Culture Magazine

THE HOT LIS T 202 3 culturecheesemag.com 51 A nimal rennet is made by extracting enzymes from an abomasum, the fourth compartment of the ruminant digestive system. It is most often obtained from dairy livestock that are less than one month old and still feeding solely on milk. The milk these animals drink bypasses the other compartments and goes directly into the abomasum, where chymosin is secreted; this is the main enzyme coagulates the milk so that nutrients can be extracted when it proceeds to the small intestine. The abomasum evolved to coagulate milk, and the use of rennet by humans is a harnessing of this ancient trait of mammalian digestion. A BIOLOGICAL PROCESS Despite the oft-repeated story, cheese did not originate from humans using a stomach to carry milk. But as evidenced by what happens in the abomasum, milk is designed to be coagulated, and cheesemaking is rooted in this biological process. In the US and many other countries, most cheesemakers use a synthetic coagulant called Fermentation Produced Chymosin, which is 100 percent chymosin and is produced by a genetically modified organism. The older way of making rennet involves working with dried abomasums that contain a wide range of enzymes and microbes. These artisanal preparations can be divided into two categories: In one, only the skin of the abomasum is used, which is where the majority of chymosin resides. In the other, the abomasum is preserved full of coagulated milk, which contains some chymosin and a range of other enzymes referred to as lipases. These enzymes break down fat into various aromatic compounds that can lead to characteristic flavors in cheese. This can be sensed at low levels in Parmigiano Reggiano, in what is referred to as picante—piquant, spicy notes. It is also more pronounced in many pecorinos and in some cow's milk caciocavallos from southern Italy. These cheeses are often made with rennet pastes from goat or kid abomasums (with the coagulated milk) added for flavor, in addition to liquid rennet. RARE AND REVERED The first stop of my research was at a small rennet production facility in Castille and León, Spain. Here, the company Cuajos Caporal obtains abomasums from local slaughterhouses, where suckling lambs are processed for a local delicacy called Lechazo de Castilla y León. Most of the abomasums are hung to dry in a hot, low-humidity room, and then steeped in water to make large batches of liquid rennet. Some are processed into a paste while fresh and full of coagulated milk. This regional-level rennet making is now extremely rare. The liquid and paste rennet produced by Caporal is esteemed by makers—such as Quesos La Jarradilla, an artisanal producer of cow's milk cheeses in Cantabria—as being responsible for some of the nuanced flavors in their cheeses. EMBLEMS OF PASTORAL CULTURE On the western end of the Canary Island archipelago, the farmer cheesemakers of La Palma have retained a strong tradition of making rennet from their own herds of Palmera goats—a heritage breed. When they are 10 to 20 days old, the goat kids (besides the does that will remain in the herd) are brought to a slaughterhouse operating at EU standards. The farmers receive the abomasums back with a traceable serial number on an attached plastic tab. The abomasums are covered with salt and the liquid is extracted along with the coagulating enzymes. The liquid is mashed with the abomasums and the coagulated milk inside to form a paste. La Palma cheesemakers credit their goats and the use of this artisanal rennet for creating signature characteristics in their cheese—and as emblems of their rapidly transforming pastoral culture. The main cheese made on La Palma is called Queso Palmero, an aged, often smoked cheese that has variable sizes and aging times. Watching the cheesemakers of the island perform their well-practiced motions, I observe an alchemical dance taking place, through which liquid milk is transformed into a solid. PRESERVING TRADITIONAL FLAVORS In northern Spain, the Basque people have a deep connection to their Latxa sheep and Idiazabal cheese. However, what is slowly being lost in this cheese is the picante flavor linked to the use of milk-filled lamb abomasums. Many Despite the oft-repeated story, cheese did not originate from humans using a stomach to carry milk. A dried lamb abomasum full of coagulated milk f rom Cuajos Caporal in Spain

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