Mexico has excellent cheeses which I will discuss. But first let's understand something of the b... Cheese, if you please...
It would appear that the world's first fermented dairy products came about not by deliberate experimentation (this was, after all, only the very beginning of organized agriculture) but rather quite by accident when the people of Iraq attempted to store or dry milk in order to preserve it. Bacterial growth and acid production occurred in the warm dry climate and this fortuitous combination of events produced a kind of cheese.
As civilization spread across the Middle East, Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire, the manufacturing of cheese spread as well. There are written references to cheese in the Old Testament, in some tombs in Ancient Egypt and in classical Greek literature. By the time of the Roman Empire, cheese production was well established and was a standard item issued to Roman soldiers. With the vast movement of Roman armies, cheese became known throughout Europe. The Romans even established cheese making in Britain.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the most important sources for cheese making were the European monasteries which made notable contributions to the advancement of agriculture, especially in the areas of wine and cheese. Many of the cheeses we consume today were developed in these monasteries.
The colonization by European settlers of North and South America, Oceania and Africa further expanded the manufacturing of cheese. Most of the cheeses they made were of European origin modified to local conditions.
However, cheese making until quite recently was more of an art than a science. Cheeses were made locally as farmstead enterprises and procedures were not standardized until there was more knowledge of the chemistry and microbiology of milk and cheese. The first cheese factory in the United States wasn't established until 1851, and in Britain until 1870.
Much of the difference in cheese resides in the species from which the milk comes. Cheese is produced from milk from cows, sheep, goats and occasionally buffalo, and the composition of the milk is different in each species. There are also large differences in milk composition among breeds of cattle, by far the most important source of cheese, and this influences the quality of the cheese produced.
Cheese making has always seemed to me to be a rather complicated process unless you have actually seen it being made, but basically the steps are the following: Most natural cheese is made by separating the milk solids from the whole milk (or occasionally both milk and cream are used, as is skim milk) through curdling, usually with either rennet or a bacterial culture or sometimes both. The curds (semisolids) are then separated from the whey (liquid), which is drained off. The curds are formed into characteristic shapes and at this point these cheeses are called called fresh or unripened cheeses. Mexico has many of these.
In order to become ripened or aged cheeses, the drained curds undergo a variety of processes including being subjected to heat, bacteria and soaking. The curds can be flavored with herbs or spices and some are colored with natural dye. Once they are cured, they are left to ripen under conditions of controlled temperatures and moisture.
Ripened cheeses reach full flavor and texture. They last longer than unripened ones which are generally high in moisture and cannot be kept for very long within the category of ripened there is very hard (Parmesan), firm (Cheddar, Edam, Swiss), semisoft (Bel Paese, Port de Salut), and soft (Brie, Camembert). Unripened cheese is either soft (cream and cottage cheese), or slightly firm (mozzarella). There is also a category of blue-vein mold ripened cheese such as blue, Roquefort and Stilton.
Ripened cheese should be stored in the refrigerator in the cheese compartment, or warmest location. It should be tightly wrapped to keep out air plastic wrap is best. Most ripened cheese will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Hard cheese will keep indefinitely. These cheeses can be frozen, but often the texture changes. Fresh cheese should also be tightly wrapped but stored in the coldest part of the refrigerator. It lasts about two weeks. If ripened cheese develops mold, it does not have to be thrown away. Just scrape it off. Fresh cheese that develops mold should be discarded.
When I first came to Mexico from Canada, I was used to strong cheeses. Mexican cheeses tasted bland to me until I got used to them and now I actually prefer them (except for the occasional chance I get to eat a really great French cheese or my favorite Stilton). There are many large-scale commercially made cheeses, but there are also still many small-scale regionally made cheeses, as well as those made in small villages. These last cheeses are fresh white farmer cheeses (queso fresco) made from partly skimmed cow's milk. In many areas these cheeses are simply left to age by drying and these become queso añejo. Unfortunately, as they are perishable, they are not widely available outside Mexico.
This is cache, read story here