Cheese Rennet

Not only is the rennet listed on this site suitable for many different cheeses, it’s also perfect to make the delicious, old fashioned pudding ‘Junket’ too.

We have a variety of sizes to suit the home and small scale cheese maker. The Microbial rennet tablets being particularly useful in hotter climates where storing and using liquid rennet can sometimes be an issue.

Vegetable rennet is used in the production of kosher and halal cheeses, but nearly all kosher cheeses are produced with  microbial rennet nowadays. 

Luckily, there has been much improvement over recent years, in microbial coagulants development. They no longer produce a slight bitter after taste. This is largely due to the characterisation and purification of secondary enzymes responsible for bitter peptide. Consequently, becoming possible to produce great tasting cheeses with microbial rennet.

Vegetarian rennet is also suitable for vegan cheese, provided no animal-based ingredients are used in its production.

Animal Rennet is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, animal rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and a lipase.

Rennet has traditionally been used in cheese making to separate milk into solid curds and liquid whey. Animal rennet from calves has become less common for this use, in favour of plant and fungi derived alternatives.