Introduction to Kosher Enzymes (Part 1): What Are Enzymes and What Do They Do?

The development of modern food technology is closely tied to Kosher. Many of the raw materials and processes now common in processed food did not exist 50 years ago, so we must explain the related Kosher considerations. The use of industrial enzymes is a good example. Enzymology and related biological sciences are the fastest-growing and most rapidly changing disciplines in food production. Therefore, producers of Kosher food must understand the action of enzymes and how to use them according to the dietary rules of Jewish law.

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are proteins with catalytic action produced by living organisms. All living organisms - animals, plants and microorganisms (including bacteria, fungi, yeast and mold) - produce enzymes in their bodies to promote certain chemical reactions necessary to sustain their lives. The ancient Greeks discovered that certain properties of yeast could chemically change flour and water into bread. The word for the enzyme mixture produced by the yeast fungus in yeast derives from the Greek word for yeast. The word "enzyme" means "in yeast," and we still use this word to denote this class of biocatalysts.

Food technologists found that if we can extract the enzymes produced by a specific organism, we can use them as catalysts for corresponding chemical reactions in the food industry. For example, the seeds of grains such as barley generally include the endosperm (mainly starch) and the germ, both wrapped in bran. The seed was created this way so that people could plant and cultivate it into a new barley plant (see Genesis 1:11). The seed's life resides in the germ, which remains dormant until the seed is planted in a moist place. Then it begins to germinate and grow. The germ's growth requires nutrients, and in its early growth this nutrition is provided by the starch in the endosperm. But given its biological nature, this nutrition cannot be directly absorbed by the germ, which cannot digest the long chains of glucose in starch molecules. The germ knows this well, so it secretes amylase to break the long chains into smaller units of glucose and maltose for easy digestion.

Many years ago, people discovered that after soaking barley in water to make it sprout, a sweet syrup could be extracted from it - even though dry barley seeds are not sweet at all! This process is called malting, and malted barley can produce malt syrup. People also noticed that malted barley can be used as a fermentation aid for other grains, because it breaks down starch into more easily fermentable sugars. Now we know it is precisely the enzymes contained in malted barley that break down the grain (starch) into glucose or maltose. This is just a basic example of enzyme activity applied in the food industry.

How enzymes are used

The type of an enzyme is determined by its substrate. Modern terminology reflects its classification by adding the suffix "-ase" after the substrate. For example, the Greek word for starch is amylon, so the enzyme that breaks down starch is called "amylase." The enzyme that breaks down protein is called "protease," the enzyme that breaks down fat is called "lipase," and so on. The older enzyme naming system added the suffix "-in," such as papain, rennin, pepsin, bromelain, etc. We note that almost all enzymes act on their substrate by breaking it down during food production, that is, turning the substrate into a smaller form. Starch is broken down into dextrin and sugars; sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose; casein is degraded into cheese. One exception is glucose isomerase, whose action is to reorganize glucose molecules into fructose molecules.

Listed below are some commonly used enzymes and their applications in the food manufacturing industry:

Liquefying amylase: breaks down starch into dextrin. Used in the production of corn sugar (glucose) syrup, alcohol brewing and baked food.

Glucoamylase: breaks down dextrin into glucose.

Glucose isomerase: converts glucose into fructose.

Rennet: the most basic enzyme in the lining of a cow's stomach. Used to break the original structure of casein molecules to break them down, in order to make cheese.

Lipase: used to break down part of the fat in oil to enhance the buttery flavor.

Protease: breaks down protein. Used to remove protein haze in chilled beer, tenderize meat, and age cheese (enzyme-modified cheese). It is also used as a dough conditioner.

Pectinase: used in the juice manufacturing industry to break down pectin.

Cellulase: also used in the juice manufacturing industry as a processing aid to break down cellulose.

Catalase: used to break down hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is added to egg-and-milk products as a pasteurization aid, and then removed with catalase.

Glucose oxidase: used to break down sugars in protein powder and the like. If the sugar remains in the protein, it will caramelize during heating and turn the product brown.

Invertase: breaks down sucrose molecules into glucose and fructose, mainly used in the confectionery industry.

Lactase: helps the body digest lactose, breaking it down into glucose and galactose.

Trypsin: one of the main proteases in mammals. Used in some infant formulas for the preliminary digestion of casein.

Author: Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech