This Is What Cheese Really Looks Like

There’s nothing in this world quite so delicious as cheese. And while I knew there was all sorts of bacteria and fermentation involved in delivering me unto cheddar, I never imagined it would be quite so graphic.

Microbiologist Rachel Dutton has gotten up close and personal with the bacterial ecology of your favorite types, which look as wildly different as they taste. From left to right, you’re looking at Jasper Hill Farm’s Bayley Hazen Blue, Cabot’s Cloth-bound Cheddar, and Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam. I’m not saying that these slides have turned me off from dairy… but please keep your electron microscopes away from my Reeses Pieces. [Good, thanks Mark!]