Cheese (Caseus in Latin) platter is one of the love languages that we need to learn the history of cheese! Cheese has its cultural significance that it was so valued in ancient times that it was sometimes used as currency or as an offering. 

Cheese was accidentally discovered around 8000 BC in the Fertile Crescent, likely when milk was stored in animal stomach containers, causing the enzyme rennet to curdle it. The practice spread to preserve milk, with early civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans developing distinct techniques and varieties. During the Middle Ages, monks significantly advanced cheesemaking, and by the 19th century, the first commercial cheese plants emerged, leading to its industrialization. 

The earliest evidence of cheesemaking comes from artifacts found in Poland dating back 7,500 years, showing pottery sieves with milk fat residue. As a portable and preservable food, cheesemaking quickly spread throughout the ancient world, becoming a staple for diets across the Middle East and Europe.

The Romans developed a wide variety of cheeses and made cheese making an art form, supplying hard cheeses to their legions, while monks in monasteries across Europe played a crucial role in preserving and improving cheese-making techniques during this period.

Cheesemaking remained a local, farm-based industry until the first commercial cheese plant was established in New York in 1851. This marked the beginning of a boom that moved westward to states like Wisconsin, drawn by the fertile farmland.

Are you interested in learning about the history of food? 

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