The odd discovery provides new insights into ancient dairy practices and the origin of kefir.
: the oldest cheese in the world has been found smeared on the heads and necks of 3,600-year-old mummies in China’s Tarim Basin, surpassing the age of a cheese identified in the tomb of an Ancient Egyptian mayor by several hundred years.
The cheese on the mummies is kefir cheese, which is made by using yeast and probiotic bacteria to separate curd and whey. Researchers discovered the cheese on the mummies a couple decades ago, and suspected it was a fermented dairy product, but weren’t exactly sure.
“Our observation suggests kefir culture has been maintained in Northwestern China’s Xinjiang region since the Bronze Age,” Fu said.
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