Do you know how old the cheese we eat is based on?

The history of cheese, which is the indispensable taste of our lives, dates back to 8500 years ago. There are different assumptions about its origin and invention. Some historians think that the first cheese was found by an Arab traveler turning the milk into cheese, which he put in a bag made of sheep stomach. When we look at the history of ancient Greece, it is claimed that the first cheese was made by the Scythians from mare's milk by souring the milk. In this context, around the 7th century BC, where the Scythians lived, traces of cheese were found in containers made of goat and sheep skins on monuments covered with ice.

Some sources claim that the first cheese was made in Central Asia. Tibetans consider the idea that Tatars made the first cheese before the Arabs. When different historical sources are examined, there are assumptions that the first cheese of the Finnish nomads was made in the Mediterranean countries. Although different sources say that different nations made or discovered the first cheese; During the archaeological excavations, cheese remains and cheese making tools and containers dating back to 4000 BC were found.

When cheese was first made, it was generally consumed in temples, and due to the speed of development of later civilizations, its usage area expanded. At this point, cheese production increased even more with the collapse of the Roman Empire and the increase in immigration to Europe. The cheeses made in monasteries here have formed the cheese variety of European countries.

Cheese is a food that has its origins as old as humanity. Although there is no exact information on how old it is, possible origins are estimated as Central Asia, the Middle East or Europe.

It is thought to have spread during the times of the Roman Empire.

The proposed date for the first production is BC. It ranges from the 8th millennium BC (the date the sheep were domesticated) to the 9th millennium BC. At that time, the skin or internal organs of the animal were used because of its food storage feature. One of the theories about the first formation of cheese is that the milk stored in the stomach (tripe), which is one of these internal organs, turns into curd upon fermentation with the enzymes (culture) there. A similar story has different versions of a merchant Arab hiding cheese.

Another theory is that cheese making is the result of salting and pressurizing milk. Yeast may have been deliberately added to this mixture upon the change of milk kept in the stomach of the animal.

The first written source about cheese making is BC. It dates back to the 2000s, the tomb inscriptions in Egypt. It is estimated that the cheese made in ancient times was sour and salty and resembled today's feta and white cheese.

In cheese production in Europe, less salt is used due to the climate. These cheeses contain different and interesting flavors due to the ability to grow a wider variety of beneficial microbes and enzymes in less salty environments.