A Global History of Food

What is cheese ???

Cheese is a dairy product derived from milk, it is produced in a variety of flavors, colors and texture that forms after the process of curdling of milk protein casein. During this process it combines fat and protein from the milk that is high in fats for example cow and buffalo has more cheese value as compared to goat and sheep milk.
Curdling occurs naturally if milk is not used promptly it sours, forming an acid curd ,which releases whey, a watery fluid containing the soluble constituents and it therefore leaves semisolid curd that is called fresh cheese.

     Image:cheese curds

As a preservation technique, cheese making reduces about 10 volumes of milk to one volume of cheese. Hence, the curd or soft white gel is formed from the chief protein in milk, casein when enough lactic acid is developed from lactose by the microorganisms present in the milk.
In some areas, cheese is still made simply by allowing milk to curdle naturally, by mixing milk with natural juices or citric acid that reduces it to curd and whey.
In this modern era hundreds of varieties of cheese has been introduced in markets that are made in factories according to standardized recipes and techniques that results in uniform product that carries necessities.

Earliest proposed dates for the origin of cheese making range from around 8000 BC, when sheep were first used domesticated. By the time animal skins and internal organs used for providing storage vessels for range of foodstuffs, it is probable that the process of cheese making was discovered accidentally. When they stored milk in container made from the stomach of an animal, resulted the milk turned into curd and whey.
Cheese making originated soon after humans first took milk from wild or domesticated animals. The ancient Greeks and Romans knew and valued cheese. Quality is enhanced by variety of procedures of cheese making.
The earliest evidence of cheese making in the archaeological record dates back to 5500 BC that was found in Kujaway, Poland where strainers coated with milk-fat molecules have been found.

     Image: ancient Arabic cheese mold

Cheese is great source of calcium, fat and protein which is beneficial for human body. The high quality protein provides the body with essential building blocks for strong muscles.
Modern factories provide employment for many people across the globe which is a huge benefactor for many national economies.

There are thousands of types of cheese. Cheese flavored food is not considered one of them.

Image: various types of cheese

Many cheese are high in sodium and fat but the benefits may outweigh the disadvantages .

Natural, low fat, low sodium cheese can make a healthful addition to diets.