Cheese production then and now

Cheese was already around in the early Stone Age. When people settled down, they kept cattle, goats and sheep and began to milk them. Various legends, all of which have coincidence as their starting point, describe how the milk, exposed to the sun or exposure to an open fire, turned sour and thus became cheese. One thesis is that hunters discovered a white mass in the stomach of a killed calf. When they tasted it, they liked it. Most likely, shortly before its death, the calf had drunk its mother's milk, which was then fermented by the rennet in the calf's stomach. The first archaeological evidence of cheese production dates back to the Neolithic Age around 5.500 BC. In Poland of all places, a country not immediately associated with cheese, the remains of clay colanders were found. When they were examined, traces of milk fatty acids were found in the holes. It had to be a cheese strainer that separated the whey from the milk.

Sour milk cheese as a gift

Another thesis takes us to Mesopotamia, in the area of ​​today's Iraq. At sacrificial ceremonies around 3.000 years before the birth of Christ, priests tried to appease the gods with fresh milk. Because of the lactic acid bacteria, it developed into sour milk cheese after a few days. Another legend tells of shepherds who stored their milk in dried sheep's stomachs. The rennet still in the stomach turned the milk into cheese.

Cheese for the Greeks and Romans

Which theory is "fabulous" in the end and which is correct has not been clarified. What is certain is that various milk products were already known in ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The ancient poet Homer speaks of cheese in his "Odyssey" and attributes magical powers to it. For the Greeks it was a delicacy and a highly coveted commodity. The famous doctor Hippocrates prescribed cheese as a medicine. Aristotle wrote the first professional treatise on milk processing. The Romans took long-lasting hard cheese with them as provisions on their European campaigns. Incidentally, the oldest cheese in the world was found in 2018 during excavations in a 3.200-year-old tomb in Egypt. The whitish hardened mass turned out to be hard cheese.

Cheese making in the Middle Ages

Later in the Middle Ages, it was mainly the monasteries that took over the production of cheese. Since that time we have known more about the historical cheese production. Through the monks' records we can trace back how long Gouda and Edam and Emmentaler have been around. The selection of varieties was impressive even back then. In the late Middle Ages, more and more towns sprang up and the cheese trade grew with it. In the 19th century, scientific and technical discoveries improved cheese making. For example, Louis Pasteur researched the role of microorganisms in cheese ripening.

Cheese making today

Then as now, cheese is a natural product. Nowadays, cheese production takes place in several stages. First, the milk is heated. In the next step, the milk coagulates with the help of lactic acid bacteria and rennet. The next step is the curdling, which takes between half an hour and several hours, depending on the type of cheese. The cheese harp is used to break the cheese. The finer the curd is chopped, the more whey separates and the harder the finished cheese becomes. Now the cheese is filled into moulds, pressed and turned. The cheese is then allowed to bathe in brine, which forms the rind. In the last step, the cheese is allowed to mature. The loaves or blocks are turned regularly and, depending on the variety, brushed, washed or treated with noble mold. At the end of this process, the cheese has developed its character. The result is a variety of delicious cheeses.