Ancient Cheeses
The actual time and place of the origin of cheese and cheesemaking is unknown. The practice is closely related to the domestication of milk producing animals; primarily sheep, which began 8-10,000 years ago. The art of cheesemaking is referred to in ancient Greek mythology and evidence of cheese and cheesemaking has been found on Egyptian tomb murals dating back over 4000 years. Cheese may have been discovered accidentally by the practice of storing milk in containers made from the stomachs of animals. Rennet, an enzyme found in a stomach of ruminant animals, would cause the milk to coagulate, separating into curds and whey. Another possible explanation for the discovery of cheese stemmed from the practice of salting curdled milk for preservation purposes. Still another scenario involved the addition of fruit juices to milk which would result in curdling the milk using the acid in the fruit juice.- Kefir Cheese: Found in China, a soured, fermented cheese.
- Roman Aged Cheeses: Romans used pressing and smoking to create durable cheeses for their legions.
- Egyptian Karish/Mish: A fermented, soft white cheese.
Oldest Known Cheese
The world's oldest known cheese is approximately 3,600-year-old kefir cheese discovered on Bronze
Age mummies in the Xiaohe Cemetery in China's Tarim Basin. Found in 2003, these white, preserved chunks
were identified via DNA analysis in 2024 as a fermented, yogurt-like product made from cow and goat milk.
Kefir cheese is made using a yeast and bacterial culture called kefir, rather than an additional acid or
rennet, to separate milk into curd and whey. The curd is separated by cold straining or by heating using
the acidic by-products of the kefir culture to set the curd, followed by straining. Unlike cheese made
with rennet, kefir cheese is produced by fermenting milk with kefir grains (a mix of bacteria and yeast)
and straining the resulting curd. It can be drained to a thick, creamy consistency similar to cream cheese
for dips and spreads, or dried further for a harder texture.