Making Cheese

Cheesemaking is essentially the process of transforming a liquid into a solid. One very critical ingredient in this process is rennet, which is used to coagulate (or thicken) the milk into a Jell-O like texture. When the cheesemaking process begins after milk is received, starter cultures are added to change the lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid, which in turn changes the acidity of the milk aiding in the process of thickening when rennet is added.

Chymosin, the enzyme used to produce rennet, is a protease enzyme that curdles the main protein in milk, casein, separating it from the second milk protein, whey. The whey is a liquid by-product of cheese production, which can then be used in multiple ways such as feeding pigs, producing electricity or making additional cheeses such as ricotta. This same process that is used in making cheese is present in the natural digestion of milk by mammals. Chymosin is found in the stomach lining of mammals, assisting in the digestion of their mother’s milk. However, don't worry, animals are not slaughtered just so we can make cheese, rather it is collected when they are sold for meat as a way to ensure the whole animal is used. In addition to animal rennet, there are other types extracted from plants and other microbes such as mold. Plant based rennet is derived from cardoon thistle, artichoke, nettles as well as other plants by soaking the plant in water and extracting a thickening enzyme similar to chymosin. However, this type of rennet can be more challenging to work with as it is not always consistent and can cause vegetal or bitter flavors in cheese. Similarly, microbial rennet is extracted in labs from certain types of molds that have enzymes relatively similar to chymosin, but again it is tricky to work with and not widely used as it can also contribute a bitter flavor and lower yields. All of our cheeses are made possible by this key ingredient/enzyme, rennet!