Hi everyone! My name is Caitlin Zaring, and I am a second-year M.S. student under Dr. Liz Eckelkamp working with value-added dairies. Side-note, I’m a bit of a history buff and I truly enjoy learning about the origins of different practices. I am currently working on a cheese processing publication, and I started to wonder about the history of cheese. What was the first cheese like, and when was it discovered? So I decided to write a blog post. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed finding the information!

Ancient Cheeses (9,000 BC to 500 AD)

Scientists agree that the first ancient cheeses were similar to some cheeses still made today (Kindstedt, 2018). They were probably fresh, soft cheeses that were acid coagulated and heated through before being preserved through heavy salting or being sundried (Gouin, 1997, Kamber, 2007, Kindstedt, 2012, Kindstedt, 2018). The fresh cheese may have been similar to modern-day paneer (Figure 1; Canva.com) made in the lower Asian continent in countries like India and Iran (Khan and Pal, 2011).

To share the story of ancient cheese production, I’ve put together a timeline with generally agreed-upon dates and locations from small ruminant  domestication in 9,000 BC to the rise and fall of civilizations that spread cheesemaking across Europe and Asia; ending with the fall of the Roman Empire in 500 AD. This timeline is not comprehensive, but highlights essential moments in the story of ancient cheese-making. Over the next few months we will release a new timeline until we reach milestones in modern-day cheesemaking.

This is a link to the cheese history timeline.

References:

Gouin, P. 1997. Ancient oriental dairy techniques derived from archaeological evidence. Food and Foodways 7(3):157-188.

Kamber, U. 2007. The traditional cheeses of Turkey: cheeses common to all regions. Food reviews international 24(1):1-38.

Khan, S. U. and M. A. Pal. 2011. Paneer production: A review. Journal of Food Science and Technology 48(6):645-660.

Kindstedt, P. 2012. Cheese and culture: a history of cheese and its place in western civilization. Chelsea Green Publishing.

Kindstedt, P. S. 2018. The history of cheese. Global Cheesemaking Technology: 3.