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Article: An update on Rennet.
- Article from:
- Vegetarian Journal
- Article date:
- July 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Vegetarian Resource Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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RENNET IS DEFINED AS THE INNER LINING OF THE fourth stomach of calves and other young ruminants or as an extract made from the stomach lining of a ruminant, used in cheesemaking to curdle milk. Rennet also broadly refers to any enzyme used for the coagulation of milk in the cheesemaking process. The active component in rennet is known as rennin, the actual enzyme that causes milk to coagulate. This enzyme must be added to break down the proteins that keep milk in its liquid form. Dean Sommer, a Cheese and Food Technologist at the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research (WCDR), estimates that 5-10 percent of the rennet is retained in the cheese curds, while the rest stays in ...