While there are certainly some people who do not like cheese or cannot eat it for health reasons, most other people would agree that it is one of the best ingredients for food recipes that was ever invented!
After all, so many different types of cheese exist, and there are such a variety of ways that it can be enjoyed. From toasted cheese sandwiches to pizzas, to different kinds of pasta and sauces, cheese can be devoured in a multitude of ways.
For those who are big fans of cheese, this day gives the ideal opportunity to eat as much of it as desired.
It’s time to celebrate National Cheese Day!
How to Celebrate National Cheese Day
There are so many different ways that you can celebrate National Cheese Day. Try one of these or come up with other creative ideas:
Host a Cheese Tasting Party
One of the best ways is to have a cheese-tasting afternoon with family and friends. Have each person bring a different type of cheese and a different kind of wine. Then relax and have fun eating some good food and trying out some wine flavors that might be a new experience.
Hosting a cheese tasting party is fairly simple, but there may be a few details to pay attention to in order to get it just right. In addition to buying cheese and wine, there’s a bit of setup that will take it from average to awesome.
- Add to the shopping list little bits such as olives, crusty bread, grapes, chutneys and berries. Put these all out on the table to compliment the taste of the cheese.
- Make the place look just that much more lovely by adding a few vases full of fresh flowers. In addition, the tables will need some wooden cutting boards, a selection of knives, small serving plates, plus a collection of wine glasses.
- Prepare ahead of time with a bit of knowledge about each cheese that will be served so that suggestions can be given for tasting combinations.
Visit a Cheesemonger or Cheese Shop
Another way to celebrate National Cheese Day is by visiting a cheesemonger or going to a professional cheese tasting experience.
This is a great way to soak in all of the knowledge about cheese from those who know everything that there is to know.
Get ready to try some interesting samples, asking the shop owner for a taste of the most unique cheeses on hand. Remind them that it’s National Cheese Day and maybe they’ll even offer a discount!
Eat a Cheese Based Meal
Of course, enjoying a cheese-based meal is a must on National Cheese Day. There are a lot of different ways that you can give a nod to National Cheese Day in this way. It could be something as simple as ordering an extra dose of cheese on a takeaway pizza.
Or, maybe it’s time to try and do something a little bit different in the world of cheese? Those who typically have parmesan on their spaghetti or mozzarella on their pizza, why not try substituting it for a different type of cheese?
Get a little bit creatie and spend some time looking for some unique and inspiring recipes for cheese dishes online, and attempt to recreate them at home.
Learn About Different Types of Cheese
There are so many different kinds and varieties of cheese available from cultures the world over.
From the common and well-known ones, like brie and cheddar, to some of the lesser-known and more peculiar varieties, like burrata or lancashire cheese. In fact, it has been rumored that they even sell human milk cheese in New York!
Check out these different types of cheeses that are unique and interesting:
- Olomouc Cheese from the Czech Republic. This cheese is a bit infamous due to the fact that it comes with such a strong (some would say stinky!) odor. Walk into any shop that sells it and it’s the first thing anyone can smell! Named after the city wherein Moravia where it originated, this is a ripened soft cheese that has been made for more than 600 years.
- Drunken Goat Cheese from Spain. This is made by curing unpasteurized goat cheese in red wine for approximately 48-72 hours. It’s a semi-firm cheese that is also known as Murcia al Vino, indicating the type of goat it is made from.
- Gjetost Cheese (“yay-toast”) from Norway. This unique cheese is made from a blend of cow’s milk and goat’s milk. It comes in a block and has a dark orange, almost brownish color that makes it look like chocolate. Plus, it’s a little sweet so it tastes a bit like caramel fudge–perfect with a cup of coffee!
National Cheese Day Timeline
Neolithic beginnings of cheese-making
Chemical analysis of perforated pottery from Kuyavia in present-day Poland shows residues of milk fats, indicating that early farmers were straining curds and making a simple cheese thousands of years before written records.
Earliest written references to cheese in Mesopotamia
Cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, including administrative records and the Sumerian “Hymn to Ninkasi,” mention dairy products and curd-based foods that scholars interpret as early cheeses produced in the Fertile Crescent.
Ancient Egyptian and Chinese preserved cheeses
Archaeologists have discovered solidified cheese remains in tombs at Saqqara in Egypt and on mummies in China’s Taklamakan Desert, showing that cheese was valued both as a daily food and as an offering for the afterlife.
Cheese in the classical Greek diet and literature
Greek writers such as Homer and Aristotle describe sheep’s and goat’s milk cheeses, with the Odyssey depicting cheesemaking in the cave of Polyphemus, evidence that cheese was a staple food and trade product around the Aegean.
Roman standardization of cheese-making
Roman authors Columella and Pliny the Elder give detailed accounts of cheesemaking techniques, aging, and regional varieties, showing that the Roman Empire systematized cheese production and trade throughout Europe.
Legendary origin of Roquefort cheese
According to French tradition, a shepherd near Roquefort-sur-Soulzon left bread and sheep’s milk curds in a cave, later returning to find them veined with blue mold; by 1074, Roquefort is mentioned in documents, and the caves became famed maturation sites.
Industrialization of cheese and the birth of processed cheese
In 1853, Jesse Williams opened one of the first U.S. cooperative cheese factories in Rome, New York, initiating industrial-scale production; in 1911–1913, Swiss and American inventors developed shelf-stable processed cheese, profoundly changing global cheese consumption.
History of National Cheese Day
National Cheese Day has been going on for quite some time now and it has a rich background of fun and, well, cheese. The day was first established in 1914, with the origins being traced to Monroe, Wisconsin in the United States.
For more than 100 years, this day has been celebrated biennially (every other year) and there are a ton of different festivities that go on during this event in Monroe, WI. These have been known to include a two-hour parade, traditional Swiss-Germanic music (waltzes and polkas), club stands, crafts, carnival rides, restaurants, and local food to enjoy.
The event actually lasts for more than just National Cheese Day, but all weekend long where more than 100,000 people visit each time it is held. Check out the cheese day’s website for more information.For those unfortunate folks who don’t have the pleasure of living near Monroe, do a little bit of digging online to see if there are any events that are going on in a local town instead.
National Cheese Day is all about learning more about cheese, celebrating cheese, eating cheese–and not feeling guilty about it!
In addition, it’s about embracing this culinary delight, getting well educated about all things related to cheese, and trying out different recipes that incorporate this amazing ingredient.
What is not to like? Maybe it’s not for everyone, but National Cheese Day is certainly a day that meets with the approval of so many people all over the world!
Cheese Older Than Writing
The earliest solid evidence of cheese-making comes from perforated clay sieves found in today’s Poland, dated to about 7,000 years ago, which still contained milk-fat residues.
This puts cheese production at the very dawn of European farming, making it older than most known writing systems and showing that early farmers were already processing milk to make it more digestible and storable.
How Cheese Helped Humans Digest Milk
Most adults in early agricultural societies were lactose intolerant, yet they could eat cheese without getting sick.
Fermenting milk into cheese removes much of the lactose, and genetic studies suggest that widespread adult lactose tolerance in Europe developed thousands of years after dairying began, meaning cheese and other fermented dairy products likely acted as a nutritional “bridge” long before people could routinely digest fresh milk.
Microbes Are the Hidden Cheese-Makers
Every cheese relies on a carefully managed ecosystem of microbes, including lactic acid bacteria, molds, and yeasts that live on milk, in caves, and even on wooden boards.
Research using DNA sequencing has shown that the rind of a single cheese can harbor hundreds of microbial species, and the complex interactions among them shape everything from the holes in Swiss cheese to the blue veins in Roquefort.
Why Some Cheeses Smell Like Feet
The famously pungent aroma of washed-rind cheeses such as Limburger or Époisses comes from bacteria that are closely related to those living on human skin.
These microbes break down proteins and fats on the cheese surface into small, smelly molecules like sulfur compounds and short-chain fatty acids, which are the same types of compounds responsible for body odor.
The Science Behind Cheese “Stretchiness”
The gooey stretch of mozzarella on pizza is largely due to how its casein proteins realign during pasta filata, or “spun paste,” processing.
When the curd is heated in hot water and kneaded, the protein network becomes oriented in long strands that trap fat and moisture, which then melt and flow in the oven to produce those characteristic long, elastic cheese pulls.
Cheese as a Global Heavyweight Food
Cheese is one of the world’s most traded agricultural products, with global production exceeding 22 million metric tons a year, and the European Union and the United States together accounting for well over half.
The value of international cheese trade runs into tens of billions of dollars annually, reflecting its central role in everything from small farmhouse production to industrial-scale food processing.
Aging Cheese in Caves and Bunkers
Many traditional cheeses are aged in underground environments such as natural caves or man-made bunkers, where stable temperature and humidity conditions help control mold and bacterial growth.
From Roquefort’s limestone caves in France to repurposed military bunkers in Switzerland, these aging spaces create unique microclimates that contribute distinctive flavors and textures impossible to reproduce in standard warehouses.
