* * Cheese * *

Cheese is nutritious food made mostly from the milk of cows but also other mammals, including sheep, goats, buffalo, reindeer, camels and yaks. Around 4000 years ago people have started to breed animals and process their milk. That's when the cheese was born

Types of Cheese
The type of cheese produced depends on the milk used and the cheese making process. The milk used may be full fat, semi-skimmed or fully skimmed, this affecting the fat content of the cheese. It may be pasteurised or unpasteurised. Milk from different animals and different breeds is important in determining the final flavour. As well as cow's milk, cheese may be made from sheep or goat's milk.
Soft cheeses may be fresh or ripened. Fresh cheeses include quark, cottage cheese and cream cheese. Ripened soft cheeses include Brie and Camembert. Semi-soft cheeses include Stilton, Wensleydale and Gorgonzola. Hard cheeses include Cheddar, Cheshire, and Gruyere. Parmesan is a strongly pressed, very hard, dry cheese ripened for 2-3 years and then grated. Whey cheeses such as Ricotta are made as a by-product of other cheeses from the whey removed during pressing. Processed cheeses are either made with trimmings that are left over from the manufacture of other cheeses, or from dried milk powder. Flavourings, colourings and other additives are used.

Cheese is a good source of protein, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12. However, full fat cheese is a major source of saturated fat which can lead to raised serum cholesterol levels. Also, it contains no carbohydrate or fibre, and is a very poor source of iron. Vegetarians, particularly new vegetarians, should be wary of too high a consumption of cheese :)