Vegetarian Cheese

Many people would think that cheese, which is made from milk, would be vegetarian.

However, there are tiny traces of beef extract in there, as over the centuries cheeses were made using animal rennet, an enzyme found in the stomach of a calf which coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids (curds) and liquids (whey).

This not only took cheese off the menu for strict vegans, but many people didn’t like the idea on principal; because the calves being used were a bi-product of a veal production.

Fortunatley, science had an answer with an alternative which was humane, vegetarian and just as tasty. These days the majority of cheeses on the delicatessen counters are made using this vegetarian rennet, made from enzymes produced from fungal organisms similar to mushrooms.

All the cheeses produced here at Shepherds Purse are made by this method.