It soon became clear that the digestive enzyme found in the sheep's stomach was the actual starter for cheese production. It is today called chymosin or rennin in biotechnology. It was actually the first enzyme that could be isolated.
Rennin has been used for cheese production for the hundreds of years. It is obtained from the fourth stomach of all ruminates; although only from the very young once, the calves and lambs. However, the digestive enzyme pepsin in that part of their stomach together with chymosin as soon as calves and lambs start to eat grass, and this can not be used for cheese production since, among other things, it altered the taste. Incidentally, babies also have rennin in their stomach initially before it disappears from their digestive system as their diet becomes diversified. If a baby that has only been fed milk spits some of this out, it smells cheese as result of this rennin.
Previously there are the sufficient rennins available from calf stomachs. However the meat production increased, the number of young dairy calves being slaughtered began to fall and, together with the increased cheese production, raised the demand for rennin.
A search was therefore made for substitute enzymes; none of watch has proven to be as well suited as rennin. Incidentally Italian cheeses are often started with an enzyme obtained from the jugular glands of calves of many Italian cheeses.
The biotechnological industry has since solved the problem of rennin. It is now produced by specially trained strains of cheap and willing microorganisms.
Rennin has been used for cheese production for the hundreds of years. It is obtained from the fourth stomach of all ruminates; although only from the very young once, the calves and lambs. However, the digestive enzyme pepsin in that part of their stomach together with chymosin as soon as calves and lambs start to eat grass, and this can not be used for cheese production since, among other things, it altered the taste. Incidentally, babies also have rennin in their stomach initially before it disappears from their digestive system as their diet becomes diversified. If a baby that has only been fed milk spits some of this out, it smells cheese as result of this rennin.
Previously there are the sufficient rennins available from calf stomachs. However the meat production increased, the number of young dairy calves being slaughtered began to fall and, together with the increased cheese production, raised the demand for rennin.
A search was therefore made for substitute enzymes; none of watch has proven to be as well suited as rennin. Incidentally Italian cheeses are often started with an enzyme obtained from the jugular glands of calves of many Italian cheeses.
The biotechnological industry has since solved the problem of rennin. It is now produced by specially trained strains of cheap and willing microorganisms.
