Natural Calf Rennet

What it is

This is natural calf rennet, a coagulant for dairies and cheese workshops. Calf rennet comes from the stomach of young calves. Its main enzyme is chymosin, which sets the milk and separates it into curd and whey. Under EU rules, coagulants such as rennet are food enzymes, not additives with an E number.

How to use it

• The dose depends on the strength of the product, not just the amount of milk. Strength is usually given in IMCU or as a ratio, e.g. 1:10,000, and powdered rennet is about 10 times stronger than liquid. Follow the dose printed on the pack.
• Before adding it, dilute the rennet in chlorine-free water, at least twice its own volume.
• In practice it's added when the milk is at about 31–33 °C, and coagulation usually takes about 30 minutes.

What to keep in mind

At room temperature rennet loses strength faster, so keep it in the fridge. If the milk doesn't set, check the temperature, the water you diluted the rennet in and antibiotic residues before increasing the dose. If you need a coagulant of non-animal origin, we have microbial rennet for cheese. You'll find cultures and other cheesemaking ingredients in Dairy.

Tell us what cheese you make and how much milk you set per day, and we'll send you a quote. Call us at +355 69 202 6314 or write to us via Contact.