Prompt Cast
The History and Variety of Cheese: From Ancient Rome to Expensive Delicacies
TLDR Cheese, discovered around the same time humans began domesticating animals, has been a valuable source of calories and a way to store dairy for thousands of years. With over 1800 different types of cheese, including rare and expensive varieties, cheese making has a rich history and a dedicated community of cheese aficionados.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Cheese, one of the oldest foods in human history, was likely discovered around the same time humans began domesticating animals and provided a way to extract more calories from animals beyond just meat.
02:13
Cheese allowed people to store milk for long periods of time, making it a valuable source of calories and a way to store dairy in hot climates, and evidence of cheese making and consumption dates back thousands of years.
03:53
Cheese making has been around for a long time and was advanced in ancient Rome, with many different varieties available, and the process involves heating milk, adding bacteria and rennet, and forming curds.
05:22
Cheese curds can be separated from the liquid in various ways, such as using cheese cloth or dehydrating them, and the curds are then treated differently depending on the type of cheese, with variations in inputs and methods resulting in over 1800 different types of cheese.
07:07
Some of the rarest and most expensive cheeses in the world include Bito from Italy, aged for 10 to 20 years and costing $150 per pound, moose milk cheese from Sweden, selling for $500 per pound, and Pule from Serbia, made from endangered Balkan donkey milk and selling for $600 per pound.
08:52
Blue cheeses like Roquefort and Limburger get their distinctive smell from bacteria, and Roquefort has a legendary origin story involving a young boy, a cave, and Emperor Charlemagne.
10:28
Cheese has a community of aficionados similar to the world of wine, with the title of "master fromager" requiring years of study and knowledge of hundreds of cheeses and the cheese making process.
