16 Unbelievable Facts About the World’s Favorite Cheese

16 UNBELIEVABLE FACTS ABOUT THE WORLD'S FAVOURITE CHEESES WITH HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT TYPES AND THOUSANDS OF VARIATIONS, CHEESE IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR DAIRY PRODUCTS IN THE WORLD. HERE IS A SELECTION OF SOME ICONIC CHEESES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE, ALONG WITH SOME UNBELIEVABLE CHEESE FACTS BLUE STILTON CUISINE: BRITISH DISH: STILTON, PEAR AND WALNUT SALAD TRIVIA: DANIEL DEFOE, THE CLASSIC WRITER AND SPY, ONCE REFERRED TO IT AS ENGLISH PARMESAN. IN THE EARLY 18 TH CENTURY IT WAS SERVED WITH MAGGOTS AND MITES CAMEMBERT CUISINE: FRENCH DISH: BAKED CAMEMBERT TRIVIA: CAMEMBERT WAS FAMOUSLY PART OF RATIONS GIVEN TO FRENCH SOLDIERS DURING WW1. THE SOLDIERS ALSO COINED THE EXPRESSION "FOIRER DANS LE CAMEMBERT"- MEANING "MADE A BALLS-UP IN CAMEMBERT" TO DESCRIBE UNEXPLODED SHELLS ROUMY CHEESE CUISINE: EGYPTIAN DISH: FITEER TRIVIA: CHEESE-MAKING IN EGYPT GOES BACK 5000 YEARS MONTEREY JACK CUISINE: AMERICAN DISH: BEEF BURGERS TRIVIA: ACCORDING TO THE CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, THE AVERAGE AMERICAN CONSUMES 23 POUNDS OF CHEESE A YEAR QUESO PARA FREIR CUISINE: CARIBBEAN DISH: MACARONI CHEESE PIE TRIVIA: IN THE 17TH CENTURY, SLAVES ON THE CARIBBEAN ISLAND CURACÃO WOULD STUFF DISCARDED DUTCH CHEESE-RIND WITH OTHER FOODS TO CREATE EXQUISITE DISHES FETA CUISINE: GREEK DISH: SPANAKOPITA (SPINACH PIE) TRIVIA: THE EARLIEST MENTION OF FETA WAS A BYZANTINE POEM IN WHICH IT WAS CALLED PROSPHATOS, LITERALLY MEANING "FRESH" OR "RECENT" KASHKAVAL (SIRENE) CUISINE: EASTERN EUROPEAN (BULGARIA) DISH: SHOPSKA SALATA (SALAD) TRIVIA: ACCORDING TO LEGEND, KHAN ASPURAH AND HIS CAVALRY TRANSPORTED THEIR MILK IN LEATHER SKINS ON HORSEBACK AND ACCIDENTLY CREATED CHEESE PANEER CUISINE: INDIAN DISH: MATAR PANEER TRIVIA: CHEESE IN INDIA CAN BE TRACED BACK TO THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION AND WAS MENTIONED IN ANCIENT HINDU SCRIPTURES (VEDAS). THE ARYANS, WHO REVERED CATTLE, MADE IT A TABOO TO CURDLE MILK PARMESAN CUISINE: ITALIAN DISH: MELANZANA ALLA PARMIGIANA (AUBERGINE PARMIGIANA) TRIVIA: THE ITALIANS HAVE OVER 300 VARIETIES OF CHEESE, SOME OF WHICH CAN BE TRACED BACK TO ROMAN TIMES SAKURA CHEESE CUISINE: JAPANESE DISH: TYPICALLY EATEN WITH CHERRY BLOSSOM PICKLE AND SALT TRIVIA: THIS SOFT CHEESE IS INFUSED WITH MOUNTAIN CHERRY LEAVES, HENCE THE NAME SAKURA (CHERRY BLOSSOM). IT WON GOLD IN THE 2004 MOUNTAIN CHEESE OLYMPICS QUESO BLANCA CUISINE: MEXICAN DISH: QUESADILLAS TRIVIA: PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF EUROPEANS, CHEESE-MAKING WAS AN UNKNOWN CRAFT IN CENTRAL AMERICA JARLSBERG CUISINE: NORWEGIAN DISH: CHEESE ON TOAST TRIVIA: THE EXACT METHOD OF MAKING JARLSBERG IS CONSIDERED A NATIONAL SECRET IN NORWAY. IT WAS NAMED AFTER THE NORWEGIAN ARISTOCRAT, COUNT WEDEL JARLSBERG AZEITAO CUISINE: PORTUGUESE DISH: CHEESE AND CRACKERS TRIVIA: THIS CHEESE WAS FIRST CREATED BY GASPAR HENRIQUES DE PAIVA, A FARMER WHO MOVED AWAY FROM HIS PLACE OF BIRTH TO AZEITAO. HE LONGED FOR THE SOFT CHEESE OF HIS HOME REGION MANCHECO CUISINE: SPANISH DISH: TAPAS TRIVIA: TRADITIONALLY, THE DISTINCTIVE ZIG-ZAG PATTERN FOUND ON MANCHEGO RIND WAS CREATED BY PRESSING THE CURD IN ESPARTO GRASS BASKETS RUSHAN CUISINE: CHINESE (REGION OF YUNNAN) DISH: TYPICALLY ENJOYED AS A FRIED SNACK TRIVIA: MOST CHINESE PEOPLE AREN'T FOND OF CHEESE. SO THE BAI PEOPLE OF THE YUNNAN REGION ARE CULINARY OUTLIERS BEYAZ PEYNİR CUISINE: TURKISH DISH: TURKISH BREAKFAST TRIVIA: ALTHOUGH THERE ARE MANY DELICIOUS AND UNIQUE CHEESES TO BE FOUND IN TURKEY, THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES AREN'T PARTICULARLY PASSIONATE ABOUT CHEESE, AND THE UNIQUE VARIETIES ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN TO THEM capeportfolios