Vegetable Rennet
Posted by TinTexas on Mar 27, 2007 · Member since Aug 2006 · 1216 posts
I was at the local health food store (in-town) and I noticed "Vegetable Rennet" on the shelf. I didn't buy any but now after reading the ovo-lacto not vegan thread, I was wondering if anyone has recipes for cheese that use it. The last vegan cheese I bought that was really waxy and not really something I enjoyed eating. There is another one I bought in SA that's OK but I don't remember now what brand it is. It's an analog to a plain kind of cheese. My DH is always tempting me with the imported, specialty cheeses like Winslydale (sp?), the cheese Wallace (and Grommet) loves. I'd like to make a jalapeno jack soy milk cheese that tastes really good.
I have some in my fridge right now from my regular cheese-eating days. It worked really well in place of regular rennet for a traditional cheese recipe. I was really into making homemade cheese for a while. I have a whole bunch of links for cheese making, but none for vegan cheese. Let me know if you're interested in any of them.
I did a web search but I'm not skilled enough to veganize a cheese recipe. I have asked my DH to buy me the "Uncheese" book that I have on my Amazon wishlist the next time he buys books on Amazon. But he's been good lately and hasn't indulged his desire to own every book in the universe lately. This really is a good thing. We have still have books in boxes that he brought down from Lubbock when we moved 3-1/2 years ago that we don't have any place to put. No room for any more bookscases!
You know, I'll give it a try this weekend. The thing I noticed when I made traditional cheese before, is that anything besides "farmer's cheese" (simple curds) just takes too much work. The other thing I noticed was that a gallon of milk made a riduculously small amount of cheese (like a cup or two). I really felt like I was wasting food when I did that. But if I can get it to work with soy milk, maybe that would justify buying a soymilk maker. I've been reading the soymilk maker thread with dreams of buying my own!