By Gennae Brooks, ACS Certified Cheese Professional (CCP)
Cheese: Accident or Divine Intervention? Sometimes I am in absolute wonder at the ingenuity and happy accidents that make up our current existence. The truth is we don't know exactly how or where cheese was created, though we have some fascinating speculations and ancient evidence of cheesemaking.
How was cheese created, you ask? Picture it (channeling your inner Sophia from "Golden Girls"). Ancient Mesopotamia, around 7,000 years ago. The stomachs of ruminant animals were used to store liquids like milk and wine. Like most digestive tracts, enzymes are present that help to digest food. In young ruminant animals that rely on milk for survival, this enzyme known as rennet was present. Rennet curdles the milk taken in by the young animal and allows for slower digestion. In other words, rennet is nature's cheesemaker.
It is believed that on at least one occasion, milk was stored in a pouch made from a ruminant's stomach. An observable change was noticed: the curdling and separation of milk into curds and whey. How they decided to try the concoction is beyond me, but I suppose in every group there's always a Mikey. Without modern technology like refrigeration, ancient food preservation relied heavily on salt. Add the curds and whey to salt and Ta-da! Cheese is Born!
Rennet, milk, salt, time, temperature, and skill — the five pillars of a well-made cheese.
Cheese is one of the most ancient known foods on earth. The art of cheesemaking has been cultivated through the millennia to be a food source that provides our taste buds with nuanced complexity, our bodies with a source of protein, vitamins, and calcium.
Whether the rennet phenomenon was discovered by one person in one location then spread, or observed in multiple locations around the world, regardless, cheese was born. During the excavation of ancient societies, cheesemaking tools have been recovered — shards of pottery believed to be used for draining curds.
My deepest gratitude to every farmer, cheesemaker, affineur, chef, and cook who has kept this delicious tradition alive. We are all better for it. 🧀