Which cheeses are suitable for vegetarians? (And which aren’t?)

I thought vegetarians ate cheese – what gives?

If you’re a vegetarian, you’ve probably had a conversation with one of your non-vegetarian friends that went something like this:

THEM: Hi, I’ve got you this cheese.

YOU: Is it suitable for vegetarians – can I eat it?

THEM: What? It’s cheese, I thought you ate cheese.

YOU: I do, but not all cheese is actually vegetarian.

THEM: Well how do you know?

YOU: It’s complicated.

It is complicated. Most vegetarians eat dairy (while vegans generally don’t). However, the cheesemaking process can often involve ingredients that come from animals, making the cheese not vegetarian. Not all cheeses use these animal ingredients, meaning that finding a cheese that does fit your lifestyle can be fraught.

Which ingredients in cheese aren’t vegetarian?

Most vegetarians do eat dairy – they are OK with milk and other products that come from animals without causing the death of the animal. However, the process of turning milk into cheese does sometimes use ingredients that come from animals.

Milk needs to coagulate to turn into cheese. This does not happen without the addition of another ingredients. Traditionally, the most commonly used coagulant would be rennet. This is still used in many types of cheese. However, rennet is traditionally made from animal stomach enzymes – usually cows.

Rennet is not the only way to coagulate milk however, and vegetarian alternatives have been used for some time. These might be microbial rennet, plant rennet, thistle rennet or a range of other vegetarian rennets. Animal based coagulants are often referred to as ‘traditional rennet’, ‘pepsin’ or just ‘animal enzymes’. Look out for these to make sure that the cheese you are buying is actually vegetarian.

Coagulants to look out for

• Animal Rennet – made from the lining of the stomachs of ruminant animals. Not Vegetarian.
• Microbial Rennet – an enzyme harvested from the fermentation of a fungus called Rhizomucor miehei. Vegetarian.
• Thistle Rennet – made from enzymes harvested from thistle plants. Some rennets are made from other plants, but most commonly the thistle. Vegetarian.
• Chymax – made from yeasts grown from material in animal stomachs. Fermented, filtered and treated to not technically contain animal material. Up to you – legally counts as vegetarian in some countries, but not everyone agrees.

What is vegan cheese?

Vegan cheese is generally made of non-dairy milk alternatives. This might be nuts (often cashews, macadamias, or almonds), soy, or root vegetables (such as potatoes). Coconut oil is also a very common ingredient. These are bound together using starches and thickeners – tapioca starch, arrowroot, or agar-agar. Finally, they are flavoured with ingredients to create the sharp or tangy taste of cheese – usually yeast, but often citrus.

A note on terminology

There are names for cheeses that mean very specific things – but are often referred to more generally. Let us explain – Parmesan legally means the Italian cheese Parmigiano Reggiano – a cheese only made in one region of Italy, and according to a specific technique and set of ingredients. This includes calf rennet. However, many of us use the term Parmesan more generally to mean a hard, Italian style cheese suitable for grating onto pasta and such. While this is not strictly accurate, it is often more common to see people refer to non-vegetarian versions of Parmesan as ‘Parmesan’, rather than ‘Vegetarian Parmesan Alternative’.

Which cheeses are (usually) not vegetarian?

• Camembert
• Gorgonzola
• Manchego
• Gruyere
• Pecorino Romano
• Emmenthal
• Raclette
• Roquefort

Which cheeses usually are vegetarian?

• Paneer
• Ricotta
• Cottage Cheese
• Cream Cheese
• Mascarpone

There are now many cheese makers that offer vegetarian friendly alternatives and versions to almost any type of cheese. However, it is not always immediately obvious which are vegetarian cheese and which aren’t. Always check the label, and if that fails, manufacturers are often happy to answer any questions you might have about their products.