The main uses of lipase are in cheese manufacturing industry. An animal based enzyme powder, lipase powder is used in cheese to enhance and enrich its flavor. Without the addition of lipase powder, the cheese would not get its distinct flavor.

For hardcore vegetarians who are fond of eating cheese, this piece of information about cheese might come as a rude shock. Though the cheese derives its flavor from lipase powder, but unlike cheese (which is a dairy product), lipase powder is not vegetarian as it is derived from young ruminant animals.

How it is made?

Lipase powder is made by mixing lipase with animal milk solids and then either freeze-drying it or spraying it and then finally grinding it to a powder form. That is the reason it is granulated in texture and not quite smooth. The lipase taken for making lipase powder is mostly taken from the intestinal track of the animals. Plant based lipase is also there but it is difficult to get, because extracting lipase from plants is not an easy task.

Uses of lipase

Different kinds of lipase powders are used to infuse flavors in different cheeses. For example, lipase powder derived from a kid (goat) is used for making Ramano and Provolone cheeses. The reason being, that the kid lipase powder has a sharp ‘picante’ flavor which is needed to make these cheeses.

Likewise, lipase powder made from a kid/lamb has a traditional ‘peccorino’ flavor which is used in preparing Romano, Provolone, and Feta cheeses.

The lipase powder derived from a calf has a mild ‘picante’ flavor which is useful for making cheeses like Mozzarella, Asiago, Feta, Provolone and Blue.

Lipase powder is added in cheese during the fermentation and aging process and in fact, using lipase also helps in reducing the time taken by the cheese for ripening.

Other uses of lipase

Uses of lipase are not only restricted to cheese manufacturing, lipase powder is also used as a dietary supplement for some patients. People suffering from medical conditions like celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, chronic indigestion are often prescribed lipase powder as dietary supplement as it aids in absorption of fat and other nutrition from food.

Another one of the uses of lipase are that it is now being widely used in the detergent manufacturing industry as well. These days many detergent makers use lipase in making detergents so as to increase its stain removal capability.

If you are wondering where to get lipase powder, let me tell you, many shops which stock up on cheese making ingredients and supplies keep lipase powder with them. So you can easily get it from one of these shops.

Now you know about the uses of lipase, but just one thing to keep in mind which is, that always keep lipase powder in refrigerator and that too in a closed container. If you leave in at room temperature and that too in an open container, it will render the lipase powder inactive.

Image credit- echeeserecipe.com