CHEES-E-FACTS

Most of us vegetarians are quite fond of cheese. We Vegetarian-Indians or Indian-Vegetarians have basically grown up on paneer. ‘Pamper with paneer’ was and still is a thumb rule; you can never go wrong with. For ages, paneer was the nearest thing to cheese that we had tasted.
But, we’ve come far and today most of us have our own favorite variety of cheese; Parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, cottage, cheddar, bleu… name it and we’ve had it. However, while texture to an extent is, what most of us still do not know is that the process of making cheese is more complex than that of ‘paneer’ and therefore all kinds of cheese are not suitable for vegetarians like paneer (chenna).

Mozarella Cheese

Picorino Romano Cheese

Smoked-gruyere Cheese

No matter how weird and difficult-to-pronounce name a cheese has got (every variety of pecorino for example), it is taken to belong to ‘an obviously vegetarian’ category. Time to see beyond the name guys!!

An important element used in the process of making cheese that might render it as non-vegetarian is Rennet. In simple terms, rennet is a set of enzymes that coagulates the milk to help the formation of cheese. The source of rennet is however the cause of concern here. There are three sources of rennet,

• the inner lining of the stomach of ruminant animals like cows, goats and pigs etc. (animal rennet)
• plants (vegetable rennet) and
• microbes like bacteria/fungi/yeast etc (microbial rennet)

Off late, manufactures have also started using Fermentation-produced-chymosin (FPC) for making cheese. FPC is a coagulating element that is produced by introducing a rennet-producing gene from an animal’s stomach into a microbe. This genetically modified microorganism then produces chymosin, that is used in coagulation and the microbe is killed in the final product.  FPC is also referred to on labels as ‘vegetable or microbial rennet’. Some manufacturers also use acids for coagulation.

While animal rennet is not suitable for consumption by vegetarians, the other two categories are. Below are some of the popular types of cheese in each category:

Types of cheese using animal rennet	Types of cheese using vegetable/microbial rennet *	Types of cheese manufactured without rennet
Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) –most varieties	American Bleu and Bleu	Cream cheese
Gruyere – most varieties	Asiago	Cottage cheese
Pecorino Romano	Brie	Farmer’s cheese
Gorgonzola – most varieties	Cheddar	Mozarella- some varieties
Manchego,	Colby Jack	Quark
Emmenthaler	Feta	Paneer
Mimolette	Fontina	Vegan (all types and varieties)
Grana Padano	Montery Jack
Camembert – most varieties	Mozarella
Boucheron	Pepper Jack
Vacherin	Ricotta
	Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) – some varieties
	Gorgonzola – some varieties
	Camembert – some varieties

*Please note that the types of cheese mentioned under the vegetarian category (except for the ones not using rennet) may have certain varieties/brands that use animal-rennet too. Therefore, reading the label is your best bet!

Brie Cheese

Fontina Cheese

Gorgonzola Cheese

So, the next time you crave for cheese, make sure you do the following:

1. Read labels for rennet before buying cheese/ask a knowledgeable salesperson about the rennet used in cheese.
2. While eating out, opt for dishes that use the vegetarian types like cheddar, feta, fontina, ricotta etc. /ask your server or a knowledgeable restaurant staff for the cheese.
3. Go for organic, and try to buy cheese at a reliable store/supermarket (for example, I buy cheese either at Whole Foods or Trader’s Joe where the labels always carry the type of rennet used). Remember you always have the option of vegan cheese to fall back on.
4. Find out the vegetarian/vegan brands of cheese available in your country before you go shopping.  Here in US, you can find Go Veggie, Daiya, Follow your Heart, Treeline, Dr Cow etc. Amul, a very popular brand in India also manufactures vegetarian cheese. 

White Cheddar Cheese

I hope you found the article helpful. I will truly appreciate any comments, suggestion or questions that you have for me. Also, please share names of vegetarian brands of cheese you’ve tried and how did you like them. I will be back soon with another helpful write-up on another ‘apparently vegetarian’ food.

Till then, read what you eat and eat what you love, keep it Vegetarian ;)