by Eamonn Doherty
Home >> The Food of Mice and Men
But they weren’t the first. Somewhere in the Middle East about four thousand years before, a nomad came across the stuff while sauntering around the desert on his camel. After a hard day in the saddle, he reached down to take a well-deserved swig from his milk bota only to discover that the damn thing had turned into something that wasn’t exactly milk. His refreshing drink had been transformed with the help of the sun, the bota (made from the stomach of a young animal), and the constant moving of his four-legged friend, into a primitive form of what we now call cheese. The stomach contributed a coagulating enzyme called rennet which is vitally important in the cheese-making process. What the thirsty nomad called it, history has never revealed.
As usual, the Greeks had other ideas. They gave the credit for its discovery to the son of Apollo and Cyrene, who was known as Aristaeus. They were a bit lazy when it came to R&D, as today they can only boast of Feta cheese as being internationally known.
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church (always on the hunt for a product with a future) cornered the cheese market. The monks had a monopoly to rival Bill Gates and it is due to them that we have such a variety of that most photographed English word.
Nowadays, the “big cheeses� in production and variety are France and Italy, followed by Spain.
Be it holey or downright smelly, cheese has won its way into the hearts (and noses) of most cultures. For those who like a tangy flavour, there are the “blue veins� which have been pumped with enough penicillin spores to make Alexander Fleming turn in his grave. Others with a penchant for gum gymnastics might like to get their teeth into the “extra hard cheeses,� Parmesan being the best known. This cheese is a particular favourite of people whose hobbies include opening beer bottles with their “pearly whites.�
To those of you with an eye for design, may I recommend the ever popular Swiss variety? The bait of a thousand Tom and Jerry cartoon capers, Swiss cheeses are characterised by their distinctive mild, nutty flavour and lots of holes. These are due to gas expansion in the ripening process. Other exotic names include Camembert (France), Fynbo (Denmark), Caciocavallo (Italy), and Doppelrhamstufe (Germany).
My personal favourites are those delightful little cheeses that come in assorted packets from Marks & Spencer.
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Posted on http://www.weeklyletter.com at 2007-08-30 10:00:00 +0200
Copyright (C) ITT (http://www.itt.es) and Planet Lingua (http://www.lingua.es)
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I don’t like cheese but I do like comedy. Even cheesy comedy.
Hi,
I don’t have a favourite cheese. I like cheese, but I have that recognise that the “manchego” cheese is the cheese that I use to eat.
If you want to lose weigth to must eat fresh cheese, because it has less fat. You can eat 250 gr of normal cheese at week, if you are following a diet, but you can eat more if the cheese is fresh.
“Cheese” is the word that you must say if somebody is taking you a photography, and you want be on it smaling.
See you.
Conchi
Conchi must have Burgos cheese in mind. It must be the closest thing to cottage cheese that we can get here. Or is it not? I like the look and feel of the little curds.
Cheeses make good gifts.
We give cheese gifts. When we travel to a place that is especially known for its cheese, we bring home samples for friends and family.
And we get cheese gifts. Dutch friends of ours visited us this summer and brought us three balls of Gouda.
Hi Eamonn and everybody,
Ok. I agree with you because I like cheese a lot. But I would like to ask you and everybody one of the most important questions about cheese and, in my opinion, one of the humanity’s most hidden secrets. Why is the shape of a piece of cheese always circular and why are their portions always triangular?
Hoping someone can help me on these two points.
Interesting question, Toni! And even German cheese is round!
I’m looking forward to watching the animated film ‘Ratatouille.’ It’s about a gourmet rat called Remy who lives in Paris. Has the film come out in Spain yet? Have any of you seen it?
Hi Paola,
Thank you for your answer. What about Chinese cheese? Do you know if it is round too?.
Of course I’ve seen “Ratatouille”, I have two sons, aged 11 and 9. They enjoyed the film a lot, and so did my wife and I.
My favourite cheese is from SPAIN!!!
I love all kinds of Spanish cheese like Idiazabal, Burgos, Roncal, etc. There is a famous Spanish restaurant in Chicago called Cafe Iberico which was voted #1 Restaurant in Chicago for three years in a row. The owner is a Galitian from La Coruña who started out working in a restaurant in Chicago. He actually imports his cheese directly from Spain (especially goat cheese).
Chinese cheese sounds scary!
I love ALL French cheese.
Hi guys.
Unfortunately for me it is not to much to mention about it just because I am not very keen on cheese.I reckon it is smelly and the flavour is too strong for my liking.Some of them are nices but the majority of them are disgunting form my point of view so that I prefer not take it. It is a well Known fact that cheese is good for our health and keep our bones stronger than usual but in my case I rather try another good to do the same.
Greetings