National Cheese Lovers Day: Behold The Power Of Cheese

Do you believe there is a day allocated to celebrate cheese every year? It’s true. January 20th has been the day to celebrate the creamy concoction in Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin also referred to as the Dairy state, has more than 1400 types and varieties of cheese.

Even in a state as big as Wisconsin, there is something always to love when it comes to cheese. 

The history of cheese can be transported back to history when people stored milk in sheep’s stomachs to preserve it during transportation of milk and when the milk has been stored in the sheep’s stomach for a substantial amount of time, people noticed the proteins in the milk started separating into curds. That’s how cheese originated thousands of years ago. 

Once this was found, several varieties of cheeses were experimented with and cheese was made in larger quantities and bigger hunks and cheese lovers experimented with different types of cheese. 

Since it was produced in bulk, a preservation method was required to e sure the bigger hunks did not go to waste. Salt was used as a preservative to save cheese from getting wasted.

Every Month With Cheese Days

Around $16 billion is generated in revenue every year through the sale of cheese. Such is the demand for cheese and the market of cheese lovers is huge. The calendar has around 18 dates, which are cheese specific in addition to National Cheese Lovers day.

It’s phenomenal to think how cheese plays a crucial role in people’s lives, which earned a spot for it in the calendar, not once but almost 18 times. 

February 10 is Cream cheese brownie day, March 5 is cheese doodle day, April 12 is Grilled cheese sandwich day, and May 18 is Cheese Souffle day, the entire June is a dairy month known for its cheese, specifically June 4 is remarked as cheese day. 

July 30 is celebrated as cheesecake day, August is known as Goat cheese month, September 20 is referred to as the String cheese day, October 9 is known as Moldy Cheese day, November 6 is known as Nachos day, and December 20, day known especially known for the combination of wine and cheese as they go together every time is popularly referred to as the Sangria Day.

Throughout the year, Cheese is celebrated. From January to December, every month has a date specifically allocated to celebrate cheese.

For cheese lovers to whom one day is not enough to celebrate their favorite food item, every month a specific variety of cheese was celebrated nationally.

The importance of cheese and the time it played in people’s everyday food made it a permanent part of the National Day Calendar, a calendar filled with cheesy celebrations.

The first cheese was created ages ago by chance when people didn’t know anything about cheese. Today, Cheese is used all over the world and is a main part of every food variety available.

The first variety of cheese can be dated back to 5500 BCE and today over 1400 varieties of cheese are available. Although there are a few chunks of people who have lactose intolerance and are issued out on cheese or a very few percent of the population that dislikes cheese, cheese has been one of the best ingredients found by people and it is suitable to be added to any food and make it extra delicious.

From your favorite pizzas to sauce cheese can be the best ingredient to be added to any of your favorite foods and this made people rejoice in National Cheese day.

Specialties Of Cheese

Cheese has a longer shelf life as compared to other food ingredients and it can be easily portable. Cheese is high in fat, protein, calcium, and phosphorus content.

As compared to perishable milk, Sheep which is a byproduct of milk is known for its longevity. To ensure it remains fresh to use bacteria, enzymes and fungi are added to cheese at multiple points to derive the taste, color, and texture of the cheese is always kept at a predetermined temperature, time, and moisture.

The importance of cheese and the respect cheese has in the state is phenomenal. Queen Victoria received a 1000-pound wheel of cheese as her wedding gift and this gives an insight into how much cheese is loved and devoured. 

Wisconsin has an old law where restaurants are mandatorily required to serve cheese with every meal and this love and respect towards cheese, made it require a National Celebration not just once but 12 times a year.

Last Friday, January 20 of 2023 was the National Cheese Day of the current year and millions of people worldwide celebrated the same.

Although it originated almost 7000 years ago, the demand and popularity that cheese has to date are unfathomable.

Over 1/3rd of the total milk production of the US has been allocated to cheese production making cheese a multi-billion dollar business.