Vegetarian artichoke rennet

Here is a lovely cheese developing from goats milk curdled with immature artichoke seed. For more about wild and vegetarian rennets see my long blog post here. 

Curds after cutting. 

Curd forming in the whey. 

Immature artichoke seed extracted from the artichoke flower, pounded in a pestle and mortar with a little water to make the dark brown rennet liquid. 

We’d tried to set the milk first with lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum) but it was so small and dry by the coast that it didn’t curdle. However, the artichoke seed version, left to keep warm on a radiator, set during the hour we chatted over breakfast.