Have you often lain awake at night, wishing that you knew more about cheese? Fear not! Your prayers have been answered; below you will find 18 of the most delicious cheese facts, all taken from Michael Tunick’s recent book The Science of Cheese. Prepare to be the envy of everyone at your next dinner party – just try not to be too “cheesy”. Bon Appétit!
- The world’s most expensive cheese comes from a Swedish moose farm and the cheese sells for £300 a pound.
- You can’t make cheese entirely from human milk since it won’t coagulate properly.
- The largest cheese ever made was a Cheddar weighing 56,850 pounds, in 1989.
- 97% of British people are ‘Lactose Persistent’ and are the most lactose tolerant population in the world.
- Genuine Flor de Guia cheese must be made in the Canary Islands by women, otherwise it won’t be considered the genuine article.
- The expression “cheesy” used to mean first-rate, but sarcastic use of the word has caused it to mean the opposite.
- The bacteria used for smear-ripened cheeses are closely related to the bacteria that generates sweaty feet odour.
- Cheese as we know it today was (accidentally) discovered over 8,000 years ago when milk separated into curds and whey.
- Edam was used as cannonballs (and killed two soldiers) in a battle between Montevideo and Buenos Aires in 1841.
- An odour found in tomcat urine is considered desirable in Cheddar.
- Each American adult consumes an average of 33 pounds of cheese each year.
- Descriptions of the defects in the eyes of Swiss-type cheeses include the terms “blowhole” and “frogmouth”.
- There are over 1,265,000 dairy cows in the US state of Wisconsin alone.
- A northern Italian bank uses Parmesan as loan collateral.
- Sardinia’s Cazu Marzu, which means ‘rotten cheese’, is safe to eat only if it contains live maggots.
- Cheese consumption in the United Kingdom is at a measly 24.0 pounds per capita.
- This cheese consumption isn’t even close to Greece who lead the way with a whopping 68.4 pounds per capita.
- Dmitri Mendeleev was a consultant on artisanal cheese production while he was also inventing the periodic table of the elements.
All of these cheese facts are taken from The Science of Cheese. The Science of Cheese is an engaging tour of the science and history of cheese, and the only book to discuss the actual chemistry, biology, and physics of cheese making. Author Michael Tunick is a research chemist with the Dairy and Functional Foods Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.
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Image credit: Weichkaese Soft Cheese. Photo by Eva K. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
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5 Stars Psst! If you are a kid, come closer. If you’re not a kid, stop reading! Right now. We’re not kidding. This book is FOR KIDS ONLY. Okay, now here’s what’s inside: Open to any page and find fascinating facts and brain-building activities guaranteed to make you smarter, funnier, more interesting, and better [...]
By Dennis Baron
The Web of Language is five years old today.
The first post—“Farsi Farce: Iran to deport all foreign words”—appeared on August 17, 2006, which in digital years makes it practically Neolithic. To protest American meddling in the Middle East, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad banned all foreign words from Farsi: pizza would become “elastic bread,” and internet
Kathy Stempke has a newsletter for teachers, parents and kids with ideas to prevent the next generation of couch potatoes.
Go to http://educationtipster.blogspot.com/ and sign up for this wonderful newsletter. It is full of ideas for getting children moving more than just their thumbs on a video game, and it is free. Parents will appreciate this on those rainy days when everyone is playing indoors and getting grumpy. The kids will too.
Shari ;o)
So, I'm sitting here at my computer, and I have lots of ideas for posts scribbled down in fits of creative haste, but none of them are really speaking to me tonight. That's really too bad, 'cause some of them are fantastic. I have no idea why we're not on speaking terms this evening. I swear I never looked at any other ideas today, honest... but I digress. Anyway, take heart! Serendipity has stepped in, and a great idea has surfaced as a direct result of two eureka moments: One - I'm in a research mood, and Two - I noticed an increase in Australian readers of late. So, I looked up some Fun Facts About Australia, and there's a ton of information out there. Here are a few of the more interesting facts I dug up:
In 1832, three hundred female Convicts at the Cascade Female Factory mooned - yes, you read that right: mooned - the Governor of Tasmania during a chapel service. It has been said that in a "rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor's party could not control their laughter."
There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia, but only about 20 million people.
The Great Barrier Reef has a mailbox. (Yes, an actual mailbox. Only one. And, you can ferry on out there and mail a postcard with the world's only Great Barrier Reef stamp.)
In 1838, it was declared illegal to swim at public beaches during the day. This law remained in effect until 1902.
Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world.
The second-largest population of Greeks in the world resides in Melbourne, Australia - second only to Athens, Greece.
Australia is the world's largest inhabited island AND the world's smallest and least populated continent - both at the same time!
It was an Australian meteorologist who first gave women's names to tropical storms, beginning in the late 19th century.
Australians from Queensland are called "banana benders," and those from Western Australia are referred to as "sand gropers."
Australia Day is celebrated on January 26, marking the anniversary of ships arriving in Sydney carrying a load of convicts.
On July 17, 1924, the world's first society of cartoonists, the Black and White Artists' Society, was formed in Sydney.
Emus and kangaroos appear on the Australian coat of arms precisely due to their inability to walk backward.
No part of Australia is more than 1000 km from the ocean and a beach. (That's about 621 miles or so.)
Well, that's all I have time for tonight. Here are my sources - check 'em out:
I'm sure there are lots of other totally cool and fun facts out there that I didn't find about Australia. Leave me a comment with any interesting tidbits you know of...
To celebrate the holidays we asked some of our favorite people in publishing what their favorite book was. Let us know in the comments what your favorite book is and be sure to check back throughout the week for more “favorites”.
Jaime Morganstern is an associate publicist at Planned Television Arts.
I remember asking my mom one day for a book she could recommend to me, preferably by an author with a few other books I would also enjoy. She handed me Love Story by Erich Segal. Little did I know that this would become my favorite book and I would soon read all the author’s other novels. (more…)
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"PRAIRIE DOG'S PLAY DAY"
Thanks, Shari. I appreciate the promotion.
Kathy
I think a lot of parents will be glad to have this information.
Shari