10 Cheese Facts You Probably Already Knew
Cheese is part of many people's diets, but did you know these 10 things about cheese? Read below to find out!
Mmmmmm, delicious cheese......
1. Cheese isn't orange!
No cheese is naturally orange. Cheese which contains anything other than a pale yellow or white hue has been artificially colored. This practice dates back to the 17th century, when cheese makers would color low-fat, inferior cheese with saffron to make it seem more impressive.
2. What's Parmesan?
Parmigiano-Reggiano is a specific kind of cheese that has many requirements, including having to be made in a specific part of Italy.
In the European Union, "Parmesan" can only refer to Parmigiano-Reggiano, while this is not the case outside it.
3. Cheese Rolling
Cheese-Rolling is an annual event near Gloucester in England, where people run down a hill chasing a wheel of cheese. The first to the bottom wins the wheel of cheese.
Due to the steepness and unevenness of the hill, injuries are common during this event.
However, this event has not been held in the past two years due to COVID-19.
4. Pasta finished in a cheese wheel!
Pasta alla ruota is pasta that is made by finishing cooked pasta in a hollowed out wheel of cheese. When served at restaurants, this is typically done next to the table it is being served at for the visuals.
The hot pasta melts the cheese to create the sauce that coats it, though sometimes the cheese itself is set on fire for that effect.
5. Brie and the French Revolution
Brie de Meaux, also known as the Queen's Cheese, is a variety of Brie produced in the French town of Meaux and eaten by both commoners and nobility. When the French Revolution happened, the rebels didn't want to eat something called the "Queen's Cheese", opting to rename it to the Queen of Cheese instead.
6. Camembert is Illegal in the United States
The US has many health and safety laws to do with food, including one that prohibits the sale of unpasteurized milk. This makes it so the original Camembert de Normandie cannot be sold in the US (though other locally-produced variants are still allowed).
7. Parmesan is not vegetarian
One of the ingredients used in parmesan, rennet, comes from the stomach of baby cows. This makes parmesan and other cheeses that use rennet non-vegetarian. However, vegetarian substitutes for rennet are available, so vegetarian parmesan is still able to be produced.
8. Cheese in Humour
The British comedy troupe Monty Python once had a sketch where a man visits a cheese shop and tries to list off the names of cheeses he wants to buy. However, every cheese he names ends up out of stock or otherwise unavailable. At the end, it is revealed that the cheese shop did not have any cheese in stock at all, ending with the shopkeeper being shot.
When this sketch was written and proposed, none of the Monty Python members found it particularly funny, except for one individual who fell to the floor laughing. This convinced the other members of the group to perfrom the sketch.
9. Babybel Wax Coating is inedible
Contrary to popular belief, the wax coating on Babybel® branded cheeses are NOT rind, but instead a wax coating that cannot be eaten. It can, however, be melted into a candle.
10. The Advent of Fondue
Cheese fondue was originally devised as a way to use up aged cheese and bread to feed people during the winter. It was found that stale bread softened up when dipped into cheese melted with wine and garlic.
