Cheese block

On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Cheeses in cheese block: Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels, Clara Peeters, c.

Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Over a thousand types of cheese exist and are produced in various countries. For a few cheeses, the milk is curdled by adding acids such as vinegar or lemon juice. Cheese is valued for its portability, long shelf life, and high content of fat, protein, calcium, and phosphorus.

Cheese is more compact and has a longer shelf life than milk, although how long a cheese will keep depends on the type of cheese. The word cheese itself is occasionally employed in a sense that means “molded” or “formed”. Head cheese uses the word in this sense. Cheese is an ancient food whose origins predate recorded history.