There are also national brands that sell cheeses that are suitable for vegetarians. "Tillamook, Cabot, Nancy's, Trader Joe's, 365 Whole Foods, Applegate, and Organic Valley also offer vegetarian cheese options," says Birnbaum. "BelGioioso is another name to remember, as they sell a vegetarian Parmesan style cheese, which can be hard to find."
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