When researching the “art” of  cheese there were several interesting and fun facts that I stumbled across.  Here are just a few:

• The Pilgrims had cheese in their supplies on the Mayflower in 1620
• More than 8 billion pounds of cheese is produced every year
• There are nearly 2000 different varieties of cheese
• Cheese can be made from a variety of different milks including cow, sheep, goat, buffalo, horse and even camel 
• The world’s largest consumers of cheese include:

1.  Greece (63 pounds per person each year)
2. France (54 pounds)
3. Iceland (53 pounds)
4. Germany (48 pounds)
5. Italy (44 pounds)
6. Netherlands (40 pounds)
7. United States (31 pounds)
8. Australia (27 pounds)
9. Canada (26 pounds)

• The United States produces more than 25 percent of the world’s supply of cheese – approximately 9 billion pounds per year.  
• Processed American cheese was developed in 1915 by J. L. Kraft (founder of Kraft Foods) as an alternative to the traditional cheeses that had a short shelf life.
• Ounce of cheese is equivalent size to a dice
• All cheese rinds are edible…they may not taste great..but you can eat it
• Soft cheeses have less fat than hard cheeses…. because hard cheeses have less moisture, and therefore a higher percentage of fat
• Pizza Hut uses about 300 million pounds of cheese per year

 …so let’s keep eating those tasty cheeses!!!

Guest blog post contributed by Lesley Galloway

by the Editors of Publications International, Ltd., “TLC Cooking- Cheese Facts”, http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/cheese-facts.htm