Description
Sadly, New Zealand no longer manufactures animal rennet, so we are importing two strengths of calf rennet from Europe. The Aren 520 has a strength of 150 IMCU so is around half the strength of the old rennet which was 280 IMCU. This makes calculation of dosage from old to new easy, just use twice as much as you did previously in your recipes. This suits the small batch (compared to commercial) home cheesemaker who is often measuring out small amounts of rennet, meaning accuracy will be easier to achieve. The Aren 520 is ideal for making hard and semi hard-pressed cheeses like Gouda, Cheddar, Caerphilly, Parmesan and more. Its enzyme composition is given below. The high Pepsin content of this rennet leads to larger cheese yields and further development of flavour during maturation.
Aren 520
Minimum chymosin content 520 mg/l with activity 80% +/- 5%
Pepsin activity 20% +/- 5%
PH 5.6 +/- 0.2
150 IMCU (to replace rennet 280 IMCU x 2/double the dose rate)
For a full description of the how rennet and its enzymes work click on this link All About Animal Rennet
