6000 years of cheese history
October Meeting Report
War, plague, monastic life – who knew that cheese could play such an important part in world history? Well, by the end of Sue Brown’s talk on ‘6000 years of cheese history’ those who crowded into the Memorial Hall on Monday 7th October certainly did. We were even treated to a tasting of Northumbrian cheeses as part of British Food Fortnight.
The oldest cheese ever discovered was in China, where, in 2014, archaeologists uncovered mummies dating back 6000 years with cheeses suspended from their necks. Analysis identified the presence of the same bacteria used in making kefir. Neolithic man is known to have been lactose intolerant, so this could have been a way of making milk more digestible.
England has a proud history of cheese making. At Stonehenge there is evidence of cheese having been made using cider apple vinegar. But this type of cheese didn’t keep, and it is thought that the Romans introduced rennet to make a harder, longer lasting cheese which was easier to transport.
Roman cheese moulds have been found in Wales as well as locally. After the Romans left, cheese was produced in monasteries. Salt was used to help preserve the cheese which became a profitable export.
In 1315 heavy rains led to crop failures, and this, coupled with livestock disease, created widespread famine, followed in 1348 by the Black Death. Rents rose steeply and, as a way of raising money, tenant farmers began to produce cheese. By the mid C17th Cheshire cheese was being produced in large quantities and this type of full fat, creamy cheese was copied throughout England. Cheeses were also made bigger to prevent them drying out.
1763 saw the end of the Seven Years War. Food riots occurred throughout Britain and in October thousands of pounds of cheese were seized by rioters in Nottingham.
The first large scale cheese factory was in America. It began exporting cheese to Britain. With wartime rationing there were no more luxury or soft cheeses. Then, in the 1970s, Patrick Rance’s Berkshire and Oxfordshire stores began selling specialist British cheeses and resurrected the industry. British cheese making was on the up, selling to restaurants, delicatessens and even supermarkets. But in 2020 along came Covid and lockdown. Milk had to be thrown away and many cheese makers folded.
However, things have started to improve and many specialist cheeses are being produced once again, including the excellent Doddington cheeses we were lucky enough to sample that evening.
Report by Kathryn McLaclan