Rennet: Cheese's Dark, Little Secret

If you buy cheese that doesn't come individually wrapped in eco-hostile plastic sheets, chances are you're at least some sort of a cheese connoisseur. I consider myself an amateur cheese aficionado. I've had it from around the world, and not until the past two years or so, did I learn about cheese's dark, little secret: rennet. Cheese is milk that's aged and cultured to a solid texture. Duh. But in order to make milk curd -- changing it from liquid to solid -- it needs a starter culture. Rennet, as defined in a host of dictionaries and such, is typically used as a starter culture. In cheeses made from cow's milk, rennet is made by removing the 4th stomach of a veal calf -- so... right away, whether or not you support the barbaric, cruel practice of raising/eating veal, you support it in buying cheese made with animal rennet -- washing it, drying it and grinding the stomach lining into a powder. This acidic powder contains chymosin, and this enables the milk to curd. A brief history: Cheese was *probably* first created by a desert dweller who stored milk inside a calf's stomach -- the "thermos" of the times -- over a period of days in the sweltering heat. In this case, rennet was incidental. As a vegetarian, I have a problem with eating stomach lining, so I stay away from most of the yummy cheeses I once loved. But, fear not, fellow cheese eater! There is hope! Many cheese producers now use Microbial Rennet -- a type of fungus -- as well as Vegetable Rennet, which is typically made from seeds. These cheeses are 100% safe for vegetarians! As a general rule of thumb: If it reads "enzymes" or "cultures," it's not to be trusted!!!