Saturday 05 / July / 2025
“Give me a good sharp knife and a good sharp cheese and I’m a happy man.” George R.R. Martin's words explain why January 20 is celebrated as Cheese Lovers' Day.
Do you know how this decadent delight was created? If you are thinking a whole lot of effort was used for its invention, you are highly mistaken.
Cheese was created over 4,000 years ago-by accident and it wouldn't have been discovered if it weren’t for a mistake. It so happened that milk was accidently stored in a container lined with an animal’s stomach. An enzyme from the stomach caused the milk to separate into liquid and solids and that's how cheese was discovered. And since then, it continues to be one of our favourite ingredients.
Earlier cheese was stored in caves for ageing and flavour. The cool and humid climate is conducive for cheese to age properly. While in Europe cheesemakers used natural caves, in America these caves were manmade where one could regulate the temperatures and humidity levels to the exact specifications. When it comes to cheese several world records have been made world wide.
On September 2, 2016, Philippe Marchand of France, set the world record for having the largest display of cheese varieties. Philippe had 730 different types of cheese on display in a really long refrigerated tent.
There were a total of 2,140 cheeses on display. Troy Landwehr's giant cheese carving received its Guinness World Record for largest cheese sculpture. It weighed 691.27 kilograms. And that's not all. The largest cheesecake was made by Philadelphia Cream Cheese that weighed 3,129.787 kilograms.The giant cheesecake was wider than a king-sized mattress.
Cheese Lovers' Day is the perfect time for cheese connoisseurs to celebrate their favourite cheese, taste the new ones or even try learning to make your own. You can also try making your favourite cheese-based recipe. As long as it involves cheese your celebration is on.
