To be precise, about 7200 years ago. Scientists came to this conclusion after studying the remains of ceramic dishes in the villages of Admirer and Danilo Bitin, which are located on the territory of Croatia. These settlements were founded around the 6th millennium BC. Apparently, their inhabitants were engaged in cattle breeding and the creation of dairy products. An analysis of fragments of ceramic dishes showed that some of them were used to store meat and fish, others were used for milk, and some were used to store cheese. The age of the latter is about 7200 years.
The data obtained are consistent with scientists' ideas that agriculture began to spread in Europe about 9,000 years ago. It is noteworthy that traces of fermented products on ceramics date back to a later period than just traces of milk: it took our distant ancestors about 500 years to master the production of cheese. Perhaps archaeologists have been able to find traces of some of the earliest farmers in Europe.

Interestingly, people started drinking wine about 8,000 years ago. Perhaps the ancient people decided to find a suitable snack for wine and therefore invented cheese? ..