Meatless Monday: What Makes a Cheese “Vegetarian”

While researching Burrata for last week’s post, I learned quite a bit about rennet and discovered a few resources to help those aspiring to go truly “meatless” on Mondays to meet their goal.

Rennet in some form is an essential component in the process of making any kind of cheese that can be sliced. Rennet is a coagulant, added to the vat of milk at the start of the cheese-making process, causing the milk to thicken so it can be separated into curds and whey. Rennet contains the enzyme chymosin, traditionally sourced from the abomasum (fourth stomach) of newly-born calves. Chymosin aids the calf in its digestion and absorption of milk; adult cows do not have this enzyme. 

It is widely speculated that the production of the first cheese was, in fact, an accident. The first cheese may have been produced when our ancestors stored milk in a bag made from the stomach of a young cow. The milk would have curdled. The discovery that the curds could be dried and salted led to the creation of a new food, cheese, which could be stored for a much longer period of time than milk could be. 

Today, however, calves are not the only source of the enzyme required for making cheese. There is indeed such a thing as “vegetarian cheese.” A fact sheet from the Vegetarian Society goes into great detail about how alternative rennets (some from bacteria, others from fungi) are manufactured. Research into production of rennet from fungi was apparently spurred on by a prediction made in the 1960s by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that there would be a shortage of calf rennet due to an increased demand for meat. [Chymosin would be absent in calves slaughtered at an older age.] A number of substitutes for chymosin were developed, and today much of the cheese produced is made using non-traditional rennet.

If you love Parmigiano-Reggiano, however, you may be saddened to learn that one of the characteristics required for a cheese to earn this label is that it be made in a fashion unchanged since the process was mastered in the 11th century, which means with rennet obtained from veal calves. Gorgonzola is another such cheese.

If, however, Cheddar, or Jack is what you crave, vegetarian cheese is easy to find. Cabot Creamery Cooperative is one of the regional producers offering a wide array of vegetarian options. The Cabot FAQ page states that Cabot uses “a microbial-based enzyme…approved for vegetarians [which]…also allows our cheeses to pass kosher certification. The one exception in the Cabot product line is Processed American Cheese Slices which are sourced from plants that Cabot does not own. Look for the phrase “Contains no animal rennet” on the ingredients panel if this issue matters to you.

For more Cheese FAQs, check out this page from the California Milk Advisory Board. 

Happy Monday. I hope I haven’t ruined your day. Thanks for reading. 

I often blog on food, food issues, or topics related to growing things on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Saturday Short Subjects: Feeling Crafty?

A few days ago, Elm City Market (now at 1561 member owners) tweeted the link to a DIY change purse. The purse’s base is a half-gallon milk or juice carton. How green is that?

The source is the Disney Family Fun site. Click here for the instructions which include a video, a template (which you can get by clicking on the highlighted word “template”) and very clear written instructions.

I tried this project before sharing it with you.

My OJ purse closed…

I have a few words of wisdom to share:  

• Adult supervision (and, quite possibly, intervention) is required. The adult needs to be somewhat crafty, i.e. know how to follow instructions and have a bit of patience. 
• Your scissors need to be sharp; the nursery school version will not work.
• It is easier to cut out the curved parts, particularly the circle, with an X-Acto knife.
• Firm Pressure actually means VERY Firm Pressure. And you should score repeatedly. Milk/juice cartons are very tough [as they should be].

Was this project a success? YES. And, the OJ cap does indeed keep the purse sealed.

Was it easy to make? Not really. It is harder than it looks to make the accordion fold.

And open with change inside.

Pros: 

• You can’t beat the cost of the materials. 
• The purse is very cute. And useful – perfect for holding lots of change for the parking meter. 
• And I don’t think anyone would steal it from a dashboard if it were left unattended.

Cons: 

• If you were considering this as an accessory for an evening out, I would probably say, “Forget it.” But you can be the judge of that.

Have fun, and have a great weekend.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

Meatless Monday: Burrata – The Most Glorious Leftover

If I’d known what was inside, I would have missed out on the creamy deliciousness that is burrata.

On a recent visit to Cape Cod, we visited the Chatham Farmers Market, where the friendly cheesemongers from Fromage à Trois were offering handmade mozzarella and ravioli and a cheese called “Goat Cheese Burrata,” nicely wrapped in checkerboard tissue paper and sold with the promise “not like any goat cheese you’ve ever had.”

I’m a goat cheese lover, and I’m always up for trying a new local product. The friendly wide-eyed kid manning the table had hooked me. I bought a little package thinking it would be the perfect accompaniment for the Truro Vineyards Cabernet Franc we’d already picked up. [Yes, you can buy wine at Cape Cod farmers markets!] 

Still-life with burrata on a plate and its empty wrapper.

Back at the cabin we opened up the package to discover what looked like mozzarella, but instead of being a ball, it was more like a sack, gathered and crumpled at the top. We sliced it open and found that while the outside was firm like mozzarella, the inside was creamy and lightly flavored with herbs. It was so deliciously rich that we knew not to polish it off in one sitting. We ate over the coarse of three evenings on lightly toasted rounds of cheese bread and some Gala apple slices.

Once vacation was over and I was back home, I googled burrata to learn it means “buttered” in Italian and was originally devised as a way for using up the curds leftover in mozzarella making. The cheese-maker would make a small pouch (instead of a ball) of mozzarella. Then he would gather together the leftover curds, mix them with cream, fill the pouch, and tie off the top.

In reading the label I’d saved from my burrata, I saw that mascarpone was listed instead of cream. Good, I thought, cheese, not cream. But, on googling mascarpone, I discovered its 47% butterfat vs. 36% for heavy cream! 

I also discovered that, despite its fat, burrata, like bacon, is all the rage. Check out this recent recipe from the New York Times for zucchini blossoms stuffed with burrata. 

Nora Singley’s Cheesemonger blog is a treasure trove of burrata facts and includes some great photos. And, if you are feeling adventurous, visit the Sunday Suppers site for instructions on making your own.

Go ahead, indulge. But not too often and not too much. Perhaps with friends. Burrata Beware.

Happy Monday. Thanks for reading. 

I often blog on food, food issues, or topics related to growing things on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”