To Pbepare a Rennet
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the rennet
Keep the rennet without food for 12 hours to strengthen secretions.
Empty the curd without rinsing.
Rub the curd with salt.
Stretch the curd on a hoop to dry.
Allow the rennet to age for 1 year before using.
Soak the rennet
Soak the rennet in 1 gallon of water and stir often.
Rub the rennet with salt.
Keep more salt than will dissolve in the water.
Store and use
After 3-4 days, the liquid is ready for use.
Bottle the liquid and store in a cool place.
If there is any taint, do not use it as it will spoil the cheese.
Use ½ cup of rennet for every 35 gallons of milk.
Stir before use.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Calf rennet
- Enzymes that make milk coagulate into curd, which is the basis of cheese setting.
The step that matters
Keep more salt than will dissolve in the water. Undissolved salt keeps the soaking liquid saturated, which helps inhibit microbes during soaking. If the liquid becomes tainted, it will spoil the cheese it is later used to make, so the salt level matters.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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