Cheese

Cheesemaking apparently dates back more than 4,000 years. Ancient legend has it that an Arabian merchant, carrying his milk supply across the desert in a container made from a sheep’s stomach, accidentally discovered the cheese-making process. Early Asian or Middle Eastern travelers may have brought the art of cheesemaking to Europe. Regardless of who was responsible for the introduction, the classical Romans came to embrace cheese and make it a part of their diet.

During the Roman conquest of Europe, cheese became popular throughout the continent, and in the Middle Ages, monks in monasteries across Europe are believed to have perfected the art of cheesemaking. The pilgrims to America are believed to have brought cheese over from Europe on the Mayflower in 1620, and cheesemakers thrived on a local basis from the early history of the United States.

Cheese manufacturing techniques vary for different types of cheese. Variables include the composition of the milk used, the type of bacteria or molds used for ripening, the conditions of ripening (temperature, humidity, and duration), the time and extent of whey expulsion, the method used to cut and form the curd, the amount of salt used and the method of adding it, the degree and method of pressing, and the flavorings and colorings added.

The popularity of goat cheese (also known as Chèvres, their French name) continues to grow in the United States. Goat cheeses range from lightly tangy fresh goat cheese such as Montrachet, to firm cheeses such as Valencay (also known as pyramid) and strongly flavored, hard, aged cheeses such as Crottin de Chavignol. Well-known sheep’s milk cheeses include Pecorino Romano from Italy, Manchego from Spain, Feta and Kasseri from Greece, and Roquefort blue cheese from France. The best-known buffalo milk cheese is buffalo milk mozzarella.

The retail cheese market can be divided into three main categories: natural cheese (including most gourmet or specialty cheeses), processed cheese (including American cheese), and imitation cheese. Each of these categories can be divided into dozens or even hundreds of subcategories made up of groups and individual types of cheese.