Learn about the history of cheese. If you fortunate enough to be lactose tolerant, you've had the pleasure of indulging in cheese. Let's dig deeper into into origins.The history of cheese dates back to ancient times.The most common story is that an Arabian merchant discovered cheese accidentally while venturing across the desert about 7,000 years ago. The traveler had stored milk in a pouch which was made from an animal’s stomach.The pouch lining along with the heat caused the milk to separate into a hardened, curd like substance. He sampled the concoction and the concept of cheese was born. Thank goodness he wasn't lactose intolerant.Locals learned to strain and salt the cheese curds to allow for better preservation. The Romans became well known for their cheese practices and soon passed on that experience.While the actual dates of cheese making is blurry to this day, some milestones have been pin pointed.Milk-curdling vessels dating back to roughly 5,000 B.C., some of which have been found on the shores of a lake in Switzerland. The tombs of Egyptian pharaohs are said to contain traces of what many people believe to be cheese. Homemade varieties of cheese appeared in the 13th century. French villages would combine their milk and experiment with cheese. The farm based practices of cheese making continued up until 1815 when the first cheese factory was opened in Switzerland. Then in 1851, the first factory for cheese was born in the United States. The demand for processed cheese boomed, especially after the World War II era and now we are inundated with hundreds of varieties of cheese at supermarkets with most of their names incredibly hard to pronounce. So what say you - cheese is yuck or yum?