Rennet is used to make cheese.
Cheese making is a process that involves curdling and coagulating milk. Rennet is a coagulation enzyme and the main ingredient in cheese making. It helps coagulate milk into solid curds and milky whey. Rennet occurs naturally and is also engineered artificially.
Sources
Rennet is naturally produced in the stomachs of young, ruminating mammals so that they are able to digest their mother's milk. Rennet is also found in plants such as the fig tree or the ground ivy called Creeping Charlie. Since 1990, Rennet has been produced synthetically through genetic engineering.
Process
The rennet process involves extracting rennet from the animal, plant or synthetic source. For instance, extracting rennet from animals involves slicing the animal's stomach into thin strips, placing the strips in a saltwater solution with vinegar, filtering and allowing the strips to dry. The strips are then cut into smaller pieces and placed into milk to allow it to coagulate. The active ingredient in rennet is chymosin, which breaks the molecular bonds between the protein and water molecules found in milk, allowing it to coagulate.
Market
Rennet is available in the market in both liquid and tablet form. While tablets are used for making smaller quantities of cheese, large-scale industrial manufacturers use liquid rennet because of its strong dissolving properties. Animal rennet, due to limited availability, is expensive and is most often used by master cheese-makers.
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