photo credit: someToast

It’s not vegetarian!

The Background

Rennet is a non-crucial part of the cheesemaking process. It makes cheese coagulate faster, separating the curds from the whey. It is useful when making harder cheeses that need to dry quickly. The primary enzyme in rennet, chymosin, most often comes from the fourth stomach of a cow. Specifically, it has to come from a newborn calf – calves use it to learn how to digest milk. Occasionally it comes from piglets,who have similar digestive issues. However, there are vegetarian options.

The Ingredients

There are two main potential sources for vegetarian rennet: vegetable and microbial. Vegetarian rennet – vegetable enzymes which work in the same way as chymosin – can come from fig leaves, melons, safflower, and wild thistles. Microbial rennet is either fermented from fungi/bacteria or genetically modified; genetically modified rennet is created either by extracting the DNA for chymosin from calf stomach cells, or by bio-synthesizing it without the use of any calf cells. The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom has an information sheet on cheese and rennet, which says that “most widely available vegetarian cheeses are made using rennet produced by fermentation of the fungus Mucor miehei. Vegetarian cheese may also be made using a rennet from the bacteria Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus prodigiosum.” They make vegetarian cheese-buying easy for British shoppers by keeping an eye on cheese manufacturers and labeling non-animal-rennet cheeses with a “V.”

In the United States, such products are often not labeled, but a few suppliers (like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, and other organic-friendly places) make sure to include information on rennet sources on their cheese labels, and sometimes even provide informational pamphlets on the subject. Cheeses are labelled fairly well and frequently in Canada, probably more so than in the United States. Should you reside in another country, your mileage may vary.

Interestingly, vigilant British rennet recognition leads to situations like the one surrounding Walkers Crisps, where many of their meat flavors are vegan (including Barbecue and Beef & Onion) but Cheese & Onion is Not Suitable for Vegetarians because it uses animal rennet. The Politics A writer at vegsource.com’s discussion board comments, “I’m from England, and supermarkets here label vegetarian cheeses with the Vegetarian Society’s V. But I also found out recently that almost 95% of cheeses in our supermarkets are made with vegetarian rennet. Supermarkets refuse to label them all vegetarian due to fear of loss of sales from omnivores who don’t wish to eat vegetarian food.”

There are several political issues affecting the presence of vegetarian rennet in food. On the “pro” side, it prevents nasty surprises for vegetarians who thought they were getting food without meat in it. It also gets points from animal rights for not causing the slaughter of newborn calves, although the dairy industry is not known in general for animal-friendly practices. On the “con” side, people against, for example, the long term consequence of putting fish genes into watermelons might oppose genetically modified rennet; on the other hand, with proper labelling they could stick with vegetable-based rennets, or eventually be able to find cheeses that are labelled “No GMOs!” as some other foods already are.

The Sources

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/cheese.html

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrennet.html

http://www.traderjoes.com/tj/products/brochures/rennet_west.stm

http://www.breadandcircus.com/products/rennet.html

http://www.gov.pe.ca/ftc/cottage/b2.php3 http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/F-27/C.R.C.-c.870/115876.html

http://www.vegsource.com/campbell/messages/2222.html

1 pound organic yellow or red waxy potatoes
1 organic shallot
1 garlic clove
1 small bunch dill or chives
6 ounces of organic green beans
6 ounces of organic baby spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons yogurt
2 ounces feta cheese
Salt to taste

Snap the beans in half and steam for about five minutes. Meanwhile, mince the garlic clove and whisk together with vinegar, mustard, olive oil, yogurt, and salt to taste. Plunge the beans into cold water when they are ready, to stop the cooking and keep the color (and vitamins) bright. Toss with a few spoonfuls of the dressing you have made.

Reserve all this. When you are ready to eat, chop and steam a quarter of the potatoes for about 10 minutes and toss with some more of the dressing. Arrange a handful or two of the spinach in a bowl and top with the potatoes and beans, a little more dressing, and the feta cheese. You can also just make all of it ahead of time if you prefer it cold or don’t mind reheating the whole salad.

photo credit: sleepyneko

This recipe comes at the special request of my little brother, who evidently liked the kale soup so much that he needed some more this week. This is someone who used to hate eating anything green — so that gives you some idea of how tasty kale can be in a soup! This is the classic winter soup – white beans, gnarly-looking but oh-so-good-and-good-for-you kale, and of course root veggies to sweeten the pot. Serves 6-8.

3 organic carrots
1 14-ounce can organic tomatoes
1 15- ounce (or so) can of organic white beans
1 organic onion
6 organic garlic cloves
1 small organic butternut squash
1 large bunch of organic kale
Bouillon to make 6 cups of broth
Salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Chop the carrots and onion into big chunks; peel and chop the squash likewise. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast all of it plus the garlic for 30-40 minutes, until fork-tender.

Meanwhile, julienne the kale. When the veggies have roasted, squeeze out the garlic, and puree it with the onion and tomatoes. Fill a pot with the broth and the veggie puree, and add the kale. Cook for about half an hour, till the kale is tender, and add in the carrots, beans, and squash; cook for about 10 more minutes, then season to taste.