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Experiments with homemade plant rennets

 
author & steward
Posts: 5316
Location: Southeastern U.S. - Zone 7b
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Does anyone make their own plant rennet for cheesemaking? I'm really interested in this topic, and I have long lists of potential plants from which to make rennet. Maybe now that I have a little extra milk would be a good time to experiment. I thought maybe a place to share recipes and experiments would be useful for all of us interested in this topic.

My one experiment so far has been with fig sap.

green figs and leaves contain a lot of white sap

To 1 quart of raw goat milk I added 3/8 tsp citric acid dissolved in 1/8 cup non-chlorinated water and gently heated it to 90°F (32°C). The I added two drops of fig sap, stirred well, and let it sit. It took close to 27 hours to curdle. I drained the whey and got a lovely soft, spreadable cheese.

fig sap cheese

I added just a tad of salt and we ate it on crackers and with jelly on toast.

I'll definitely make it again, although it will probably have to be a seasonal cheese, since I don't know if I can preserve the sap.
 
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Location: Chicago
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Oh!  Looks good.  I definitely will try this with my unlikely-to-ripen figs this fall.
 
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Location: SW Alabama zone 8a & 8b
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I love this topic.  I found this blog post.  

https://monicawilde.com/wild-vegetable-rennet/

I found some other stuff on using animal stomachs but that does not appeal to me (insert sick face).  I have long wondered about fig sap.  I should have milking sheep next spring, so I will be looking to this thread for help...there is so little info out there and just because one reads about it does not mean it will work.  What type of milk are you working with?  Would there be different ratios or procedures for different animal milks?  Could you freeze the milk until the rennets were available, or does that make it unusable for cheese making?

Please keep us updated on your findings, it really helps not to have to reinvent the wheel.
 
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