Questions cheesemakers ask us.

Rennet is a milk-coagulating ingredient used in cheesemaking. It acts on the milk proteins so that liquid milk forms a curd that can be cut, drained and turned into cheese.

Microbial rennet is a coagulant produced by microbial fermentation rather than taken from animal stomachs. It performs the same basic job in the vat: coagulating milk so a curd forms.

Microbial rennet is produced by fermentation rather than from animal stomachs, which is why it is commonly described as suitable for vegetarian cheesemaking. For a formal claim about a specific product, rely on that product's label.

Liquid coagulants are sensitive to heat, light and time, so they are kept cool, closed and out of direct light, and used within the period stated on the label. Follow the storage instructions supplied with your product.

Yes. Coagulating activity declines over time, and faster if the product is stored warm. That is one of the common reasons a familiar dosage suddenly gives a slower set.

Chymosin is the specific enzyme that does most of the milk-clotting work in traditional rennet. It acts on kappa-casein, which destabilises the casein micelles and allows a curd to form.

Rennet is the name of the coagulating preparation you buy; chymosin is the specific clotting enzyme. Put simply: chymosin is an enzyme, rennet is the product category that delivers it.

Cheesemakers working on pressed and aged styles typically look at Bixa Liquid Chymosin, because chymosin is specific in how it acts on milk protein. Ageing results still depend on milk, culture, moisture, salt, pH and ripening conditions.

For fresh styles such as queso blanco, queso fresco and queso llanero, cheesemakers commonly start with Bixa Liquid Microbial Rennet.

Follow the dosage on your product label, then adjust based on the set time you actually observe. Dosage depends on the coagulant's strength, your milk, your temperature and the cheese you are making — it is not a single universal number.

Yes. Overdosing can make the curd set faster and firmer than your process expects, and it can affect the finished cheese, including bitterness in cheeses that are held or aged. More coagulant does not mean better cheese.

Set time is a process decision, not a fixed number: it is driven by dosage, milk composition, temperature, pH and calcium. Cheesemakers pick a target set time for the style and then dose to hit it consistently.

The most common causes are milk that was ultra-pasteurized, milk that is too cool, coagulant that has lost activity through age or warm storage, dosing errors, and pH or calcium conditions that are off for the style.

Yes. Standard pasteurized milk is used routinely. Ultra-pasteurized or UHT milk is the usual problem, because that heat treatment changes the proteins in ways that interfere with forming a cuttable curd.

IMCU stands for International Milk Clotting Units, the unit used to express a coagulant's clotting strength. It is why you cannot copy a dosage from one coagulant to another.

Bixa works with artisan producers, growing cheese businesses and small and medium commercial operations. For volumes, formats and documentation, start a conversation with us rather than ordering single retail bottles.

Bixa Products are sold through our official Amazon listings and on Walmart Marketplace. Commercial buyers should contact Bixa directly.