Introduction

Our family has always loved cheeses. Since I was little I loved the strong, ‘stinky’ and interesting cheeses. Since we have started traveling, we have been to grocery stores and have bought local food. And most of the time we get cheese. Most of the cheeses that we have tried are delicious and we have had fun exploring.

History of Cheese

Cheese has been around since about 8,000 B.C. From the farmers along the Fertile Crescent. Cheese was made when milk stayed in the sun for several hours. The milk would eventually become sour and turns clumpy and become cheese. Milk has fat, protein, and minerals. But milk had a lot of lactose which is a sugar that is hard to digest in our stomachs. Cheese had the same advantages but it had much less lactose which is why cheese is really good for you. Cheese could also be stored outside without getting rotten and then could be saved for cold winters. Cheese was traded along the Mediterranean Sea. People that got the cheese would then add there own local ingredients which is why we have different cheeses today.

Cheeses we have tried and how we liked them:

• In Spain we had a tapa called Patatas bravas con queso, with gooey Gorgonzola and potatoes that were delicious! We found the same gooey Gorgonzola in France!

• In Spain we also had aged Manchego that was yummy, it was more hard and flavorful. We compared the aged with the young manchego and liked the aged one much better as the young one was more acidic.

• In Norway we had really good brown cheese, called Brunost, that went really well with sandwiches and was sweet. The color is because the whey was boiled, caramelizing the sugar and making it look brownish and be sweet.

• In France we had an appetizer that had really good cheese that also had a sweet sauce, crackers. And we took small bites so then we could taste more with less bites.

• Mozzarella is a cheese that we love to eat and with Mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes we make the caprese salad.

Cheese is delicious!!! I love trying different types of cheeses from around the world!!