Edam Good Story: The Secret History of Cheese

From lunchbox staple to luxury indulgence, cheese is one of the most beloved – and versatile – foods on the planet. But this dairy delight wasn’t always about charcuterie boards and melted perfection. In fact, its story begins before written history. So, how did curdled milk become a cornerstone of global cuisine?

We’re unwrapping the curious chronicles behind the craft, from ancient cultures and sacred recipes to the odder turns cheese has taken on its long journey to our plates. Ready to Roquefort and roll? Let’s go.

Cheese, it turns out, has been on the menu for a very long time – possibly as far back as 8,000 years ago, around the time humans first began domesticating milk-producing animals like sheep and goats. The most widely accepted theory? That cheese was discovered by accident when early farmers or herders stored milk in containers made from animal stomachs. Inside, a natural enzyme called rennet – found in the stomach lining – caused the milk to separate into curds and whey. Someone, at some point, tasted those curds and decided it was edible. Possibly even delicious.

Archaeological evidence backs this up. Traces of cheesemaking have been found in Poland dating to around 5700 BCE, with similar finds unearthed in Croatia and Switzerland. Meanwhile, remnants of kefir cheese dating to circa 1500 BC were discovered with two Bronze Age mummies in China, and cheese has been referenced in the Middle East since the early 2nd millennium BC, both in Sumerian texts and on Egyptian tomb walls.

The Greeks were smitten with cheese. Greek cheeses were typically fresh or brined varieties from goat and sheep milk, although Aristotle noted the art of making cheese from the milk of horses and donkeys. They served it baked with honey, wrote about it in their myths, and offered it to the gods. There was even a minor god of cheesemaking, Aristaeus, who gifted humans with the knowledge of curdling milk along with olive cultivation and beekeeping.

Cheese also made a cameo in Homer’s Odyssey, where the cyclops Polyphemus discovered that storing sheep’s milk in animal-skin bags led to the formation of curds.

The Romans, ever the enthusiasts of food and expansionism, took things further. They not only refined, but advanced cheesemaking processes including the use of rennet for coagulation, salting, and pressing. They’re also credited as being the first to experiment with ageing cheeses, these longer-lasting varieties proving invaluable for feeding armies on the move and stocking pantries far from the dairy source.

The Romans produced a wide variety of cheeses using different milks, experimented with herbs, spices, and smoking, and developed both soft and hard cheeses. By the first century BCE, cheese-making in Rome had become a refined practice, with a wide variety of cheeses produced and consumed across the Roman world.

In fact, cheese was simply part of daily Roman life. Legionaries were provided it as part of their daily rations, and larger homes even had a special kitchen – known as a Caseale – dedicated to producing cheese.

Over the centuries, as the Roman Empire expanded, they spread their cheese-making knowledge across Europe, influencing regional cheese traditions that followed. Writing in 77AD, Pliny the Elder devoted two chapters of his work Natural History to the empire’s finest cheeses, from sharp Alpine varieties to smooth, export-worthy wheels from Nîmes and Liguria. His writing suggests a world in which regional styles were already emerging – and being traded, praised, and passed along.

As Europe transitioned into the medieval period, monasteries emerged as unlikely culinary laboratories. In fact, monks are responsible for many of the world’s most beloved cheeses. Left to their own devices – and dairy herds – they experimented with ripening times, mould cultures, and ageing conditions. The result? Parmesan, Roquefort, Wensleydale, and so many more.

Their cellars were cool, damp and perfect for microbial mischief. That signature funk you get from a good blue cheese? Credit the caves of southern France and a few enterprising monks with a flair for fungal fermentation.

While the Romans introduced cheese-making to Britain, it truly flourished after their departure. By the 12th century, English monasteries were churning out regional cheeses such as Cheshire, Gloucester, and Cheddar. Each village developed its own styles, largely influenced by the local terrain, livestock, and weather.

When Europeans set sail for the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries, they packed cheese. Along with wheat, wine, and livestock, cheese was part of the edible cargo aboard ships bound for the New World. But that wasn’t all. Colonists also brought their dairy farming and cheesemaking knowledge along with them, laying the groundwork for the large scale industry cheese would become.

The 19th century brought factories, machines, and mass production. The world’s first cheese factory was opened in Switzerland in 1815. In the US, Oneida County in New York became the site of the first North American factory in 1851. Suddenly, cheese wasn’t confined to farms and monasteries. It was being made on a massive scale. These days, annual global cheese production is measured in the tens of thousands of metric tons, with the EU and US leading the world in terms of volume.

Thus, from its prehistoric origins to modern mass production, cheese has endured and evolved. It’s comfort and culture, science and serendipity. Whether it’s a humble slice of toastie cheddar or a wheel of truffle-brushed Brie, this culinary chameleon continues to be both everyday and extraordinary at the same tasty time.