Cheesemaking

food · fermentation · dairy · history

Milk becomes cheese. When special ingredients called cultures and rennet are added to milk, they make it thicken and separate into curds and whey, the beginning of every cheese.

Salt and time work magic. Cheesemakers add salt and let the cheese age for days, months, or even years, which creates unique flavors and textures like soft, creamy, or crumbly.

Preserving liquid gold. Cheesemaking takes fresh milk that spoils quickly and transforms it into cheese that lasts much longer, so people could store and eat nutritious food all year round.

Infinite flavor combos. By changing how long they age the cheese, what bacteria they use, and what animals give the milk, cheesemakers create thousands of different kinds of cheese from mild to super stinky.

Ancient invention. People have been making cheese for thousands of years, discovering by accident that milk left in certain containers turned into something delicious and long-lasting.