Of Cheese, Stomachs And Universality

You should have seen this one coming really. If one asks ‘where does butter come from’, one ought to follow with ‘where does cheese come from’! You can’t tell me you never wondered about that? Is it just me, then?

Did you ever ask yourself where the word cheese came from? To be fair, I didn’t until I started writing this article. It appears that the word cheese comes from the Latin caseus (yes, I do not get how we got from that to cheese in English or fromage in French, but what do I know!). Anyhow, the earlier source of the word seems to involve a Proto-Indo-European root “kwat” meaning “to ferment, become sour”.

First interesting fact, cheese is an ancient food that predates recorded history, which means it is older than 5,000 years. Nobody knows the exact date it was invented or discovered, but the generally accepted origin is said to be around 8,000 BCE. The earliest archaeological evidence of cheese making, found in Poland, dates to 5,500 BCE, and the earliest ever discovered preserved cheese was found in the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, China, dating back as early as 1615 BCE. A similar discovery was made in an Egyptian tomb, dating to approximately 1200 BCE. A little part of me is wondering if it was still edible. After the mummified bison, the mummified cheese maybe?

Nobody really knows either how or where it all started. The best guess is that cheese and other dairy foods (yoghurt and other) were developed as a result of storing and transporting milk in bladders made of ruminants stomachs (this was before the invention of Tupperware, obviously!). In doing so, the rennet (an enzyme) from the stomach turned the milk into curd and whey.

The Sumerians knew about it, the Egyptian knew about it, the Chinese knew about it, the Arabs knew about it, the Greek knew about it and even the Incas (llama milk) and the Iroquois (deer or elk milk) knew about it. You get the picture: everybody knew! Universality people.

You can make cheese from pretty much any milk, even if it seems that the preferred options in our era are cow, goat, sheep and buffalo.

The first factory for the industrial production of cheese opened in Switzerland in 1815.

In 2014, the world production of cheese from whole cow milk alone was 18.7 million tonnes. France, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Germany were the highest consumers of cheese the same year, averaging 25 kg (55 lb) per person per annum. Personally, I would go as far as saying that cheese should be a daily requirement just like veggies!

But, really, how hard is it to make cheese?

First you need milk (I know, as if you didn’t see that one coming!). You then need to acidify (sour) it to separate the solid curds and liquid whey. You can do so by using an enzyme (the usual preferred option) or adding lemon juice or vinegar. Once the two products are separated, you keep the curds.

For fresh eaten cheese, you would add whatever condiments you want (salt, pepper, herbs etc.) and package it.

For cheese that need a bit more processing, you would cut the curd in small cubes and then continue working on it. Some cheeses require heating (hard cheeses for example), some require stretching (like Mozzarella or Provolone), some require washing (like Edam or Gouda). Finally, you press your cheese into a mould to give it the shape you want. The harder the final product the more pressure was applied during the manufacturing process.

You then let your cheese to ripe and develop its beautiful flavour.

I know that, particularly in the US, the use of raw-milk is frowned upon, but really people, live a little! Your taste buds will be forever grateful.

Final few words and opportunity to reflect. Whether it be butter, cheese, cream, yoghurt, all those beautiful products come from one very simple ingredient: milk. I find this humbling!

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