Rennet enzyme - properties and application. What effect does he have on the human body?

Rennet is a complex organic substance that is produced in the stomach of calves, lambs and other newborn cattle. As you know, this substance contributes to the splitting, as well as the processing of the mother's milk, which is consumed by the baby. It should be specially noted that this enzyme can not be obtained by artificial means. In this regard, it is quite expensive, but very effective in preparing dairy products.

Self-extracting and drying enzyme

If you want to cook homemade cheese or cottage cheese with the use of such a product, it can be purchased at a pharmacy. Typically, the presented ingredient is sold as a light gray or white powder that has no odor or color. It should also be noted that in pharmacy chains it is sold extremely rarely. Thus, in the absence of a product of factory production, it is possible to prepare a rennet enzyme at home. To do this, the extracted abomasum after slaughter of the calf or lamb should be cleaned, and tie up the ends of the holes, inflate with air and leave for a few days in the shade or in a warm room (at 18-20 degrees). Next, the dried product should be wrapped in dark paper and stored until immediately consumed. For the preparation of cheese or cottage cheese, it is advisable to use this enzyme after 2-4 months after drying, because mucus may appear from the fresh ingredient in the solution used.

What role does the rennet play in the production of cheese and other dairy products?

Rennet is often used to make cheeses. After all, during the production of this product requires a rapid separation of protein components of fresh milk beverage from whey. As is known, such a substance of animal origin consists of two elements: pepsin and chymosin. And thanks to these ingredients, the rennet enzyme acts as a kind of catalyst in the process of making tasty and tender cheese. After all, it is his addition that quickly blocks milk by separating protein components from milk whey.

Is it profitable for manufacturers?

Despite the fact that such a component is expensive, it is actively used by producers of dairy products. After all, cheese without rennet is less delicious and delicate. In addition, the process of sealing milk with the use of this substance is much faster, which allows you to produce much more products.

It should also be noted that the rennet enzyme has absolutely no effect on the organoleptic properties of the final product. In other words, cheese made with the use of this substance does not change in color, in taste and remains fragrant. By the way, the appearance of the dairy product is absolutely impossible to understand whether it was made using an enzyme or not.

How to make cheeses?

After the rennet is added to the milk, it is converted into a dense clot. In this case, the serum is separated from the protein component. If production is stopped at this stage, then you will get a very delicious cottage cheese. If you want to make a hard and fragrant cheese, then the grain, which has reached a certain percentage of moisture, should be placed in a mold with holes for draining the whey, and then compressed and sent to salting. In the brine, the formed bars should be about 10 days, after which they need to be laid out on the shelves for full maturation (about 3 weeks).

Rennet enzyme: is it harmful for the body?

As stated above, it is difficult to determine whether a particular cheese is made with this substance. After all, in the composition of the product such an enzyme you will never find. This is due to the fact that the abomasum is not found in cheese or cottage cheese, since it is used only for the curtailing of milk. However, it should be noted that since the early 1990s, a similar enzyme (rennin) has been produced as a result of gene biotechnology since the beginning of the 1990s, in the form of the laborious extraction of it from the stomachs of young calves, lambs and kids. His principle of production is approximately this: from the animal is extracted his gene, which is copied millions of times. After that they are placed in a bacterial environment where they are artificially grown. At the moment, the impact on the body of products that have been obtained through genetic engineering remains unclear . In this connection it is rather difficult to say whether such an enzyme is harmful or not.

How to replace the rennet enzyme?

Currently, there are several substitutes for rennet enzyme, which are actively used for making different cheeses and cottage cheese. Their use is also popular among dairy producers. For example, in Italy, in addition to rennet rennet, other enzymes are also used to create fragrant cheeses, which are produced by the amygdala of lambs, kids or calves. Such substances give the product a specific piquant taste, highly appreciated by gourmets.

It is also worth noting that the use of non-animal substances during the preparation of cheeses allows them to use and adherents of vegetarianism. So, in the 1960s, scientists isolated strains of fungi Mucor miehei and Mucor pusilus, which synthesized suitable enzymes, but with little activity. A little later, methods were developed for obtaining similar substances from Bacillus licheniformis, Pseudomonas mixoides, Edothea parasitica, etc. Three years later, with the development of gene biotechnology, the rennin, which was produced by bacterial copies of the young calf gene, was actively used for the production of cheeses. As you know, it has more purity, stability and activity than natural abomasum. Currently, this component produces more than 60% of hard cheeses.

Among other things, today there are vegetable substitutes for rennet enzyme. So, instead of it use a juice of a fig or a starter grass. However, in the large-scale production of dairy products, such enzymes are extremely rare.