What is the difference between vegetarian cheese and non vegetarian cheese?

Answer 1

A block of cheddar cheese flavored carrageenan could be considered vegetarian cheese--if you consider it to be cheese. If you define cheese as coming from milk then the only vegetarians who would knowingly eat it would call themselves lacto-vegetarians. Non vegetarian cheese is made with rennet, which comes from a calf's stomach. Vegetarian cheese is made with a vegetable rennet substitute. Rennet is a digestive enzyme that causes the milk proteins to curdle (clump together), turning the milk into something that resembles cottage cheese. The next step in making cheese is to remove the whey from the curds.

Answer 2

Cheese is vegetarian if it does not use animal rennet. There are vegan cheese substitutes as well, but they are not technically "cheese".

Cheese in general is made with milk and enzymes. Traditionally the enzymes were made from animal rennet, which is not vegetarian. Nowadays technology exists to use vegetarian enzymes.

Vegetarian cheese is made with vegetable rennet, instead of rennet from a cows stomach.

Answer 3

Some processes for making cheese use rennet. Rennet are the enzymes found in mammalian stomach's for digesting a mothers milk. The rennet separates the milk into solid and liquid. Cheeses using rennet are not suitable for vegetarians. However, vegetarian cheeses do not use rennet, but a rennet substitute.