Mary Lou Rennet

One time, when I lived back in Chicago, I was in the Whole Foods chee-eeeeze section. They have some impressive variety and the staff is pretty knowledgeable as well. I was on a kick where I thought the best pizza would be one made from scratch. Meaning, well, you would grind your own flour, make your own pepperoni, etc. Extreme, some would say.

I had dabbled with cheese making earlier on in my culinary experiences. You can buy some curious kits online that allow you to convert a gallon of milk to a tiny little ball of cheee-eeeze. The cheese is decent and it's fun to watch milk self-destruct when a tiny little drop of "rennet" is added to it.

So, while in Whole Foods, I inquired if they had any rennet. The lady behind the counter scoffed at me,'do you know what THAT is?' Yes, I do, and I want it.

FLASHBACK: Rennet, way back in like 72000 BC, was sorta discovered when young animals were slaughtered. A calf, for example, fat on mommy's milk would be cut open and its stomach would be full of curdled milk. Some fledgling cromagnon engineer then figured out if they tossed a calf's stomach into a stone cauldron of milk, the whole damn thing would curdle. Next thing you know, they were making grilled cheese sandwiches.

Fast-forward: Now it's present day England. I'm walking through TESCO and lo and behold I see a gigantic bottle of the magic liquid for like 99 pence. This fountain of possibility lies un-tapped in the pantry. It will wait until I have figured out where I can cure sticks of pepperoni. But then, when the moos align, and I have the means to make flour from grain, the greatest pizza Herefordshire has ever seen will be pulled from the oven of the Lilacs.

Til then.

Cheers!