Cheese platter.

Cheese: A Brief History

This post is part of the History of Food series, a revived project from 2021 that explores the origin stories of traditional dishes, the lessons they can teach us, and the people who keep the food alive. In each post, we visit a restaurant that puts their spin on a classic dish. 

One day around 10,000 years ago, a farmer left a pail of milk lying in their field. Throughout the day, the scorching sun beat down on the milk. When the farmer rediscovered it, they found it had formed curds.

The milk had soured. The farmer discovered cheese.

It was an invaluable discovery. Cheese has less lactose and is thus easier to digest. It’s also easy to store for times of hardship. Cheese gave ancient civilisations a distinct survival advantage.

Though every cheese is made slightly differently, they’re all made in the same fundamental way.

How cheese is made

All cheese begins with milk. We commonly use cows, sheep or goats milk, but buffalos, yaks and horses milk is also used.

The milk is sometimes heated to kill off any bacteria. But, this step is often skipped to preserve the milk’s flavour.

“Starter cultures” (blends of specific bacteria) are added to the milk to begin the fermentation process. The process acidifies the milk by converting the milk’s lactose into lactic acid, which is why cheese contains less lactose than milk. This step hastens and standardises the souring process that would eventually occur naturally.

This process is similar to yoghurt production.

The milk solids (curds) are separated from the liquid (sweet whey) via a coagulant such as rennet, a set of enzymes produced in the stomach of ruminant animals.

Most modern cheese is produced with a lab-made rennet that is suitable for vegetarians, but many traditional cheeses still use rennet derived from animals. That’s why traditional cheese like Parmesan and Manchengo are unsuitable for vegetarians.

After coagulation, the whey is drained naturally or via a cheese press, leaving behind slabs of curd. Depending on the cheese, these slabs may be pressed and drained even more.

They’re then salted or brined, and, any additional flavourings are added, such as herbs or spices.

Finally, the cheese is shaped in a cheese mould. Fresh cheese, such as Mozzarella or Feta, is ready at this stage. Hard cheese, such as Cheddar and Parmesan, must be aged or “ripened”. This is often done in a cheese cave, a cool environment with high humidity. It can take anywhere from a few days to many years.

Cheese production is a long, arduous process that requires skill and patience.

That’s why at the onset of the Industrial Revolution, cheese production moved from the farm to the factory. So-called “industrial cheese” can be produced faster and cheaper, and all but superseded hand-made cheese.

But hand-made cheese must clearly have some appeal.

“There are wonderful things that can be done with robots,” says cheesemaker Alan Glustoff, “but there are certain human emotions that can affect food or anything else you do in a positive way. If you really love what you’re doing, you can’t really program a robot to have the same love and passion for it.”

Perhaps that’s why after centuries of industrial cheese, people are increasingly turning to their local farm. While “artisan” cheeses may seem luxurious, it is how cheese has been made for most of the past 10,000 years.

And it’s not just cheese. Artisan breads, salts, oils, and most everything else, have exploded in popularity.

Cheese platter.
A home-made cheese platter.

This “artisan movement” is a call back to the days of pre-industrialisation, when products were hand-made, easily traceable, local, and “simpler”. Back to the days before faceless brands, when the same hands that shaped the cheese would pass it to you at the market.

Artisan Cheese at the Northumberland Cheese Company

One such artisan producer is the Northumberland Cheese Company, aptly based in a 19th century granary. They’ve been producing hand-crafted cheese since 1984, when Marc Robertson began producing Redesdale, a ewe’s cheese that quickly gained favour with the locals.

A selection of Northumberland Cheese Co cheeses.
A selection of Northumberland Cheese Co cheeses.

Marc undertook years of training in the UK and the Netherlands to learn the art of cheesemaking. Nowdays, the farm produce a variety of different, distinct cheeses from their Southern Northumberland farm. You can sample all their cheese from their on-site tea room, The Cheese Loft Cafe, or order online.

Elsdon Northumberland Cheese Co cheese.
Elsdon Northumberland Cheese Co cheese.

If you do visit, why not book a dairy tour and see the artisans at work? There’s an experience you’ll seldom find at an industrial cheese facto

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