Would you eat cheese coming from a stainless steel cow?
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Loading... - Elise Michels
- 25 Apr 2023
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A Ghent based start-up has just created the closest produce to actual cheese, without using any animal products. Those Vegan Cowboys, founded by Jaap Korteweg and Niko Koffeman, announced they made the first cheese at their factory on 19 December.
They have successfully managed to create casein in the laboratory, the protein present in cow milk that gives cheese its specific taste and texture, by reproducing the processes that take place in a cow’s stomach through micro-fermentation.
Once the casein is produced, the cheesemaking process is similar to the traditional one, water, vegetable fat and vegetable rennet are added to create the cheese. Currently, vegan alternatives to cheese use whey casein, which tases differently and does not recreate the cheese texture as well. With the cowboys’ experimental success, the market for vegan cheese could be revolutionised.
The cow-less cheese still awaits approval from the European Food Safety Authority, but now that the milestone of creating casein in the lab has been reached, Korteweg and Koffeman need to upscale their model to be able to produce cheese on a larger scale. They hope to fully launch their product and have it in stores by 2027. Read More..
