FIRST CHEESE EVER MADE

Legend has it that the first cheese ever made was discovered by accident. An Arab merchant from Central Asia filled his supply of milk in a sheep’s stomach during his journey across the desert. The important enzyme in cheese making called rennet, present in every animal’s stomach combined with the shivering heat of the desert and the motion of the merchant during his travel caused the milk to separate and form whey and cheese curds. It is also believed that Arab merchants brought the art of cheese-making to Europe.

However according to historians, the earliest evidence of cheese making is found in Egyptian tomb murals. These murals depict that in 4000BC cheese was made by storing milk in skinny bags which were suspended from poles.

In 40BC during the time of Julius Caesar, a variety of cheese was produced and traded across the Roman Empire. Farmers and landowners from Rome were the first to know about cheese making which was later passed down to the local Roman population. With the extension of the Roman empire, the expertise on cheese also spread, until it was known throughout Europe. The development spread across France and Italy, and soon enough Italy was the cheese capital of Europe.

Later in the year 1620, several pilgrims from England traveled to America. The cheese was an important part of their travelling kit and this is when the knowledge about cheese and how it was made spread across America. Soon enough Ohio was the cheese center of the states and was called the “Cheesedom”.

The most important event in the history of cheese took place in the year 1815 when the first ever cheese factory was opened in Switzerland. In the year 1860 rennet was being produced in bulk which helped with the consistency in flavor and quality. It was no more a housewife’s job to make cheese, there was an entire industry dedicated in its production. Almost 40 years later scientists found a way to replace recycled whey with microbial cultures during cheese production. This discovery made it available to the poorer classes, as it was being produced in bulk.

At present, there are over 2000 varieties of cheese available and you can sit back and eat a new cheese every single day for up to 5 years. Cheese originated in Egypt, even before languages existed and has traveled the entire globe from Europe to America until it was universally known. If cheese was not enjoyed by the entire world it wouldn’t have come this far.

Now we could all go back to eating our favorite cheese with the newly gained knowledge of its origin.

Sources:

Nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenterorg. (2018). Nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenterorg. Retrieved 2 October, 2018, from https://nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenter.org/history-of-cheese/

Traditionalfrenchfoodcom. (2018). Traditionalfrenchfoodcom. Retrieved 2 October, 2018, from http://www.traditionalfrenchfood.com/history-of-cheese.htm

Culturecheesemagcom. (2014). Culture: the word on cheese. Retrieved 2 October, 2018, from https://culturecheesemag.com/blog/real-cheese-product-jesse-williams-the-father-of-factory-cheese

anishedinfocom. (2018). Banishedinfocom. Retrieved 2 October, 2018, from https://banishedinfo.com/wiki/Home