Cheese is a solid food made from the curdled milk of cows, goats, sheep, or other mammals. The milk is curdled using some combination of rennet and acidification. Bacteria acidify the milk and play a role in defining the texture and flavor of most cheeses. Some cheeses also feature molds, either on the outer rind or throughout. There are hundreds of types of cheese. Different styles and flavors of cheese are the results of using different species of bacteria and molds, different levels of milk fat, variations in length of aging, and differing processing treatments. Cheeses are eaten raw or cooked, alone or with other ingredients. As they are heated, most cheeses melt and brown. Some cheeses melt smoothly, especially in the presence of acids or starch. Cheese fondue, with wine providing the acidity, is a good example of a smoothly-melted cheese dish. Other cheeses turn elastic and stringy when they melt, a quality that can be enjoyed in dishes like pizza. Some cheeses melt unevenly, their fats separating as they heat, while a few acid-curdled cheeses, including paneer and ricotta, do not melt at all and can become firmer when cooked.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1852: Count Cavour became the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, which soon expanded to become the Kingdom of Italy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Camillo_Benso_di_Cavour)

1869: Nature, one of the oldest and most reputable general purpose scientific journals, was first published. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_%28journal%29)

1918: The German Revolution began when forty-thousand sailors took over the port in Kiel. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Revolution)

1956: Soviet troops invaded Hungary to crush the Hungarian Uprising, killing thousands. Nearly a quarter million fled the country as refugees. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Hungarian_Revolution)

1979: Iranian radicals seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held the occupants hostage for 444 days. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"After looking at mothers-in-law and seeing sons-in-law — I always felt that the jokes were on the wrong ones. No sir, you can look through everything I ever did write or say, and you never did hear me tell a joke about any mother-in-law — or any creed, color or religion, either." -- Will Rogers (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Will_Rogers)