Cheese

“ Making good cheese out of poor milk is much talked of by makers and considered quite an accomplishment. It consists in clothing the product in a glamour of deception, propagating dyspepsia and shielding careless dairymen. ”

“ We are strangely monotonous and unoriginal. About three-fourths of our cheese is an imitation of the English Cheddar, while the rest consists mostly of imitations—generally very poor ones—of Swiss, Dutch, Italian, or German cheeses, or the French Camembert, Roquefort, and so on. Have we no gastronomic imagination? Shall we permit not only the epicures but the peasants of Europe to look down on us for our lack of it? We have, to be sure, a few specialties, such as the Pineapple, the Brick, Isigny, and some special varieties of cream cheese ”

“ Prominent English cheese judges have passed verdicts on fine cheese in the following words: "We want cheese rich, solid, fine flavored, true colored, that is, of an even color throughout, sound, handsome, that will go on to improve for twelve months or longer if desired." "A good cheese is close and firm in texture, yet mellow; in character or quality it is rich with a tendency to melt in the mouth; the flavor full and fine, apparently that of a hazel-nut." "The characteristics of a good cheese are mellow and rich in taste and flavor, and firm and full in texture, solid but not tough." ”

“ Cheese made on the same land, from new milk, skimmed or mixed milk, will differ greatly, not only in richness, but also in taste. Valuable cheese may be made from a tolerable pasture, by taking the whole of two meals of milk, and proportioning the thickness of the vat to the quantity, rather than having a wide and flat one, as the former will produce the mellowest cheese. The addition of a pound of fresh-made butter of a good quality, will cause the cheese made on poor land to be of a very different quality from that usually produced by it. ”

“ A good cheese is rich without being greasy, with a sweet, nutty flavor, clear and equal color throughout, and of a compact, solid texture, without being waxy; firm, and yet melts easily in the mouth, leaving no rough or ill flavor on the palate. ”

“ The curd for the pine-apple cheese is prepared in the same way as the others; but, instead of being put into a vat and then into the cheese-press, it is put into a net with no other pressure than from the hand of the dairy-maid; who, however, prides herself on getting as much into the net as it can possibly hold. The net is then hung up in the cheese-room, and requires no further care.
I shall now give you only one more receipt for making keeping-cheeses, and that shall be for the far-famed Parmesan. This celebrated cheese is made with skim-milk. ”

“ The Queen's Cheese:—Take six quarts of the best stroakings, and let them stand till they are cold; then set two quarts of cream on the fire till 'tis ready to boil; then take it off, and boil a quart of fair water, and take the yolks of two eggs, and one spoonful of sugar, and two spoonfuls of runnet; mingle all these together, and stir it till 'tis blood warm: when the cheese is come, use it as other cheese; set it at night, and the third day lay the leaves of nettles under and over it: it must be turned and wiped, and the nettles shifted every day, and in three weeks it will be fit to eat. ”

“ To choose Cheese.—The taste and smell are the best indications of quality. There is so much difference of taste that cheese, almost alone of all foods, is tasted by the customer before purchasing. A good cheese has rounded edges and sides, and when a piece is rubbed between the fingers it should melt and feel smooth. The bulging should not be great, however, as that indicates slight fermentation, and the cheese should be flat at the top. The best cheese is made of new milk, and contains, therefore, fat in addition to the curd. Skimmed milk cheeses are hard and indigestible. ”

“ The French make cheese from sour milk without heating it. They pour the milk into earthen molds which have holes in the bottom. A very fine sieve may be used instead of the molds. The whey drips out and the curd assumes a custard-like consistency and takes the shape of the mold. When sufficiently stiff, the cheese is chilled, and is eaten with sweet cream and sugar. ”

“ An English writer says that if milk is skimmed for several days, “it yields a cheese so hard that pigs grunt at it, dogs bark at it, but neither dare bite it.” People’s tastes vary greatly in the flavor of cheese, and while some prefer the natural tint, others buy that which is colored. ”

“ To cut his losses the rascally cheesemonger had his cargo ground up and its flavor disguised with hot peppers and chili sauce. Thus there came into being the abortion known as the "cheese spread."
The cheese spread or "food" and its cousin, the processed cheese, are handy, cheap and nasty. They are available every where and some people even like them. So any cheese book is bound to take formal notice of their existence. ”

“ Technically, in fact, it is not a cheese but the dried curd of milk and is often called virginal. Fresh milk is simply strained through muslin in a perforated box through which the whey and extra moisture drains away for three or four days, leaving a residue as firm as fresh butter.
In America, where we mix cream cheese with everything, a popular assortment of twelve sold in New York bears these ingredients and names: Chives, Cherry, Garden, Caviar, Lachs, Pimiento, Olive and Pimiento, Pineapple, Relish, Scallion, Strawberry, and Triple Decker of Relish, Pimiento and Cream in layers. ”

“ If cheese is used and in quantity, it is obvious that some other proteid and fat foods should be diminished, in order that the meal or day’s menu may not be unduly hearty.
For the convenience of the housekeeper, a number of recipes for cheese dishes are given in later pages, these being preceded by directions for making cottage cheese and other similar cheeses which are usually made in the home. ”

“ Making edible skimmed cheese is an effort to supply a constituent for the product that does not exist, namely, oleaginous matter. The butter or cream in milk is what gives rich flavor and mellow body to cheese. When a part or whole of this is removed by the skimmer, the depleted fluid, if manufactured into cheese, just as that containing all of the cream would be, will make dry, tasteless stuff. Skimmed cheese must be cooked, soured, and salted less than full cream. ”

“ A great many readers who live in non-cheese manufacturing districts appreciate mellow, rich cheese when they sometimes at long intervals find it on their groceryman's counter, and vow that they would eat the article more if the price was cheapened and the general quality raised. You should, if you live a hundred miles or so from any factory, and if you have a few cows and your neighbor has a few more, club together and make up some cheese for your own use. ”

“ Some Pied Piper took the country cheese and crackers to the corner saloon and led a free-lunch procession that never faltered till Prohibition came. The same old store cheese was soon pepped up as saloon cheese with a saucer of caraway seeds, bowls of pickles, peppers, pickled peppers and rye bread with plenty of mustard, pretzels or cheese straws, smearcase and schwarzbrot. Beer and cheese forever together, as in the free-lunch ditty of that great day:
I am an Irish hunter ”

“ Flavor. —Under flavor also may be described taste, which should be of that biting, incisive character due to proper development of ripening and its attendant bacterial and enzymic products. The various foreign flavors in cheese may be due to the odor of cows or the stable or may suggest “rotten eggs,” or it may be the flavor of rancid butter due to the decomposition of butter fat in the cheese.
Body. —This is also a term which it is difficult to define. An American cheese is said to have a perfect body when it is solid, firm, and smooth in substance. ”

“ When cheese is dry, and for those whose digestion is feeble, this is the best way of eating it; and spread on bread, it makes an excellent supper. The flavour of this dish may be encreased by pounding it with curry powder, ground spice, black cayenne, and a little made mustard; or it may be moistened with a glass of sherry. If pressed down hard in a jar, and covered with clarified butter, it will keep for several days in cool weather.
PRAWNS AND SHRIMPS. When fresh they have a sweet flavour, are firm and stiff, and of a bright colour. ”

“ From the standpoint of the housekeeper, cheese is of importance because of its high nutritive value, particularly its high percentage of protein or muscle-forming materials, because of the ease with which it can be kept and prepared for the table, and because of its appetizing flavor and of the great variety of ways in which it can be served. ”

“ The basis of cheese is casein or coagulated curd, a protein substance; it therefore cannot fail to prove nutritious, provided it is properly digested. Cheese-curd, carefully freed from water and milk by expression, and the addition of salt, is a mixture of casein and butter. It contains all the phosphate of lime and part of the phosphate of soda of the milk. (Liebig.) When taken as a condiment, especially when rich and old, it powerfully promotes the secretion of the saliva and gastric juice, and thereby aids the stomach in performing its proper functions. Rotten cheese is very unwholesome. ”

“ As a cheese matures or becomes fit for consumption, not only is there produced the characteristic flavour peculiar to the type of cheese concerned, but with all varieties, independently of the quality of flavours developed, a profound physical transformation of the casein occurs. ”

“ The process is not commendable and while it may sell to some extent, in certain markets where a soft, fresh cheese is liked, “washed” or “soaked” curd cheese can never compare favorably in quality with a well-made, firm Cheddar cheese that is mellowed down by long-time curing to a consistency so it will fairly melt in your mouth.
Composition.—The American cheese contains almost all the casein and the butter-fat of the milk, besides such portions of the milk-albumin, milk-sugar, and mineral matter as are held in the water or whey which is retained in the cheese. ”

“ It is a maxim of cheese making that you must work milk according to its condition, not expecting one invariable rule to cover the whole science, but keeping in mind numberless distinct methods of treatment, for instant application as exigencies arise. ”

“ Good old cheese that owes its flavour entirely to the full development of the constituents comprising it is undoubtedly the finest, but many prefer the stronger flavour imparted by adding daily small quantities of port, sherry, old ale or good stout, the liquor being poured in through holes in the top of the cheese. ”

“ The cheese should be shredded or grated coarsely and mixed well with the flour. Use a chafing dish for cooking and a small heated casserole for serving. Hub the bottom and sides of the blazer well with garlic, pour in the wine and heat to bubbling, just under boiling. Add cheese slowly, half a cup at a time, and stir steadily in one direction only, as in making Welsh Rabbit. Use a silver fork. Season with very little salt, always depending on how salty the cheese is, but use plenty of black pepper, freshly ground, and a touch of nutmeg. ”

“ I asked how much cheese five thousand pounds of milk would make, and was told that it would make between four and five hundred pounds.
On the way home Uncle Ben told us that although our country is a great dairy country, we import certain kinds of cheese from Europe. He told us how the Swiss people pasture their cattle on the steep mountain sides, and that in every little mountain valley cheese is made, some of which finds its way over the mountains and across the sea to the United States. ”

“ A cheese maker hardly likes to make the imputation to patrons that their wives are not neat (only, perhaps, when they are in a great hurry) about scalding out the sour whey from milk cans, and yet such insinuations on his part are often necessary. ”

“ Soak the bread in the milk. Melt the butter and add the cheese. When the cheese has melted add the soaked crumbs, the eggs slightly beaten, and the seasoning. Cook a short time and serve on toasted crackers.
Since it consists of essentially the same ingredients, the food value of this dish is obviously much the same as that of fondue made in other ways. ”

“ There is a vast amount of fall made cheese that comes to grief through insufficient scalding. If you do not bake a loaf of bread thoroughly, you have a doughy and unpalatable article of food, and if curd is not cooked until it has passed the raw state, it will retain a certain quantity of whey and damage the product on the shelves. ”

“ At large dinners in London, cheese is oftenest eaten in the form of ramequins, or grated Parmesan, and other preparations; but at small dinners the Stilton, the Roquefort, the Chester, the double Gloucester, or the Somersetshire cheese is invariably produced.
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For nearly a thousand years the art of mixing herbs and cheese together has been known in England and France. In France this operation is called persiller, because a good deal of parsley is mixed with the cheese, as here we mix a good deal of sage.
Cheese is always produced at the end of a repast. ”

“ With Cheese and Parsley.—Put about two ounces of butter in a saucepan on the fire, and when melted fry in it a tablespoonful of parsley, chopped fine; then add a pinch of nutmeg, salt, pepper, about four ounces of pineapple or Gruyère cheese, grated, and a gill of white wine; stir till the cheese is melted, when you add eight or ten eggs, one after another, stirring the whole time and mixing them with the cheese; serve when done. More cheese may be used, according to taste. ”