Scientists discovered world’s oldest cheese in China. Here’s what they learned
This 3,500-year-old cheese stands as one of the very few dairy products preserved
Photo: WIRED Middle East/Umang Sawkar
Chinese Scientists have discovered the world’s oldest (3,600-year-old) cheese sample alongside mummified human remains at Tarim in Xinjiang, China. It was found around the necks of the mummies at the Xiaohe cemetery, a Bronze Age site.
This has revealed the origins of kefir cheese, a fermented probiotic soft cheese made using yeast and bacterial culture. Although kefir cheese is quite common, little is known regarding its origin — until now. Almost 20 years ago, archeologists came across the mysterious white substance on mummies but were unable to verify their claims about it being fermented dairy products. This brings us to the present where technological advancements have allowed scientists to delve into uncovering the mystery. Ruminant DNA from the three samples studied highlighted that they contained similar ingredients and components to kefir cheese found now, like bacteria and fungi such as Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens and Pichia kudriavzevii.
Further uncovering that it was prepared using bovine and caprine milk. Qiaomei Fu the paper’s corresponding author and her team have also hypothesized that the method to make the cheese was quite different back then. Stating that the bovine milk and caprine milk were added separately in batches rather than being mixed together, which is how Greek and Middle Eastern cheeses are usually made. However, further data is required to confirm the hypothesis. It is noted that this production method reduced the lactose content notably, making dairy suitable for Xiaohe citizens who were lactose intolerant while increasing the shelf life of raw milk.
To delve deeper into how kefir spread the researchers utilized the phylogeny of the past and the modern Lactobacillus strain to track the evolution of probiotic bacteria and were able to trace it to the Tibetan group, which debunks that kefir originated from Russia or North Caucasus as known in the past. The renowned group of Lactobacillus from Russia is widely available and used in yogurt and cheese production in different countries in Europe, the US, and also Japan.
