PARMESAN is one of the nation’s most-loved cheeses… but its actually a controversial garnish.
And even if you don’t think it’s possible to enjoy a carbonara without its shavings on top, you might change your mind when you find out how it’s made.
Cheese is traditionally made by churning cow’s milk… but not parmesan.
Instead, this variety is made from the stomach of a calf or lamb.
And the revelation has left foodies gagging.
It combines milk, salt and rennet, which is the enzyme taken from the baby animals’ stomach.
The beloved farmyard features are usually slaughtered in the process.
One person posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, and sparked outrage.
“I was today years old when I found out parmesan cheese is made from baby cow’s stomach and I could go cry,” they penned.
People were disgusted at the revelation, someone responded: “Horrifying! Why are we eating baby anything as a species.”
“Wow I had never heard that! Dairy is scary for real,” said another.
Someone else commented: “That’s really gross. I don’t want another cheese in my life.”
“I just can’t… I’m done,” agreed a fourth.
Another posted: “I never knew either, that’s disgusting.”
However, hope is not lost for all the parmesan lovers out there – many people in the comments also pointed out that a lot of brands now use artificial rennet.
They informed others that vegetarian and vegan cheese is available and encouraged them to try what’s new on the market.
But a common theme expressed by animal lovers in the comments was to go ‘full’ vegan.
One wrote: “Vegan is the only way, the dairy industry is worse than the meat industry in my opinion, at least the poor things are killed when they’re used for meat.
“There is absolutely no need for us to consume animal flesh for their milk.”
Make your own fermented foods
Sauerkraut
In her TikTok, recipe maker and @Leelalicious explains how to make sauerkraut at home.
First, shred around one kilo of cabbage. Then mix it with one tablespoon of salt, and optional shredded carrot and caraway seeds.
Massage the ingredients together until liquid is produced by the cabbage.
Put everything into a mason jar and use some kind of weight to keep the cabbage submerged under the liquid. You can buy fermentation crocks, jars and kits online, too.
Leave to ferment for one to four weeks at room temperature. In the first week, check if the cabbage is submerged in the liquid and push down if not.
Taste the sauerkraut and when it is to your desired taste, refrigerate and eat when desired.
Kimchi
Kimchi takes a little more time and ingredients, which you may be best sourcing at an Asian market.
In their video, @two.plaid.aprons start by salting 3kg of napa cabbage, covering it in a bowl and weighing it down for at least two hours. You’ll need about two cups of Kosher salt. The cabbage is rotated every 30 minutes or so.
To make the marinade, make rice flour paste (30g rice flour and 355ml of water) and leave to cool.
Blend a large apple, onion, 20 garlic cloves, two-inch knob of ginger, and a 118ml of fish sauce. Then, add 220g of gochugaru.
Mix together the marinade and rice flour paste, then add in 500g Korean radish, 170g carrot, and 113g Asian chives (all optional).
Once the cabbage is done salting, rinse with water and squeeze out excess water. Carefully mix into the marinade.
Tightly pack the mixture into a glass container, leaving room between the top of the mixture and the lid. It will be ready to eat once chilled, but you can let it ferment.
Find the full recipe here.
“It’s much easier to go ‘full vegan’ than put ourselves through the emotional pain of knowing what we are doing to these animals,” someone else added.
“Do it! The more research you do, the more horrified you’ll be,” advised a third.
“Go vegan and never look back.”
Another spread words of encouragement: “I’m fully vegan and kicking Italian food was hard at first until I veganized it.
“You can do it.”