‘A surfyte of cheese doth bringe payne’: Leeds University transcribes early book on cheese

Tudor re-enactors at Kentwell Hall demonstrate how cheese was made in the 16th century. Photograph: Leeds University

They are 450-year-old words of wisdom but they will ring true with anyone rooting around the fridge for late night comfort: “A surfyte of cheese doth bringe payne.”

The warning for people to curd their enthusiasm is contained in the earliest-known book on cheese in English, a publication that academics say is both fascinating and nauseating.