Gouda Accounts For Over Half Of The World’s Cheese Consumption



America

Moooove over whiners! June 4th is National Cheese Day!

An encyclopedia of cheese will cover the alphabet and broaden your vocabulary. It will undoubtedly contain more varieties of cheese than what’s found at the local grocer. Cheese is produced from the pressed curds of milk. The milk can come from cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. Temperature and aging affect the flavor and texture of the cheese, as well as spices and other seasonings added during the process.

  • The most recognizable characteristic of Swiss cheese is its holes which punctuate the pale yellow exterior. These holes, also called “eyes,” are caused by the expansion of gas within the cheese curd during the ripening period.
  • Archaeological surveys show that cheese was being made from the milk of cows and goats in Mesopotamia before 6000 B.C
  • The first cheese factory to make cheese from scratch was started in  in 1851 by Jesse Williams.
  • The terms “Big Wheel” and “Big Cheese” originally referred to those who were wealthy enough to purchase a whole wheel of cheese.
  • Processed American cheese was developed in 1915 by J. L. Kraft (founder of ) as an alternative to traditional cheeses that had a short shelf life.
  • Grilled cheese sandwiches originally showed up in during the 1920s
  • Almost 90% of all cheese sold in the United States is classified as Cheddar type cheese.
  • uses about 300 million pounds of cheese per year.
  • produces around 2.6 billion pounds of Cheese each year. – Source
  • Legend has it the first cheese was created accidentally, by storing milk in a container lined with an animal’s stomach. An enzyme from the stomach caused the milk to separate into liquid (whey) and solids (curd).
  • Over 25% of cheese in the U.S. is made in (the rest comes mostly from , Idaho and ). More than half the nation’s artisan cheese is made in .
  • Because of safety…

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