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The history of cheese
Archaeological evidence for making cheese in Egypt goes back about 5,000 years. In 2018, archeologists from Cairo University and the University of Catania reported the discovery of the oldest known cheese from Egypt. Discovered in the Saqqara necropolis, it is around 3200 years old. Earlier, remains identified as cheese were found in the funeral meal in an Egyptian tomb dating around 2900 BC. Visual evidence of Egyptian cheesemaking was found in an Egyptian tomb murals made in approximately 2000 BC.
Ancient Greek mythology credited Aristaeus with the discovery of cheese. Homer’s Odyssey (late 8th century BC) describes the Cyclops producing and storing sheep’s and goat’s milk and cheese:
We soon reached his cave, but he was out shepherding, so we went inside and took stock of all that we could see. His cheese-racks were loaded with cheeses, and he had more lambs and kids than his pens could hold […] When he had so done he sat down and milked his ewes and goats, all in due course, and then let each of them have her own young. He curdled half the milk and set it aside in wicker strainers
By Roman times, cheese-making was a common practice and food group. Columella’s De Re Rustica (c. 65 CE) details a cheese-making process involving rennet coagulation, pressing of the curd, salting, and aging. Pliny’s Natural History (77 CE) devotes two chapters (XI, 96–97) to the diversity of cheeses enjoyed by Romans of the early Empire. He stated that the best cheeses came from pagi near Nîmes, and were identifiable as Lozère and Gévaudan and had to be eaten fresh
Source: IDFA
No one really knows who made the first cheese. According to an ancient legend, it was made accidentally by an Arabian merchant who put his supply of milk into a pouch made from a sheep’s stomach, as he set out on a day’s journey across the desert.
The rennet in the lining of the pouch, combined with the heat of the sun, caused the milk to separate into curd and whey. That night he found that the whey satisfied his thirst, and the cheese (curd) had a delightful flavor which satisfied his hunger.
Travelers from Asia are believed to have brought the art of cheesemaking to Europe. In fact, cheese was made in many parts of the Roman Empire when it was at its height. The Romans, in turn, introduced cheesemaking to England. During the Middle Ages-from the decline of the Roman Empire until the discovery of America-cheese was made and improved by the Cistercian monks in the monasteries of Europe. For example, Gorgonzola was made in the Po Valley in Italy in 879 A.D., and Italy became the cheesemaking center of Europe during the 10th Century. Roquefort was also mentioned in the ancient records of the monastery at Conques, France as early as 1070.
Cheese, Tacuinum sanitatis Casanatensis (14th century)
Cheese’s spread to America
Cheesemaking continued to flourish in Europe and became an established food. In fact, the Pilgrims included cheese in the Mayflower’s supplies when they made their voyage to America in 1620. The making of cheese quickly spread in the New World, but until the 19th century it remained a local farm industry. It wasn’t until 1851 that the first cheese factory in the United States was built by Jesse Williams in Oneida County, New York.
As population across the United States continued to grow dramatically, the demand for cheese increased and the industry gradually moved westward, centering on the rich farm lands of Wisconsin. In 1845, a band of Swiss immigrants settled in Green County, Wisconsin and started the manufacturing of foreign cheese in America. Most Wisconsin farmers began to believe that their future survival was tied to cheese and their first factory was a Limburger plant which opened in 1868.
The wholesale cheese industry was thus born and showed phenomenal growth during the latter half of the 1800s. By 1880 there were 3,923 dairy factories nationwide which were reported to have made 216 million pounds of cheese that year valued at $17 million. This represented almost 90 percent of total cheese production that year. By the turn of the century, farm production of cheese had become insignificant. The 1904 census reported only factory output, which totaled over 317 million pounds. As cheese demand continued to grow and spread rapidly, manufactured and processed cheese production increased dramatically. Total natural cheese production grew from 418 million pounds in 1920 to 2.2 billion pounds by 1970. Rising demand for cheese throughout the 1970s and 1980s brought total natural cheese production to more than 6 billion pounds by the beginning of the 1990s. Processed cheese also experienced a surge in consumer demand with annual production exceeding 2 billion pounds a year by the beginning of the 1990s.
Currently, more than one-third of all milk produced each year in the U.S. is used to manufacture cheese. Recent increases in the overall demand for farm milk have in large part been due to the continued growth of the cheese industry. As consumer appetites for all types of cheese continue to expand, so will the industry.
Other countries:
England: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/history-of-cheese
Switzerland: https://www.cheesesfromswitzerland.com/en/storyroom/production/the-history-of-cheese-in-switzerland
Top cheeses from cheese-making countries: https://www.pilotguides.com/study-guides/the-story-of-cheese/
How It’s Made
Source: https://www.pilotguides.com/study-guides/the-story-of-cheese/
Cheese production varies depending on the particular type but there is a generalised process which applies to all variants. As a dairy product, cheese is derived from milk. Cow’s milk is the most popular and widely-used although sheep’s, buffalo’s and goat’s milk is also used for some major cheeses (such as feta or manchego).
The cheese-making process includes a process called curdling, which sees acids added to the product such as vinegar, lemon juice or bacteria. This causes the milk sugars to become lactic acids. The milk is acidified into solid curds through the addition of this as well as rennet. This changes the cheese into a soft, moist gel. In the case of soft cheeses, the process is virtually complete. For the bulk of other cheeses there is more to be done.
The curd is cut into small portions and the water drained from individual pieces. Hard cheeses are often then heated at a temperature between 35-55 degrees Celsius. Following this, each cheese is treated with a different flourish to give it its specific identity. For example, mozzarella is stretched.
Finally, the cheese is stored under controlled conditions and allowed to age to achieve its ripest flavour. This period ranges from a matter of days to a number of years.
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