It’s common to hear of cheese and the love for it in Western countries, so you might wonder if Chinese people enjoy it as much or if they even eat cheese. The Chinese are known for some of the world’s best cuisines. Staple foods, such as rice, noodles, and tea, are a great part of Chinese cuisine and are now being consumed worldwide. But do Chinese people eat cheese?
Chinese people eat cheese even though it isn’t considered a part of the traditional Chinese diet. Cheese has become common in China recently and is mostly found in urban areas like Beijing and Shanghai. However, the annual consumption of cheese in China is still low, at only 0.1 kilograms per person.
Despite the low consumption, cheese is gaining popularity in China as some people now want to consume dishes with cheese flavoring in them. In this blog post, you will find all you need to know about cheese consumption in China.
How Popular Is Cheese In China?
Although cheese isn’t a traditional staple in Chinese cuisine, it has become more popular in recent years, especially in bakeries in urban areas. Cheese-like cheesecakes are becoming quite popular in China, even though they are considered quite unfamiliar and not as widely consumed as they are in Western countries.
The type of cheese eaten in western countries can be difficult to find in China, but there are hopes that cheese will gain more popularity in the future as China continues to import more products from Europe.
China also has cheese factories that make cheese different from Western varieties. One example is Sanyuan, a famous state-owned dairy company that produces the popular “Imperial Cheese” in Beijing. Wenyu Cheese Shop is also a popular destination for cheese lovers in China.
What Chinese Dish Has Cheese In It?
The rubing and rushan are typical Chinese dishes that contain cheese. In the Yunnan province, there is a cuisine that has goat cheese as a part of it known as “rubing,” meaning milk cake. Another Yunnan dish with cheese in it is known as Rushan, which is made from cow’s milk.
There are indeed confirmed Chinese dishes with cheese in them. Chinese people now enjoy dishes made with cheese. In some parts of China, yoghurt, cheese, and dairy products make up a large part of the cuisine consumed in the region. Rubing is a type of cheese that is typically served by being lightly fried or steamed and then sliced. It is often served with Yunnan ham.
The rushan is another Chinese dish made from cow’s milk and is generally grilled with the help of a stick. It is made by the Bai people and served with chocolate syrup, honey, or fruit preserves.
Why Is Cheese Not Eaten In China?
Until recently, cheese was not eaten in China because it wasn’t a traditional cuisine. Cheese was invented in Europe as a method of preserving milk, which wasn’t as abundant in China as it was in European countries, which is why it wasn’t a part of their cuisine.
You probably won’t think about cheese when Chinese food comes to mind, but there are a lot of locally-made cheeses in China. Places like Mongolia, the western mountains of Tibet, and the Yunnan Province have a history of milk and cheese production.
If you haven’t eaten cheese before, it can taste odd to you, especially if you’re older. Some Chinese people don’t eat it because 90 percent of the Chinese population is believed to be lactose intolerant, meaning they have difficulties consuming too much milk sugar, which is a major component of cheese.
What Is The Most Popular Cheese In China?
Rubing is undoubtedly the most popular cheese product in China. It is typically made from goat or cow milk and is common among the Bai and Sani ethnic groups in the Dali region of Yunnan Province. There are other popular Chinese cheeses such as Chura Kampo and Nguri.
To make rubing, sugar is sprinkled on top of the cheese after it has been deep-fried to highlight its light milky flavour. Then the blocks are stretched into thin layers, which are then wrapped around bamboo sticks and left to dry to make rushan, a lighter, more friable variation of rubing.
Though rubing and rushan are indigenous to Dali, they are now dominant in the Yunnan Province and are now served as a street snack. However, despite the increase in consumption across the country, they are still regional cuisines.
Chura Kampo is a hard Tibetan cheese made from yak milk, and Nguri is another made from buffalo milk and shaped into small balls with a tender, chewy surface.
Conclusion
Although cheese is not a part of the traditional Chinese diet, the Chinese people eat it. There is a growing craving among the Chinese people for dairy and milk products like cheese and yoghurt. However, it is evident that they are still miles away from producing and consuming cheese like the Europeans and Americans.
