Vegetarian cheese?
Update on Vegetarian Cheeses
Our last survey of
cheese manufacturers in Ireland took place about 4 years ago – here in this article, we present a newly updated list of vegetarian cheeses available to the Irish consumer in the year 2000. During the earlier survey, producers were contacted directly and asked about their cheese making processes. The list below has been compiled using a combination of website access, direct contact with producers and some sleuth work - going into the supermarkets and health food shops with a good old note pad and pen!
Vegetarian Cheese?
The first question one might ask is; what makes a cheese
suitable or unsuitable for
vegetarians? Cheeses can be made with any type of milk, and in the case of vegan substitutes,
soya or rice milk, for example. This in itself is absolutely acceptable - whether vegetarian or vegan, there is an option for everyone. Problems can arise, however, once the actual processing of the milk commences.
The Cheese Making Process
Depending on the
type of cheese being made, the process varies. The following simplified description (for making cheddar cheese) goes some way towards explaining the procedure. Raw milk is delivered to the dairy and pumped into giant aluminium vats, where it is heated to a
temperature of around 30°C. Once heated, a acidic liquid is added to the milk called rennet. The rennet curdles the milk, separating the milk into solids (curds) and liquids (whey). The
mix is heated more to encourage the further separating and setting of the solids (this is known as scalding). The two parts of the mixture must then be fully separated - only about 10% of the original quantity of
milk remains as solids - the part that eventually ends up as cheese. Salt is added and mixed through to act as a stabiliser and preservative. The curds are then packed in
cheesecloths and specific species of moulds are permitted to colonise the outside of the cloths around the blocks of cheese. After a maturation period, the large blocks are prepared for packaging and sale.
Rennet - what source?
The problem occurs once the rennet is added. Traditionally, rennet has been sourced from the stomach juices of animals - usually
read more
