When we sit down to the dining table, it seems like we know absolutely everything about cheese. Well, at least we know which cheese we like. However, cheese is not only a delicious and nutritious dish but also a part of culture and traditions in different countries around the world, as well as a plethora of unusual and interesting details!
So, before you take another bite of cheese, let’s learn something intriguing about it. AdmiGram.com will share the most interesting and entertaining facts about cheese. These facts will expand your understanding of this familiar and beloved product.
20 most amazing and unexpected facts about cheese
- How, when, and by whom the first cheese wheel was made is not definitively known. However, historians tell us that people knew how to make cheese thousands of years ago in the territories of Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia.
- The oldest cheese was found by archaeologists in the tombs of China wrapped around mummies’ necks. Its age is approximately 3,800 years. Another group of ancient cheese enthusiasts was the Egyptians. A hard cheese over 3,200 years old was found in Ptahmes’ tomb during excavations.
- It takes approximately one gallon of milk (10 liters of milk per 1 kg of cheese) to produce one pound of cheese. However, cheese is not only made from milk. There are cheeses made from pig liver, soy, sour cream, and even peas. Cheese production technologies are not very complex, although they have some peculiarities.
- The pronounced aroma of cheese possesses aphrodisiac properties. Therefore, cheese is a mandatory dish in the national wedding menus of many southern nations. The French, recognized cheese connoisseurs, are considered the best experts in matters of love. Note: you don’t need to eat a lot of cheese; just savor its aroma.
- By the way, during the French Revolution, many well-known cheese names were renamed to avoid associations with the aristocracy. For example, the cheese “Brie” was temporarily renamed to “Liberty Cheese.”
- Cheese is such a valuable product that consuming just 7 ounces (200 grams) of cheese a day can meet a person’s daily needs for fats, proteins, and minerals.
- The color of cheese depends on the composition of cow’s milk (which, in turn, depends on what the cow is fed). The more carotene in the milk, the more intense the color of the cheese. Some types of cheese are dyed with a decoction of calendula flowers or carrot juice. Unscrupulous producers may use regular food coloring, which does not improve the quality of the cheese.
- The tradition of consuming cheese with wine originated as a way to preserve cheese. Previously, cheese was sold only as a whole piece, causing it to dry out and lose its flavor. To prevent the spoilage of cheese, a reversed bottle of wine was inserted into the center of the cheese wheel. The wine helped keep the cheese fresh.
- The belief that cheese is a favorite treat of mice is a misconception imposed on society by various cartoons. In reality, rodents do not like products with a strong odor (to which cheese belongs), preferring grains and fruits.
- Finland has the highest cheese consumption per capita in the world. On average, Finns consume about 60 pounds (27 kg) of cheese per person per year. However, the largest cheese producer is the United States, producing about 13.7 million pounds (6.2 million kg) per year.
- In the international cheese classification, there are almost 2,000 different varieties of cheese. Each of them has its unique history, recipe, taste, aroma, and texture.
- The most expensive cheese in the world is “Pule” cheese, produced from the milk of Serbian sheep. It is considered one of the most expensive cheeses globally, with a cost that can reach $500 per pound ($1,000 per kilogram).
- The largest “cheese wheel” in the world was produced in the United States in 1989. Members of the American Cheese Federation from Oregon created the largest cheddar cheese. The cheese weighed 56,857 pounds (25,790 kg), and making it required milking about 30,000 cows.
- If you enjoy unusual and vivid dreams, make sure to have dinner with cheddar and Stilton. Studies show that these types of cheese induce strange and vivid dreams in most people.
- “Gouda” cheese is considered one of the best-aging cheeses and can be stored for several years, only improving over time.
- Blue cheeses are made using the mold of the Penicillium genus. By the way, the first antibiotic in history, penicillin, was obtained from this type of mold.
- Cheddar is one of the first cheeses whose color was artificially changed. It has been dyed using natural colorants (annatto or red pepper oil) since at least 1860.
- The first industrial cheese-making factory was built in Switzerland in 1815.
- People who collect cheese labels are called tyrosemiophilists.
- To make a person smile in a photograph, photographers ask them to say the English word ‘cheese.’ It’s unknown who came up with this trick first, but as you can see, without “cheese,” our world would be much sadder!
