Milk consumption followed shortly after the domestication of cattle which happened around 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East. 

Nutrients Link to the Nutrients heading

Milk contains:

• Protein (~3%)
  • 80% Casein 20% whey
    • Both complete proteins, casein is "slow release" and whey is faster
• Fat (~3-4%)
  • Saturated and unsaturated
•  Carbohydrates (~5%)
  • • Almost all in the form of lactose
•  Minerals and Vitamins (<1%)
  • • • Minerals: Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium 
      • Vitamins: B, C, A, K, D, E

Yogurt Link to the Yogurt heading

Yogurt is made by fermenting milk with specific bacterial cultures, typically Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. During the fermentation process, these bacteria consume lactose and produce lactic acid, which gives yogurt its tangy flavor. The lactic acid also helps to coagulate the milk proteins (casein), resulting in its thick texture.

Nutrients in Yogurt Link to the Nutrients in Yogurt heading

Some beneficials are added in the yogurt making process:

• Lactic acid
  • Can form soluable complexes with minerals as well, particularly calcium increasing its absoprtion
• Probiotic bacteria
  • Some survive the process and make it into our guts
• Vitamin K2
  • When Lactobacillus bulgaricus is used as the starter 
• Bioactive peptides
• Increase bioavailability of minerals
  • By lowering the pH and ionizing the minerals 

Cheese Link to the Cheese heading

Cheese is quite similar to yogurt except instead of just lactic acid bacteria consuming the carbohydrates and coagulating the casein other enzymes (usually chymosin) are also added which coagulate the casein even further. The process of the enzymes coagulating the casein is typically called curdling. These enzymes historically come from rennet which is found in the fourth stomach of baby cattle (calves, goats or lambs).

Today rennet can be microbial, plant based or animal based. Microbial rennet is from certain fungi or bacteria, and plant based rennet is typically made from thistle which contains an enzyme similar to chymosin. 

One theory for how cheese began to be made was by storing milk in containers made from animal stomachs, which is how the chymosin enzyme process was discovered, and milk curds were first made. 

Nutrients in Cheese Link to the Nutrients in Cheese heading

Cheese is essentially just condensed milk just like yogurt, with less carbohydrates. However some cheese making processes can add beneficials such as:

• Vitamin K2 is created in cheeses that are aged with Propionibacterium freudenreichii
  • Gouda, Brie, Cheddar, Blue, etc...
• Bioactive peptides are created while cheese ages by proteolytic enzymes
• Probiotic bacterias exist in some cheeses, typically soft fresh cheeses, but some aged cheeses can have them.
  • Mozzarella, Feta, Gouda, Cottage, Parmigiano, Some aged Cheddars, etc....

Resources Link to the Resources heading

• Jacob, M., Jaros, D., & Rohm, H. (2011). Recent advances in milk clotting enzymes. International Journal of Dairy Technology, 64(1), 14-33.
• Adolfsson, O., Meydani, S. N., & Russell, R. M. (2004). Yogurt and gut function. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 80(2), 245-256.
• Bronner, F., & Pansu, D. (1999). Nutritional aspects of calcium absorption. The Journal of Nutrition, 129(1), 9-12.
• Guarner, F., Perdigon, G., Corthier, G., Salminen, S., Koletzko, B., & Morelli, L. (2005). Should yoghurt cultures be considered probiotic? British Journal of Nutrition, 93(6), 783-786.
• Walther, B., Karl, J. P., Booth, S. L., & Boyaval, P. (2013). Menaquinones, bacteria, and the food supply: the relevance of dairy and fermented food products to vitamin K requirements. Advances in Nutrition, 4(4), 463-473.
• Shah, M. A., Mir, S. A., & Paray, M. A. (2014). Plant proteases as milk-clotting enzymes in cheesemaking: a review. Dairy Science & Technology, 94(1), 5-16.
• Choi, J., Sabikhi, L., Hassan, A., & Anand, S. (2012). Bioactive peptides in dairy products. International Journal of Dairy Technology, 65(1), 1-12.
• Patel, H., & Patel, S. (2015). Understanding the role of dairy in a healthy diet: Navigating the misconceptions and discussing the benefits. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 52(11), 6853-6857.
• Walther, B., Schmid, A., Sieber, R., & Wehrmüller, K. (2008). Cheese in nutrition and health. Dairy Science and Technology, 88(4-5), 389-405.
• Santiago-López, L., Aguilar-Toalá, J. E., Hernández-Mendoza, A., Vallejo-Cordoba, B., Liceaga, A. M., & González-Córdova, A. F. (2018). Bioactive compounds produced during cheese ripening and health effects associated with aged cheese consumption. Journal of Dairy Science, 101(5), 3742-3757.
• Yunita, D., & Dodd, C. E. R. (2018). Microbial community dynamics of a blue-veined raw milk cheese from the United Kingdom. Journal of Dairy Science, 101(6), 4923-4935.
• Walther, B., Chollet, M., Selfridge, J., Gille, D., Piccinali, P., Badertscher, R., ... & Schmid, A. (2019). Menaquinone (vitamin K2) content of various cheese types. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 82, 103236.
• Vermeer, C., Raes, J., van 't Hoofd, C., Knapen, M. H., & Xanthoulea, S. (2018). Menaquinone content of cheese. Nutrients, 10(4), 446.
• Fu, X., Harshman, S. G., Shen, X., Haytowitz, D. B., Karl, J. P., Wolfe, B. E., & Booth, S. L. (2017). Multiple vitamin K forms exist in dairy foods. Current developments in nutrition, 1(6), e000638.
• [Koba, K., & Yanagita, T. (2014). Health benefits of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Obesity research & clinical practice, 8(6), e525-e532.
• Dhiman, T. R., Nam, S. H., & Ure, A. L. (2005). Factors affecting conjugated linoleic acid content in milk and meat. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 45(6), 463-482.
• Kindstedt, P. S. (2012). Cheese and culture: a history of cheese and its place in western civilization. Chelsea Green Publishing.
• Fox, P. F., Guinee, T. P., Cogan, T. M., & McSweeney, P. L. (2017). Fundamentals of cheese science. Springer. 
• Salque, M., Bogucki, P. I., Pyzel, J., Sobkowiak-Tabaka, I., Grygiel, R., Szmyt, M., & Evershed, R. P. (2013). Earliest evidence for cheese making in the sixth millennium BC in northern Europe. Nature, 493(7433), 522-525.