Cheese Facts

Just the cheese facts, please.

Here's an interesting cheese fact: people have been making cheese since before the dawn of recorded history. No one knows who first curdled milk and separated the solid curds from liquid whey, but archaeologists have found traces of cheesemaking in artifacts that go back at least 7,200 years. It seems like humans have loved cheese from day one.

Here's another cheese fact: there are more than 1,800 different kinds of cheese varieties in the world – another sign that humans are fond of the stuff and finding many different ways to make and devour it.

And it's no wonder, because what other food in the world has so much flavor, so much texture, and pairs so well with everything from wine and pasta to bread and burgers?

With all this in mind, some might opine that cheese is the perfect food. In Wisconsin, we wouldn't call that an opinion. We'd call that a fact.

Fun cheese facts to win friends and influence people

Here are some incredible cheese facts to endlessly entertain guests at your next wine and cheese party:

• Cheese fact #1: Mozzarella is the most popular cheese in America, thanks to our love of this fresh cheese as a pizza cheese.
• Cheese fact #2: The famous holes or eyes in cheeses like swiss and emmentaler (and other alpine-style cheeses that are part of any basic fondue recipe) are the result of carbon dioxide made by bacteria in the cheese, forming little air pockets as the cheese hardens.
• Cheese fact #3: Scientists suggest that cheese and wine pairings work well because the astringency in the wine balances the creamy fat content from the cheese to create a perfect balance in our mouths.
• Cheese fact #4: Cheese curds squeak because the elastic protein strands in the cheese rub against the enamel of your teeth. (That's fresh curds only – a fried cheese curd loses its squeak but gains a world of fried and breaded flavor.)
• Cheese fact #5: It takes ten pounds of milk to make just one pound of cheese.
• Cheese fact #6: The world produces more cheese than coffee, tobacco, tea, and cocoa beans combined.
• Cheese fact #7: Some varieties of cheese like mozzarella, cheddar, and swiss help prevent tooth decay by promoting saliva, which helps to eliminate sugar and acids from the mouth.
• Cheese fact #8: Most cheese is made with just three ingredients: milk, salt, and a coagulant such as vinegar, rennet, or bacteria. It's amazing that these three ingredients can produce so many kinds of cheeses!
• Cheese fact #9: People who are lactose intolerant can still enjoy cheese – hard cheeses like parmesan and asiago are super low in lactose.

The best cheese is Wisconsin Cheese. Fact.

Here's another cheese fact for you: Wisconsin makes the best cheese in the world.

Okay, before you get all worked up about that, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Mexico, and England, consider these cheese facts:

• Wisconsin cheese fact #1: Wisconsin cheesemakers have won more awards than any other state or nation on the planet.
• Wisconsin cheese fact #2: Wisconsin produces more flavors, styles, and varieties of cheese (600+) than anywhere else.
• Wisconsin cheese fact #3: Wisconsin makes one-quarter of all the cheese in the U.S. and roughly one-half of all the artisan cheese.
• Wisconsin cheese fact #4: Wisconsin has the only master cheesemaker program in the world outside of the one in Switzerland.
• Wisconsin cheese fact #5: Wisconsin is the only state that requires a license to make cheese.

Look, we can argue all day long about who makes the best cheese, but when it comes to the cheese facts, it looks like a pretty solid case for Wisconsin.

The next time you're looking for the best cheese in the world, just look for the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese™ badge on the label. That's when you know your slice of parmesan, your hunk of havarti, or your Wisconsin cheese gift basket has real cheese cred. And that's a fact.