People stunned to learn the reason Parmesan cheese isn’t vegetarian

People have been left stunned after finding out the reason why Parmesan cheese isn't vegetarian, and it's fairly gross.

Cheese has the ability to completely turn a bad day around - it comes in so many varieties that it seems there's a cheese for every occasion.

One of the best parts about going to an authentic Italian restaurant is when the waiter comes over to grate Parmesan over the meal and the standoff begins as they keep grating and you just smile at them knowing full well you want the entire block.

Eventually ending up with a meal that is a bowl full of Parmesan with a side of pasta, the food heaven begins... except for the vegetarians.

Parmesan cheese has protected status, and there is a black market for knock-off copies. Credit: Brent Hofacker / Alamy

Obviously, vegans wouldn't be asking for Parmesan anyway due to the dairy aspect, but vegan cheese has certainly taken some big strides in recent years.

However, Parmesan isn't even vegetarian - and the reason why will probably turn the stomachs of the veggies who have accidentally been eating it all this time.

Parmesan - or Parmigiano-Reggiano - stems from the middle ages and the art of how the hard cheese is created remains the same to this very day.

Emilia-Romagna, a province in Northern Italy, is the only place on earth where the beloved hard cheese can be produced legally, and this can be deduced by the stamps found on all packets of Parmesan at shops across the world.

Vegetarians have been left shocked after finding out the process of how Parmesan is made. Credit: Vladislav Gudovskiy / Alamy

During the process of making the cheese, rennet is added which - turn away if you don't want your dinner ruined - is typically the dried stomach of a dead baby cow that has been cut into chunks and added to the liquidy mixture before it becomes cheese.

This is important for the coagulation process (where it turns the milk into a solid) and if it isn't done, it simply can't be Parmesan cheese.

This has come as a shock to some people (who we presume have been chowing down on Parmesan in blissful ignorance all this time) and they have shared their thoughts online.

One person said: "I’ve just found out Parmesan cheese isn’t vegetarian friendly and I don’t know what to do with that information."

A second person added: "Just found out that Parmesan cheese has meat in it? As someone who is literally reaching their three-year vegetarian milestone in 18 days and someone who eats pasta 3-4 times a week, I AM P***ED!"

While a third concluded: "Parmesan cheese isn’t vegetarian my life is over."

Looks like vegetarians will have a tough choice to make!

Featured image credit: Peter Adams / Alamy