Join High Touch High Tech in celebrating
National Cheese Lovers Day
January 20, 2021!

It seems people just love cheese. In fact, we love everything about it! Many books have even been written about cheese directly, or its impact on our human culture and society. Many people may even be familiar with Spencer Johnson’s book “Who Moved My Cheese!” Now this book isn’t exactly about cheese, cheese is actually a metaphor. But I won’t reveal that here, you will need to read the book.

Where did humans love for cheese begin? The production of cheese predates recorded history beginning well over 7,000 years ago. Humans likely developed cheese and other dairy foods by accident, storing and transporting milk in bladders made of ruminant’s stomachs. Inside the stomach of ruminants lies a special enzyme called rennet.  Which is an enzyme in cow’s stomachs that cause curdling. There is no conclusive evidence indicating where cheese-making originated, but historians feel it emerged in the following areas: Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, and Sahara regions.

Some fun facts about cheese:

• Stored in a container lined with an animals stomach, enzymes from the stomach separated the milk into curds (solids) & whey (liquids).

• It takes 10 pounds of milk to make just 1 pound of cheese. So, maybe just eat that single serving vs. the whole pound!

• Over 25% of cheese in the U.S. is made in Wisconsin. There’s a reason why Wisconsin residents are called cheeseheads afterall!

• There are more than 2000 varieties of cheese found worldwide! Talk about eating your way around the globe! YUM!

• Aged to perfection, cheese caves are a real thing. Before the invention of the refrigerator, cheesemakers used caves to age their cheese. The cheese cave is still a common practice.

• Curd sizes yield different types of cheese. Those large curds are big old softies – and tend to yield, you guessed it, softer cheeses. The smaller the curd, the harder the cheese!

• There is more cheese produced around the world than coffee, tobacco, tea, and cocoa beans combined!

The story of cheese and Man’s love of cheese is certainly clear. In the U.S, one-third of all milk produced goes into cheese production. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry! That alone deserves celebrating!

Check out our Changing Condition: Curds & Whey at-home experiment today and see with your own eyes how milk separates!

Share pictures of your experiment on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/HighTouchHighTechScienceMadeFun

Sources: