The history of cheese
Madeline Reilly
We know that the production of cheese goes back thousands of years. There is mention of cheese making in ancient Greek texts by Homer, and even 4,000 year old depictions of cheese making in Egyptian tombs! Even Aristotle was compelled to comment on the cheese made of Mare’s milk.
It is unknown exactly where and when cheese making began. There are a lot of theories, and we haven’t been able to pinpoint when or where, but experts are fairly certain of how cheese got its start. It is believed that cheese was discovered by accident in one of two ways. Either:
In the beginning people used the milk of whatever dairy stock they had. Cheese has been made with different milk throughout the world and throughout history. Some examples include: Buffalo, Camel, Cow, Donkey, Goat, Mare, Reindeer, Sheep, Water Buffalo, and yak. Some, modern day, home cheese makers have gotten even more creative and have found ways to make very flavorful cheese with powdered milk! Many cheeses are also known for the milk that they were traditionally made out of such as:
As time went on people realized that the curds could be aged for several months and pressed into cakes. Over time cheese making moved into Europe and was in full swing by the time of the Roman Empire, which helped it to spread across the Middle East and Europe. Rome is thought to be the first exporter of cheese, selling it to much of the Mediterranean. It was the Romans that began to make cheese production into an art; mastering various aging and ripening techniques. The Romans took cheese making with them as they conquered much of Europe and the peoples that they encountered took to it quite well, with each nation taking cheese making and developing methods of their own.
After the fall of the Roman Empire cheese making was an art innovated mostly by the Monks in Europe until it came to the “New World.” It wasn’t until Pilgrims brought Cheese to the Americas in 1620 that we have any record of it being made here. It began as a local farm industry, with cheese being produced on a small scale. It was in 1851 when the first cheese factory was built in Oneida, New York, that mass production of cheese began. As the population of the United States grew so did the demand for cheese. And of course due to the large amount of dairy farms in the region, the business of cheese making quickly moved to the Midwest and Wisconsin, putting Green County on the map, where the first cheese shop was opened up in 1868. It was also in america that many of our modern favorites were created such as: swiss, humboldt fog and colby cheese. Which was invented and first produced in Colby, Wisconsin!
For more cheesy history, see the following Sites:
The National Historic Cheese Making Center: http://www.nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenter.org/Default.aspx
The Nibble: Magazine on Specialty Foods: The History of Cheese: http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cheese/cheese2/history.asp
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA): http://www.idfa.org/news-views/media-kits/cheese/history-of-cheese
And for all of your cheese selection needs Cheese.com
It is unknown exactly where and when cheese making began. There are a lot of theories, and we haven’t been able to pinpoint when or where, but experts are fairly certain of how cheese got its start. It is believed that cheese was discovered by accident in one of two ways. Either:
- It was made accidentally by nomadic people from milk being stored in animal stomachs and coming in contact with natural rennet.
- It may have been the product of salting curdled milk for preservation.
- The natural micro-flora in a wooden pail may have begun to ferment the sugars in milk and begin the cheese making process.
In the beginning people used the milk of whatever dairy stock they had. Cheese has been made with different milk throughout the world and throughout history. Some examples include: Buffalo, Camel, Cow, Donkey, Goat, Mare, Reindeer, Sheep, Water Buffalo, and yak. Some, modern day, home cheese makers have gotten even more creative and have found ways to make very flavorful cheese with powdered milk! Many cheeses are also known for the milk that they were traditionally made out of such as:
- Mozzarella: Italian water buffalo originally and cows milk
- Ricotta: fermented whey from a previous batch of cheese (Originally made from goat or sheep's milk whey)
As time went on people realized that the curds could be aged for several months and pressed into cakes. Over time cheese making moved into Europe and was in full swing by the time of the Roman Empire, which helped it to spread across the Middle East and Europe. Rome is thought to be the first exporter of cheese, selling it to much of the Mediterranean. It was the Romans that began to make cheese production into an art; mastering various aging and ripening techniques. The Romans took cheese making with them as they conquered much of Europe and the peoples that they encountered took to it quite well, with each nation taking cheese making and developing methods of their own.
After the fall of the Roman Empire cheese making was an art innovated mostly by the Monks in Europe until it came to the “New World.” It wasn’t until Pilgrims brought Cheese to the Americas in 1620 that we have any record of it being made here. It began as a local farm industry, with cheese being produced on a small scale. It was in 1851 when the first cheese factory was built in Oneida, New York, that mass production of cheese began. As the population of the United States grew so did the demand for cheese. And of course due to the large amount of dairy farms in the region, the business of cheese making quickly moved to the Midwest and Wisconsin, putting Green County on the map, where the first cheese shop was opened up in 1868. It was also in america that many of our modern favorites were created such as: swiss, humboldt fog and colby cheese. Which was invented and first produced in Colby, Wisconsin!
For more cheesy history, see the following Sites:
The National Historic Cheese Making Center: http://www.nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenter.org/Default.aspx
The Nibble: Magazine on Specialty Foods: The History of Cheese: http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cheese/cheese2/history.asp
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA): http://www.idfa.org/news-views/media-kits/cheese/history-of-cheese
And for all of your cheese selection needs Cheese.com