Cheese lovers are just learning what Parmesan is made from: 'Absolutely repulsive'

People are learning the truth about Parmesan and they are pretty horrified.

While you may think the popular cheese is vegetarian, it actually involves cows - baby cows.

Here's the deal. The cheese is traditionally made from cow's milk, aged for at least 12 months in copper vats, where it is heated and other ingredients like whey and rennet are added. And rennet is basically the stomach juices of baby cows.

Indeed, "animal rennet is an enzyme obtained from the fourth stomach of an unweaned calf (this can include veal calves, or even lamb and kid)," according to the Courtyard Dairy.

"At that stage in their life they’ve only consumed milk, so the natural enzyme for coagulating milk (chymosin) is present in large quantities. As the calves get older the amount of chymosin reduces and other enzymes take its place (those necessary for digesting other foodstuffs)".

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"For cheesemaking, rennet helps to form firm curds and is crucial in finding the right texture for your cheese," the Cheesemaker explained. "Where some recipes will use acid or an acid-producing bacteria to do this, cheesemakers use rennet to better cultivate the final flavor profile of their cheese."

When people realise this, they often share their horror on Twitter:

But don't worry, it is possible to get vegetarian Parmesan too. All is well that ends well.

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