cheese rennet

Rennet \Ren"net\, n. [AS. rinnan, rennan, to run, cf. gerinnan
   to curdle, coagulate. [root]11. See {Run}, v.]
   1. The inner, or mucous, membrane of the fourth stomach of
      the calf, or other young ruminant.
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   2. an infusion or preparation of the calf stomach lining,
      used for coagulating milk. The active principle in this
      coagulating action is the enzyme {rennin}. [Written also
      {runnet}.]
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   {Cheese rennet}. (Bot.) See under {Cheese}.

   {Rennet ferment} (Physiol. Chem.), the enzyme {rennin},
      present in rennet and in variable quantity in the gastric
      juice of most animals, which has the power of curdling
      milk. The enzyme presumably acts by changing the casein of
      milk from a soluble to an insoluble form.

   {Rennet stomach} (Anat.), the fourth stomach, or abomasum, of
      ruminants.
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Cheese \Cheese\ (ch[=e]z), n. [OE. chese, AS. c[=e]se, fr. L.
   caseus, LL. casius. Cf. {Casein}.]
   1. The curd of milk, coagulated usually with rennet,
      separated from the whey, and pressed into a solid mass in
      a hoop or mold.
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   2. A mass of pomace, or ground apples, pressed together in
      the form of a cheese.
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   3. The flat, circular, mucilaginous fruit of the dwarf mallow
      ({Malva rotundifolia}). [Colloq.]
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   4. A low courtesy; -- so called on account of the cheese form
      assumed by a woman's dress when she stoops after extending
      the skirts by a rapid gyration. --De Quincey. --Thackeray.
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   {Cheese cake}, a cake made of or filled with, a composition
      of soft curds, sugar, and butter. --Prior.

   {Cheese fly} (Zool.), a black dipterous insect ({Piophila
      casei}) of which the larv[ae] or maggots, called skippers
      or hoppers, live in cheese.

   {Cheese mite} (Zool.), a minute mite ({Tryoglyhus siro}) in
      cheese and other articles of food.

   {Cheese press}, a press used in making cheese, to separate
      the whey from the curd, and to press the curd into a mold.
      

   {Cheese rennet} (Bot.), a plant of the Madder family ({Golium
      verum}, or {yellow bedstraw}), sometimes used to coagulate
      milk. The roots are used as a substitute for madder.

   {Cheese vat}, a vat or tub in which the curd is formed and
      cut or broken, in cheese making.
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