ANALYSIS OF CHEESE CONSUMPTION IN ROMANIA

Abstract

Tasty and fickle, cheeses are an essential part of every person's daily diet, being an important source of calcium and fats for the body. They can be consumed as an appetizer before a meal, as a simple snack between meals, in platters combined with fruit or other cold appetizers, or they can be used in cooking - in sauces, for desserts, for gratin, etc. There are over 650 types of cheeses worldwide, most of which are made from cow's milk. Cheeses can be classified according to several criteria - the type of milk they are made from, the fat content, consistency, manufacturing process, country of origin, etc. England, France and Italy are among the countries with long traditions in preparing famous cheese varieties, but Romania also has several cheese varieties that Romanians, but not only, frequently consume for their freshness and flavor: curd, salted cheese, fresh cheese and bellows cheese. The demand for cheese is constantly growing, with the average annual consumption of cheese locally estimated at around 10.4 kilograms per capita. Salted cheese remains the leader in consumer preferences, but hard cheeses such as Parmesan, Grana and Gouda have increased considerably in daily consumption preferences, along with mozzarella and burrata, specialties that have become part of frequent consumption.