CurdNerds

According to notable resources cheese was first made in the Middle East.The earliest type was a form of sour milk, which was discovered when domesticated animals were milked.

According to a legend, cheese was 'discovered' by a nameless Arab nomad. He is said to have filled a saddlebag with milk to support him on a journey across the desert by horse. After several hours riding he stopped to quench his thirst, only to find that the milk had separated into watery liquid and solid white lumps. Because the saddlebag, which was made from the stomach of a young animal, contained a coagulating enzyme known as rennin, the milk had been effectively separated into curds and whey by the combination of the rennin, the hot sun and the trotting motions of the horse. The nomad, unconcerned with these details, found the whey drinkable and the curds edible.

Cheese was known to the ancient Sumerians four thousand years before the birth of Christ. The ancient Greeks acknowledged Aristaeus, a son of Apollo and Cyrene, with its discovery; it is mentioned in the Old Testament.

In Roman time cheese making was done with skill and knowledge and reached a high standard. By this time the developing process had been perfected and it was known that various treatments and conditions under storage resulted indifferent flavours and characteristics.
The larger Roman houses had a separate cheese kitchen, the caseale, and also specific areas where cheese could be matured. In large towns home-made cheese could be taken to a special centre to be smoked. Cheese was served on the tables of the elite and travelled to the far corners of the Roman Empire as a regular part of the rations for the army.

During the Middle Ages, monks became creators and developers and so contributed to the many classic varieties of cheese today. During the Renaissance period cheese suffered a drop in popularity, being considered unhealthy, but it regained favour by the nineteenth century, the period that saw the start of the move from farm to factory production.
View video of cheese making at www.wineandfoodtube.com