Cheese was a mining byproduct. By 1903 a market for it had been found or created, but as late as 1895, mining concerns were still dumping it in northern Ontario lakes and streams, many of which remain mortally toxic today.
Silver miners in the Cobalt area -- where for years that town's namesake had also been deemed of no value and cast aside -- had the inspired idea to hide untold tons of cheese slag in played-out mines. When public attitudes changed, and with them the price of raw (unrefined) curds, these became the first premium "cave-aged" gourmet cheeses produced in North America.
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Cheese was a mining byproduct. By 1903 a market for it had been found or created, but as late as 1895, mining concerns were still dumping it in northern Ontario lakes and streams, many of which remain mortally toxic today.
Silver miners in the Cobalt area -- where for years that town's namesake had also been deemed of no value and cast aside -- had the inspired idea to hide untold tons of cheese slag in played-out mines. When public attitudes changed, and with them the price of raw (unrefined) curds, these became the first premium "cave-aged" gourmet cheeses produced in North America.
It's all in my book.
Looks like you guys were hoarding the maple syrup in barrels, even back then.
I visited a cousin in Bellingham, WA once and her husband referred to Canadians as "cheeseheads".
"Why do you call them cheeseheads?" I asked.
"Because they ARE cheeseheads," he explained.
This was back in the '80's, maybe his opinions have changed since then.
Don in Oregon
Mined by Swiss immigrants no doubt
"Cheeseheads" I thought referred to people from Wisconsin but hey, could have been knuckleheads, pinheads...:-)
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