Where does Cheesecloth come from?

Cheesecloth comes from the United Kingdom, England, first documented in the 1600s.

Plate No. 083fabric

The render shows the wide-open weave: more gap than thread.

First documented: 1600s
Origin: England, United Kingdom
Fiber: cotton
Weave: very loose, open plain weave
Family: plain

Plate No. 083 · fabric

Cheesecloth

Cheesecloth is the loosest useful plain weave, a cotton gauze open enough to strain, drain, and breathe, graded from coarse to fine by the number of threads per inch. Its name records the dairy, where it pressed curds and wrapped wheels to let them age without rotting, but the same open cloth strains stock and jelly in kitchens, dusts and polishes in workshops, and stands in for ghostly drapery on every low-budget film set. It is the humble cousin of gauze and the muslins, defined entirely by how little there is of it.

Illustration: a farmhouse dairy, rounds of cheese wrapped in loose cloth aging on wooden shelves, a press and pans, cool north light — A farmhouse dairy, rounds of cheese wrapped in loose cloth aging on wooden shelves, a press and pans, cool north light.

Named for

Named for its first job: the loose-woven cotton used to press and wrap cheese.

Also known as

butter muslin

Common questions

What is Cheesecloth made of?: Cheesecloth is the loosest useful plain weave, a cotton gauze open enough to strain, drain, and breathe, graded from coarse to fine by the number of threads per inch.
Where does Cheesecloth come from?: Cheesecloth comes from the United Kingdom, England, first documented in the 1600s.
What is Cheesecloth named after?: Named for its first job: the loose-woven cotton used to press and wrap cheese.