10 cheese facts every turophile should know

Are you someone who cannot live without cheese? Who thinks a sandwich is not a sandwich unless it contains cheese? Who believes a wedge of cheese is the best appetiser? Then read on. Here are 10 facts every cheese lover should know. Take note!

What is turophilia?

If you recognised yourself in the introduction, you are a turophile! Do not worry: that does not have to mean anything bad. Turophilia simply means a love of or passion for cheese. Cheese lovers are therefore known as turophiles.

Did you know the word turophilia comes from Classical Greek? It combines tyros, meaning “cheese”, and philos, meaning “love of”.

Where does the Spanish word queso come from?

There are several theories about the origin of the word queso. It is known to come from the Latin caseus, but explaining the origin of that word is more difficult.

It may come from capsa, meaning box: the mould used to shape the cheese. The word for “shape” also gives rise to the French word for cheese, fromage, and the Italian formaggio.

Another possible origin is casere sero, meaning without whey.

Finally, it could come from coaxeus, meaning curd, because cheese is coagulated milk.

The world’s most expensive cheese is Spanish

Yes, you read that correctly. The world’s most expensive cheese comes from Spain, specifically Asturias. It was a two-kilogram Cabrales cheese auctioned in August 2019 for a total of 14,500 euros. The amount was so high that it appears in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive cheese in the world and in history.

The world’s largest cheese

Can you guess where the world’s largest cheese comes from? Spain too! A company in Gran Canaria made it using more than a thousand litres of milk. The cheese weighs 174 kilograms in total.

The cheese that won over Don Quixote

In his great work Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes expressed his passion for traditional foods. In the second part, specifically chapter 66, he wrote:

“I have also eaten Tronchón cheese. If your honour would like a little drink, though warm, it is pure: here I carry a gourd full of the costly kind, with I know not how many slices of Tronchón cheese, which will serve to summon and awaken thirst, should it happen to be sleeping.”

Tronchón cheese is a variety from the Aragonese municipality of Tronchón that spread throughout the rest of Spain over the years. It is made from raw or pasteurised sheep’s milk from Aragón, is circular, and has a flower design on its rind.

Do you know which cheese is the most popular?

The world’s most popular cheese, the one consumed most, is mozzarella. That does not surprise us, as it is the basis of pizza.

Among Spanish people, the most popular is sheep’s milk cheese. It is also one of the most widely sold to other countries.

Which country produces the most cheese?

The list of the world’s largest cheese producers is led by the United States, with 30% of global production. Germany is second and France third.

And where is the most cheese eaten?

For consumption per person, the winner is Greece. More than 27 kilograms are consumed per person each year, and the Greeks’ favourite cheese is feta.

People in the Canary Islands eat the most cheese

In Spain, people in the Canary Islands consume the most cheese each year, averaging nine kilograms per person. They are followed by Murcia, Valencia and Asturias.

More than two thousand varieties of cheese

Did you know there are more than two thousand types of cheese worldwide? The most widely consumed are mozzarella, Cheddar, Parmesan and Brie.

In Spain, there are more than two hundred types of cheese, including twenty-six cheeses with Protected Designation of Origin status.

Why are cheeses round?

These wonderful foods are round mainly because that was the easiest way to transport them. Today, cheeses come in different shapes, including squares and rectangles.