In times past, many cheese makers looked to nature for materials that today they can order from catalogs. They relied on airborne bacteria, not purchased cultures, to ferment the milk.
They made their own rennet instead of buying it. They harvested ferns to wrap fresh cheeses and protect them from flies, and they wove local grasses into baskets to drain the curds.
A thin strip of tree bark, rendered pliable by boiling, could be wrapped around a cheese to preserve its shape as the wheel ripened and softened.
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