Cheese is made by coagulating milk to give curds which are then separated
from the liquid, whey, after which they can be processed and matured to
produce a wide variety of cheeses. Milk is coagulated by the addition of
rennet. The active ingredient of rennet is the enzyme, chymosin (also known
as rennin). Rennet is usually sourced from the abomasum (fourth stomach) of
newly-born calves. Here, chymosin aids the digestion and absorption of milk.
This is why it chymosin is most prevalent in young calves. This is also why
nutritionists refer to curdled milk as predigested. Only the milk of
ruminating animals chemically reacts to the enzyme produced by the fourth
stomach of ruminating animals. Other animals neither produce nor react to
chymosin.

Curdling can be brought about by other chemicals and bacterial agents. Many
of the rennetless cheeses are produced using various coagulating agents such
as nettle, thistle and fig leaf. Today most commercial rennetless cheese
uses the fungus Mucor miehei.

-----Original Message-----
From:   HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Ted Ashton
Sent:   Friday, August 04, 2000 2:30 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: [HP3000-L] OT : Friday Trivia

Thus it was written in the epistle of Joseph Rosenblatt,
> >Camel's milk does not curdle.
> Only the milk of ruminating (cud chewing) animals curdles.

Why?

Ted
--
Ted Ashton ([log in to unmask]), Info Sys, Southern Adventist University
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