World’s Oldest Cheese Discovered, Dating Back 3,600 Years

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have identified the world’s oldest cheese, dating back approximately 3,600 years, New Atlas reported. This remarkable find was made from organic matter discovered alongside Bronze Age mummies in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China.

DNA analysis revealed the substance to be kefir cheese, containing cow and goat DNA, as well as the bacterium Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, crucial for probiotic health.

Qiaomei Fu, a lead researcher, emphasized the rarity of preserving food items like cheese over millennia, offering insights into ancient diets and cultures. The study suggests that kefir culture has existed in Northwestern China since the Bronze Age, challenging previous beliefs that kefir originated in the North Caucasus.

The findings were published in the journal Cell.