The history of cheese is quite ancient, however, this product came to us almost in the form in which the ancient gods ate it. Of course, at the moment, the assortment of this product on the shelves of shops, supermarkets and markets is simply amazing, but this is mainly due to all kinds of additives. It has remained an ancient product made from cow's or goat's milk.
What is the use of cheese?
Nutritionists are very interested in this product, so they examined it more carefully. It turned out that in the process of cheese ripening, processes occur in it that are similar to the process of digesting milk by our body. But people use milk from the first days of life. Cheese is a product in which the minerals that our body needs are perfectly balanced. Despite the fact that it is a very fatty food product, it is absorbed very easily and does not become a source of an allergic reaction. Therefore, the benefits of cheese seem obvious. However, opinions may vary.
It is generally accepted that the best types are French, Austrian and Swiss cheeses. This may be due to the fact that local cows graze in excellent alpine meadows, absorb the greenest grass, and in the stalls listen to Mozart's symphonies and Strauss waltzes, which is why their milk is simply saturated with the smells of flowers and the sun. In the mountains of these places, and now there are many monasteries in which cheese has been dealt with for centuries, the secrets of these recipes were not disclosed. Many secrets are now considered to be the "highlight" of these monasteries. Monks produce their product in small quantities, so it is always kept in price and at a decent level.
A long time ago the monks noticed that when herbs are added to sour and squeezed milk, followed by smoking over the fire and soaking in brine, you can get a special taste. So it turned out to be feta cheese - the first primitive cheese, the benefits and harms of which are still striking. Then they began to add various substances to it, provide complex fermentation processes to achieve an incredible taste. The birth of many monastic secrets of cheese making is connected with these times. However, the monks were not aimed at conquering the world with their products, they made them for themselves. On the table of Europeans and Americans, such cheese, the harm of which is minimal, came not so long ago. You can also find such a product on the Russian market, but its cost is very high.
Cheese is one of the best dairy products of great value. In cheese, you can evaluate the concentration of all the beneficial properties of milk, and it contains a lot of protein, easily absorbed calcium, as well as vitamins A and B2. At the same time, it contains a lot of cholesterol and fat.
It is important to know how to choose quality cheese. When choosing hard and semi-hard grades, you must pay attention to the integrity of the crust, it should not crack, it should not have moisture droplets. The cheese should not have a white coating resembling mold; it should not smell like ammonia or other extraneous odors.
The benefits of blue cheese
Let's evaluate the market situation for this product. Now on the market the most important groups of monastery cheeses are presented: semi-hard, hard, blue, soft, with a penicillin crust and noble mold. Some of them were born a couple of centuries ago. They turned out to be so tasty that the monks had only to pass the recipe from generation to generation, without making any changes to it. Maybe the secret lies in the brine with which the cheese head is washed daily, somewhere they make it the monastery wine, and somewhere it’s the beer. The taste of the final product depends on the type and quality of the wash. Some cheeses, when ripe, are wrapped in a canvas rag that gives a special taste. The visiting card of the monastery is their crust, which has long been recognized by customers.
Not so long ago, monks began to produce soft cheeses with mold. Such a product is not to everyone's taste. The benefits of blue cheese have long been recognized by nutritionists, and the product itself is considered aristocratic. They are produced for a very long time, and the process itself is very expensive, because it is carried out manually. Usually only one type of noble mold is cultivated in cheese: blue or white penicillin. However, there is also a very original product that combines both types of mold. First, blue mold ripens inside, and then white appears outside.
Thus, we must understand that cheese is not only very tasty, but also extremely useful!