Today in Food History – June 4th

JUNE 4 – Today in Food History

• Cheese Day
• National Frozen Yogurt Day

Ahhh, Cheese!
I enjoy cheese very much!
OK,OK, I love it!!

I could set up an entire blog on cheese. However, it would be a safe bet I wouldn’t get anything else completed. 😀

There are hundreds of different types of cheese that can be differentiated both by the type of milk – raw, skimmed or pasteurized, and by the animal – cow, goat, sheep, buffalo, horse, or camel.

Not only can you differentiate from type of milk or animal, but you also can characterize cheese by texture and country. Texture of cheese can range from soft, semi-soft, hard, semi-hard and spotted, along with varying degrees in-between. Countries world-wide offer a variation of cheese to enjoy.

According to the alphabetical listing on CHEESE.com, there are 670 cheeses in the index. WOW — THAT is a lot of cheese!

No longer is cheese solely relegated for consumption with crackers alone. New ways of incorporating cheese in our food selections, are created almost daily … simply for our enjoyment and food experiences with taste and texture combinations. Popular offerings are found among Main Dishes, Salads and Vegetable Dishes, Appetizers and Snacks as well as Desserts.

If you enjoy the simple pleasure of “Cheese and Crackers”, there are a number of variations with this choice as well … different types of crackers and breads. Add to this, fruit pastes or spreads — the possibilities are endless!

While enjoying cheese, you can incur several health benefits from cheese:

• Source of Calcium and Protein
• Contains a large amount of other essential nutrients such as phosphorous, zinc, riboflavin, vitamin B12 and vitamin A – great for energy production and healthy immune system
• Natural source of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) and sphingolipids that may help to reduce cancer.
• Dental Health – many cheeses have been proven to reduce tooth decay. This is in part due to increased saliva production upon eating cheeses; the milk proteins in cheese help neutralize plaque acids and also help prevent acid demineralization and help remineralization of tooth enamel.
• People who are lactose intolerant will find the health benefits of cheese especially helpful; aged cheeses contain little or no lactose. 
• Can assist with weight management (depending on selection)
• Can assist with blood pressure control (depending on selection)
• Helpful with maintaining bone density
• Reduce insulin resistance

For the individuals with Lactose Intolerance – there is even something available for you. Depending on your level of intolerance, the offerings in the dairy case are greater today than in years past … from lactose-free milk to dairy foods that are typically easier to digest. For example, aged cheeses are naturally lower in lactose and many yogurts contain live and active cultures which help digest lactose.

For vegetarians – you can investigate a listing and breakdown of suitable cheeses on Cheese.com

Now that I have worked up an appetite, I shall return to my prepared cheese board, variety of crackers, along with guava paste and pepper jelly — and glass of wine!! Bon Appétit!

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Image Credit

© rgb for “On Dragonfly Wings with Buttercup Tea”, 2011