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Rodent Cheese Yum
The History of Rat Cheese The first rat cheese was made in the early eighteenth century by ship-wrecked French sailors. On an uninhabited tropical island in the Pacific the stranded mariners found themselves amid a natural abundance of food. But with no women or large animals, and a repetitive diet of fruit and fish, they soon began to long for the comforts of home. 

The ship's surgeon, Marcel Loussier, came up with an ingenious idea. The ship's rats had effectively colonised the island. Loussier put his sailors to work. Traps were set and rats captured. The men with the nimblest fingers were given the job of milking rats.

Fifteen years later, in 1735, a Dutch frigate stumbled across Loussier's island. The Dutch seafarers were astonished to find a tropical paradise inhabited by a band of ragged, bearded Frenchmen, dining on fine cheeses that more than equalled anything being produced in Europe.

When Loussier returned to France he used his naval pension to establish the world's first commercial rodent dairy. It was an immediate success and expensive rat cheeses were soon all the rage in Parisian society. By the mid-nineteenth century the popularity of rat cheese had begun to wane, and in modern times it seemed doomed to become little more than a curiosity.

Welcome to the fascinating world of rat cheese. The art of making cheese from lactating rodents has never been more alive than today. Still considered by some to be a luxury of the few, fine rat cheeses are becoming ever more popular

Technological advances and mechanisation have made rat-milking a relatively simple task nowadays. All the same a herd of a five hundred or so dairy rats may still only produce about a pint (568ml) of milk a day. It is little wonder then that premium rat cheeses cost as much as 80 euros a gram in some Parisian restaurants.

A dramatic innovation in 1996 re-invigorated the rodent dairy industry. A group of Danish technicians, led by Dr S Hassel at the Copenhagen Institute of Agriculture, patented the automated rodent milking machine (ARM).

Since then rat cheese production has increased 700% worldwide, and affordable rat cheese is now within reach of many more people. Rat cheeses are made not only in France, but also in many other countries. English rat cheese is gaining popularity. And in Russia herds of Siberian udder-rats produce some of the finest cheeses outside France.

Types of Rat Nowadays the brown rat, rattus norvegicus, is most commonly used in dairy herds. Though some farmers use the smaller black rat, rattus rattus. This rat was infamous for spreading the Black Death in mediaeval Europe, and its cheese may therefore prove unpopular among the squeamish. Types of milk The Siberian udder-rat produces more milk than any other, while the Himalayan Rex is said to produce the finest quality milk, especially prized by makers of blue rat cheese. Famous Cheeses The most famous rat cheese is the legendary Fromage des Merdes. Best eaten after several bottles of Bordeaux, this extremely strong mature cheese is not for the faint-hearted.

Famous Cheese-eaters Perhaps the most famous consumer of rodent cheese is US President, George W Bush. And although he cannot spell, pronounce, or even remember it, Fromage des Merdes is said to be his favourite. Standards The Federation of Rodent Cheesemakers ensures that the highest standards of animal welfare and hygiene are maintained. So you can feast on your favourite rat cheese knowing it came from healthy happy animals, and there is no danger of nuisance bugs such as listeria. Marcel Loussier Marcel Loussier, the father of rat cheese, lived to the age of ninety-six. And this is widely attributed to the health-giving properties of rat cheese.