History

The precise location and date of the origin of cheese is unknown, but is suspected to have been in Europe, Central Asia, the Sahara or the Middle East, around 8,000 - 10,000 years ago.

The estimated date is tied to when humans started domesticating and milking animals. Curds and whey, the first stage of cheese, was likely discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from an animal's stomach, and consequently mixing with the rennet inside.

Physical remnants of cheese date back over 7,000 years in a location in Kujawy, Poland. However, 8,000 year old pottery remains in Switzerland have been hypothesized to have been used for straining cheese.

Cheese in the form we know today - as opposed to curds and whey - was likely originally made for the purpose of preservation, as hard salted cheese is the only form that milk doesn't spoil in in hot climates.

By 100 BCE cheese was common in Europe and the Middle East, but wasn't present in the Americas at all. Cheese making in North America began in the 17th century, when English dairy farmers came to the continent.

Many popular cheeses nowadays have been made relatively recently compared to cheese overall. The first record of parmesan is from 1597, and Gouda was first recorded in 1697.