WEBVTT

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Before empires and royalty,

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before pottery and writing,

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before metal tools and weapons –

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there was cheese.

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As early as 8000 BCE,

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the earliest Neolithic farmers 
living in the Fertile Crescent

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began a legacy of cheesemaking

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almost as old as civilization itself.

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The rise of agriculture led to 
domesticated sheep and goats,

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which ancient farmers harvested for milk.

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But when left in warm conditions 
for several hours,

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that fresh milk began to sour.

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Its lactic acids caused proteins to 
coagulate, binding into soft clumps.

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Upon discovering this 
strange transformation,

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the farmers drained the remaining liquid –

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later named whey –

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and found the yellowish globs could be 
eaten fresh as a soft, spreadable meal.

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These clumps, or curds, became 
the building blocks of cheese,

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which would eventually be aged, pressed, 
ripened, and whizzed

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into a diverse cornucopia 
of dairy delights.

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The discovery of cheese gave Neolithic
people an enormous survival advantage.

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Milk was rich with essential proteins, 
fats, and minerals.

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But it also contained high 
quantities of lactose –

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a sugar which is difficult to process for 
many ancient and modern stomachs.

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Cheese, however, could provide all of 
milk’s advantages with much less lactose.

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And since it could be preserved 
and stockpiled,

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these essential nutrients could be eaten

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throughout scarce famines 
and long winters.

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Some 7th millennium BCE pottery fragments 
found in Turkey

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still contain telltale residues of 
the cheese and butter they held.

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By the end of the Bronze Age,

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cheese was a standard commodity 
in maritime trade

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throughout the eastern Mediterranean.

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In the densely populated city-states of 
Mesopotamia,

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cheese became a staple 
of culinary and religious life.

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Some of the earliest known writing

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includes administrative records 
of cheese quotas,

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listing a variety of cheeses for different
rituals and populations

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across Mesopotamia.

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Records from nearby civilizations 
in Turkey also reference rennet.

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This animal byproduct, produced in the
stomachs of certain mammals,

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can accelerate and control coagulation.

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Eventually this sophisticated cheesemaking
tool spread around the globe,

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giving way to a wide variety of new, 
harder cheeses.

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And though some conservative food 
cultures rejected the dairy delicacy,

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many more embraced cheese, and quickly
added their own local flavors.

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Nomadic Mongolians used yaks’ milk to
create hard, sundried wedges of Byaslag.

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Egyptians enjoyed goats’ milk cottage 
cheese, straining the whey with reed mats.

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In South Asia, milk was coagulated with a
variety of food acids,

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such as lemon juice, vinegar, or yogurt

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and then hung to dry into loafs of paneer.

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This soft mild cheese could be added to 
curries and sauces,

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or simply fried as a 
quick vegetarian dish.

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The Greeks produced bricks of salty brined
feta cheese,

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alongside a harder variety similar to 
today’s pecorino romano.

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This grating cheese was produced in Sicily

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and used in dishes all across the 
Mediterranean.

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Under Roman rule, “dry cheese” 
or “caseus aridus,”

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became an essential ration

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for the nearly 500,000 soldiers guarding
the vast borders of the Roman Empire.

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And when the Western Roman 
Empire collapsed,

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cheesemaking continued to evolve

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in the manors that dotted the medieval
European countryside.

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In the hundreds of Benedictine monasteries
scattered across Europe,

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medieval monks experimented endlessly 
with different types of milk,

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cheesemaking practices,

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and aging processes that led to many 
of today’s popular cheeses.

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Parmesan, Roquefort, Munster 
and several Swiss types

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were all refined and perfected 
by these cheesemaking clergymen.

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In the Alps, Swiss cheesemaking was
particularly successful –

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producing a myriad of cow’s milk cheeses.

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By the end of the 14th century,

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Alpine cheese from the Gruyere region of
Switzerland had become so profitable

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that a neighboring state invaded the 
Gruyere highlands

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to take control of the growing 
cheese trade.

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Cheese remained popular through 
the Renaissance,

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and the Industrial Revolution took 
production out of the monastery

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and into machinery.

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Today, the world produces roughly 
22 billion kilograms of cheese a year,

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shipped and consumed around the globe.

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But 10,000 years after its invention,

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local farms are still following in the 
footsteps of their Neolithic ancestors,

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hand crafting one of humanity’s 
oldest and favorite foods.