Cheese

Since prehistoric times, humans have been making and eating cheese. Dating back as far as 6,000 BC, archaeologists have discovered that cheese had been made from cow and goat milk and stored in tall jars. The Romans turned cheese making into a culinary art, mixing sheep and goat milk and adding herbs and spices for flavoring. By 300 AD, cheese was being exported regularly to countries along the Mediterranean coast.

Cheese is made from the milk of cows and other mammals such as sheep, goats, buffalo, reindeer, camels, yaks, and mares. More than 400 varieties of cheese exist. There are three basic steps common to all cheese making. First, proteins in milk are transformed into curds, or solid lumps. Second, the curds are separated from the milky liquid (or whey) and shaped or pressed into molds. Finally, the shaped curds are ripened according to a variety of aging and curing techniques. Cheeses are usually grouped according to their moisture content into fresh, soft, semi-soft, hard, and very hard cheeses, with many classifications overlapping due to texture changes with aging.

Cheese is a multi-billion dollar a year industry in the US. Cheddar cheese is the most common natural cheese produced in the US, accounting for 35% of US production. Cheeses originating in America include Colby, cream cheese, and Monterey Jack. Varieties other than American cheeses, mostly Italian, now have had a combined level of production that easily exceeds American cheeses. Annual cheese consumption in the US totals about 29 pounds per person.

Prices – Cheese prices in 2003 rallied to an average of 131.0 cents per pound from 118.2 cents in 2002. The average price of cheese in 2003 was mildly below the 10-year average price of about 135.0 cents. Cheese prices in 2003 recovered from the very weak years seen in 2000 (116.1 cents) and 2002 (118.2 cents), which were the lowest prices seen since 1975.

Supply – US production of cheese in 2003 was on track to fall slightly to 8.595 billion pounds, down from 8.599 billion in 2002. The 2002 production level of 8.599 billion was an all-time record high for the US cheese industry. World production of cheese in 2002 rose to 12.680 million metric tons from 12.421 million in 2001. The US is the world’s largest producer of cheese with 29.9% of world production in 2002, followed by France (13.7%), and Germany (9.0%).

Trade – US imports of cheese in 2002 rose to 475 million pounds from 445 million in 2001. US exports of cheese in rose to 119 million pounds in 2002 from 115 million pounds in 2001.