11 Things You Might Not Know About Cheese

Happy National Cheese Lover’s Day! Whether your thing is cream cheese, fancy cheese, spray cheese or night cheese, when it comes to this dairy product, there’s a whole lot to love. Here are 11 things you might not have contemplated about cheese—from royal-wedding cheese to the stinkiest cheese to couch-cushion cheese to the ultimate macaroni and cheese.

1. QUEEN VICTORIA RECEIVED A BEHEMOTH CHEESE AS A WEDDING PRESENT

During the celebration of her wedding to her first cousin Prince Albert in 1840, Queen Victoria received the gift of a 1250-pound, 9-foot-diameter cheddar. It was produced by a cooperative of cheesemakers from two villages, according to Steven W. Jenkins in Cheese Primer. “Perhaps baffled by how to serve it, she sent the cheese off on a tour of England,” Jenkins writes. “When attempts were made to return it to her, she refused to take it back.”

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HT My Spotted Cow deprived DC Insider who was right about Pope Francis meeting with Obama

Sir Patrick Stewart clarifying mooing accents of cows

via NPR  - The Audio player can be found here

Cow-d it really be? Have our ears herd this correctly? (Sorry, I can't help myself.)
Patrick Stewart — ahem, Sir Patrick Stewart — mooed up a storm on the podcast , impersonating cows from various regions. You might even say Stewart was code-switching.

A listener who says she moos with "kind of an American, Nevadan accent" posed the question: Just how would a person moo in a British accent? (And, by the way, it's true: .)

Sir Patrick Stewart steered the listener in the right direction with this response:

"It's not a simple, straightforward answer unlike, probably, any other country where cows moo as cows moo. In England, we're dominated by class, by social status and by location. So, for example, a cow that is in the field next to my house in West Oxfordshire would moo in one kind of way, and a cow in a field in the semi-industrial town I grew up in in the North of England would moo in another kind of way."

He continued to udder:

"Well, if I were at home in West Oxfordshire right now and I walked down my lane ... and I say, 'Hi, good morning, cows. And they would moo at me like this: 'Mooooooouhh.' Now that's a very conservative moo ... "

Want to ruminate more on Sir Patrick Stewart's code-switchy moos? , and if it behooves you, .

Utterly hilarious.  

When milk is not milk: Dairy Industry Pushing To Expand Definition Of ‘Milk’

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – Good old-fashioned milk – packed with protein, calcium and micronutrients – has landed in the middle of a food fight with sugary sodas, sports drinks, even bottled water.

Overall, sales of milk are down a whopping 25 percent since 1975. The dairy industry is now trying to rise to the top with a new plan that focuses on flavored milk like chocolate, strawberry or vanilla.

The plan leaves some with a sour taste in their mouth. The desired target is kids, and while children can greatly benefit from the nutrients in milk, nutritionists are not in support of the plan.

According to a petition filed with the FDA, this plan would change the very definition of what milk is. It would change what’s called the “standard of identify” for milk and for 17 other dairy products.

“The dairy industry is simply interested in selling more products – that’s all they’re interested in. They want to sell more milk,” said Professor Marion Nestle, Nestle is the Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, and author of many books on food, politics and public health.

The change would allow dairy producers to add artificial sweeteners to flavored milk without having to clearly say so on the front. Flavored Milk that is currently sweetened with artificial sweeteners would no longer be called a dairy drink, but milk.

Imagine if you’re shopping: under the proposal, a bottle of low-calorie chocolate milk would look just like a bottle of regular chocolate milk from the front. The only difference would be noticeable on the back of the product, under the ingredient list. And the artificial sweetener would not be listed as the well-known brand names but as their scientific names. According to some nutritionists, that will make it very difficult for consumers, parents and kids to know what they are buying.

continue at CBS San Fran

Meanwhile in Wisconsin, it is illegal to purchase raw milk, something that hopefully will be remedied soon.

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Milk may be legalized in Wisconsin...

Another attempt to legalize the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk to Wisconsin consumers could be coming in the state Legislature.

Thursday, several key legislators said they favored reviving a raw milk bill that was vetoed in 2010 by former Gov. Jim Doyle.

That bill, which passed the Senate and the Assembly, would have legalized raw milk sales when done by permit through on-farm sales.

Advocates say raw milk contains nutrients, enzymes and bacteria that boost the immune system and can prevent allergies.

Opponents say it can carry bacteria that can sicken or kill people.

Consumers should be able to decide whether the health benefits outweigh the risks, according to legislators who favor legalizing raw milk sales.

"I think the message in the election was for less government," said Sen. Glenn Grothman, (R-West Bend.)

"I also think there is a strong segment of very conservative people who drink raw milk," he added.

Currently the legislature is focused on jobs and the budget.

But raw milk legislation could surface after a state task force studying the issue makes its recommendations in early February.

 JSOnline

Last year both House and Assembly passed this same measure only to have Doh-yle veto it.