cured feta, which is still an important cheese
type in the eastern Mediterranean and the
Balkans. The earliest good evidence of
cheesemaking known to date, a residue found
in an Egyptian pot, dates from around 2300
BCE.
The Ingredient Essential to Diverse
Cheeses: Time This basic technique of
curdling milk with the help of the stomach
extract now called rennet, then draining and
brining the curds, was eventually carried west
and north into Europe. Here people gradually
discovered that curds would keep well enough
in these cooler regions with much milder
treatments: a less puckery souring and only a
modest brining or salting. This was the
discovery that opened the door to the great
diversification of cheeses, because it
introduced a fifth ingredient after milk, milk
bacteria, rennet, and salt: time. In the
presence of moderate acidity and salt, cheese