"There's no doubt that cheese is one of the most varied and well-loved foods in the world. The taste can be bland, buttery, rich, creamy, pungent, sharp, salty, light or delicate. The texture can be hard, soft and runny or between these two extremes. In aroma, cheese can be delicately aromatic, overpowering or virtually unnoticeable. With such a diverse selection, it’s hardly that anyone dislike cheese. Part of the fascination with cheese stems from the amazing diversity that is created out of a single product - milk. Mostly made from cow’s milk, some from the milk of other animals such as goat, water buffalo, sheep or even donkeys and horses.

There is no conclusive evidence indicating where cheese making originated, most cheese authorities and historians consider that cheese was first made in the Middle East. The legendary story has it that cheese was discovered by an unknown Arabian nomad. He is said to have filled a saddlebag with milk to sustain him through the journey across the dessert by horse. After several hours of riding he stopped to quench his thirst only to find that the milk has separated into a pale watery liquid and solid white lumps. Because the saddlebag, which was made from the stomach of a young animal, contained a coagulating enzyme known as rennin, the milk had been effectively separated into curds and whey by the combination of the rennin, the hot sun and the galloping motions of the horse.

In reality, it still isn’t known exactly when or where cheese was first made. However, archaeologists have discovered Egyptian tomb murals dating back to 2000 BC depicting butter and cheese being made and other murals showed milk being suspended from poles. This only demonstrate that the Egyptians already had knowledge of dairy cultivation at that time. Taking it a step further, the Romans had a huge influence in cheese making. In fact, they were instrumental in introducing cheese to Europe and England. Written evidence clearly shows that the Romans were quick to develop cheese making into fine art. They made cheese with such skill and knowledge, developing the ripening process and discovering various treatments and storage conditions that resulted in different characteristics and flavours. Thus, Rome’s cheese making expertise spread wherever their empire extended.

Despite being around for so long, many parts of Asia still have reservations with cheese. In Hong Kong though, cheese is surely gaining more and more popularity amongst local food lovers. Earlier this year, a series of cheese appreciation nights held at Classified The Cheese Room and conducted by Neal’s Yard Dairy cheese specialist Lucy Watson clearly demonstrated Hong Kong’s growing interest in cheese. The program consisted of an introduction to cheese history and cheese making, tasting of different cheese varietals and dinner highlighting a selection of cheese. These cheese appreciation nights sold out almost immediately and had to be extended to accommodate more guests.

Classified The Cheese Room houses Asia's first walk-in, humidity controlled cheese room with cheeses imported from the most famous cheese mongers such as NYD in London and Jean d'Alos in France, both being standard setters in their field. The shop also offer a specially curated, international selection of wines from around the world to complement the cheeses. Both wine and cheese, with their centuries-old traditions are products that are frequently consumed together. There are no hard and strict rules about which wine should be selected to accompany a particular cheese as the best selections are almost always based on individual tastes.

Looking back, cheese has really come a long way. In times past, the method of transforming milk into cheese was kept a closely-guarded secret for many years. In ancient Egypt, for example, only priests were honored with this secret. So the next time you crave for cheese, isn’t it a privilege for us to have such an astonishing cheese selection so easily accessible? Let’s appreciate cheese for all it is!"