C.A. Ernstrom

Milk-Clotting Enzymes and Cheese Chemistry

Milk-clotting enzymes, obtained from animal, plant, and microbial sources have been used since antiquity for the manufacture of cheese and other foods. Until recently the calf gastric enzyme chymosin (rennin) in the form of a crude extract, paste or powder was used almost exclusively in commercial cheesemaking. Since 1961 there has developed a substantial shortage of calf stomaches (veils), and cheese makers have resorted to other enzyme preparations to meet the needs of an expanding cheese industry (Food and Agriculture Organization. 1968). It is questionable whether calf veils available in the United States could fill more than one-third of the country’s need for milk-clotting enzymes. However, chymosin still remains the enzyme of choice and the standard against which all others are evaluated.