Natural Selection and the Origin of Cheeses

Vitruvius at The Sagacious Iconoclast explains why cheese is an unlikely Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) food:

I was recently involved in a discussion in which some folks were attempting to distinguish between what they were calling “processed” cheese and other (presumably non-processed) cheese, without defining what they mean by “processed” cheese. As I think that’s a less than optimal approach, I’d like to take a moment to sketch out why that is so; perhaps increasing, in the process, your enjoyment of cheese forever.

Vitruvius suggests one way prehistoric man could make cheese: “transport milk in mammal stomach vessels containing natural rennet, in the heat, thousands of years ago, and voila: curds and whey.”

It’s a moderately lengthy article, but well worth it for the amusement and erudition.  You’ll learn how cheese is made, starting with the photons.

Steve Parker, M.D.