Suffolk Bang facts for kids
Suffolk Bang was a very hard cheese made a long time ago in a place called Suffolk, England. It was made from milk that had its cream taken out, which is called skimmed milk. Because of this, the cheese was known for being super hard and not very tasty. To make it last longer, a lot of salt was added to it.
A Cheese with a Long History
People started talking about this hard Suffolk cheese way back in the 1500s. Even then, it was being sent all the way to London. The cheese traveled by sea, and this trade continued for many years. For example, in 1740, about 985 tons of Suffolk Bang were sold to London!
However, things changed in the early 1800s. The price of grain, like wheat, became very high. Farmers in Suffolk decided it was better to grow grain instead of making dairy products like cheese. Because of this, the production of Suffolk Bang mostly stopped.
Who Ate Suffolk Bang?
This special cheese was mostly eaten by people who couldn't afford more expensive foods. This included servants and workers who did hard jobs.
The military also bought Suffolk Bang because it lasted a very long time without going bad. The Royal Navy, which is the British navy, bought about 1000 tons of this cheese every year until 1758. But then, they stopped buying it because the sailors found it too hard to eat!
Suffolk Bang was also made in smaller amounts for farm workers who were not married. One way people suggested eating this very hard cheese was to melt it. After melting, they would spread it on bread and eat it with salted pork.
