Who Invented Cheese

Cheese has been produced since the dawn of humankind, with some evidence that the production of the dairy product stretches back as far as 8,000 years ago. The exact origin of cheese, however, is still unknown.

Though the history of cheese is largely a mystery, cheese-making is believed to have originated in the Near East. In this area, archaeologists discovered pottery vessels from around 6,000 BC that held traces of cheese, leading to the conclusion that the near East was the home of the world’s first cheese.

In the Middle East and central Europe, farmers used rennet to coagulate milk in order to separate out the whey and create solid pieces of cheese curd. This type of cheese-making spread to other parts of Europe, including the British Isles and France, where the practice of adding ingredients such as herbs and spices to develop different styles of cheese began to emerge.

With the arrival of the Romans in modern-day France, cheese-making was further developed and the production of popular cheeses such as Roquefort and Boursin brie began. By the mid-eighteenth century, cheese-making had reached North America, with mass production beginning around the turn of the 20th century.

Though cheese-making has been around for thousands of years and many cultures around the world have contributed to its development, we may never really know who invented cheese. Nevertheless, thanks to the various techniques developed through the centuries, we can now enjoy a wide variety of cheeses today.