What is rennet? What types of rennet do you use to make your cheese?

Rennet is an enzyme that helps coagulate the milk during the cheesemaking process. For the majority of our cheeses, we use a fermentation-produced rennet that has Kosher and Halal certification and is vegetarian-friendly. This rennet is used to make all of the following varieties of Tillamook cheese: Medium, Sharp, Special Reserve Extra Sharp, Kosher, and Reduced Fat Cheddar cheeses, as well as Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Colby, Colby-Jack, Pepper-Jack, Provolone, Muenster, Swiss, and Reduced Fat Monterey. For a few of our aged white cheddar cheeses (Tillamook Medium White Cheddar, Sharp White, Vintage Extra Sharp White Cheddar, 3 Year Aged Vintage Extra Sharp White, and Smoked Vintage White Extra Sharp), we have historically used a traditional, bovine rennet that was not considered vegetarian. However, we have recently transitioned to exclusively use the fermentation-produced, vegetarian-friendly rennet. Please note that while we have already begun making our aged white cheddars with the veggie-friendly rennet, these cheeses are naturally aged anywhere from 60 days to 3 years, so depending on the cheese, it will take some time for the new white cheddar to reach stores. Be sure to look for our call out, “contains no animal rennet” on the packaging to know if it is made with vegetarian rennet.