CHEESE
the product obtained by coagulating the casein of milk by means of rennet or acids, with or without the addition of ripening ferments and seasonings. The casein is usually coagulated with rennet, the curd being then separated from the whey and pressed in suitable molds. By act of Congress, approved June 6, 1896, cheese may contain additional harmless coloring matter--this generally consists of annatto or other colors from vegetable sources.
Whole-milk or full-cream cheese is made from milk from which no portion of the fat has been removed. U.S. Standard whole-milk cheese or full-cream cheese is cheese containing in the water-face substance not less than fifty (50) per cent of butter fat.
Cream cheese is made from milk and cream, or milk containing not less than six (6) per cent of fat.
Skim-milk cheese is made from milk from which part of the fat has been removed.
Cheeses are commonly graded as Special, Fancy, Good, Prime, Common, etc.
Italy and Switzerland supply the greater part of the cheese imported. Next come Holland and France.
As an article of food, cheese is very nutritious. When eaten in quantities it burdens the digestive organs, but in small amounts, as a condiment, it stimulates and aids the digestion of rich foods and dessert. When taken after eating, and especially when rich and old, it is particularly efficacious in that respect by powerfully promoting the secretion of saliva and gastric juice.
In the United States, cheese making has been transferred bodily from the realm of domestic arts to that of the manufacturer, and farm-made cheeses are hard to find anywhere. New York and Wisconsin together produce three-quarters of the entire output of the country. Next in order are Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
More than nine-tenths of the cheese made is of the familiar standard copied after the English Cheddar. The annual consumption here though is only 3 lbs. per capita, which shows how little its highly nutritious value is appreciated.
In manufacture, the milk is generally warmed in large vats to a temperature of not less than 84 degree Fahr. The rennet, or other coagulative mixture, is then added, a pint of rennet being sufficient to turn from 2000 to 3000 quarts of milk. As the curd forms, the temperature is raised to nearly 100 degree, until the whole mass of curd separates from the whey. The latter is then drawn off by cutting the curd across both ways, and passing wired paddles or curd-knives through it. After the whey has been removed, the curd is allowed to "mat" or ferment slightly and it is then broken up, salted, formed and pressed. Ten days or so later, the cheese is rubbed to remove any mold, and perhaps paraffined to prevent such formation later. It is then kept until properly ripened for market.
The storing of newly made cheese is the next point that engages the attention of the maker and wholesale dealer. The same principles which influence the maturing or ripening of fermented liquors also operate here. A cool cellar, neither damp nor yet too dry, which is uninfluenced by changes of weather or season, is commonly regarded as best for the purpose. The temperature should not be permitted to exceed 50 degree to 56 degree Fahr. at any time--an average of about 45 degree is preferable when it can be maintained. A place exposed to sudden changes of temperature is as unfit for storing cheese as it is for storing beer. Roquefort, the highest grade of highly ripened cheese, owes much of its perfection to the dry caves in which it is stored and ripened.
The care of cheese in the store is often neglected. In warm weather, it should be kept in a cool, dry place, and frequently inspected and turned over in the boxes. If a cheese shows signs of swelling, it should be pierced with a wire to give vent to the gas, which can then be expelled by gentle pressure on the swollen portion. All mold or mites on the top of the cheese should be swept or neatly scraped off and the surface rubbed with a little sweet oil or strong brine. For maggots or "jumpers," the remedy is to clean the affected parts and keep the cheese well dusted with rice flour. If the loose sheets or plates which lie on the top and bottom of the cheese are found to be damp, they should be replaced by clean, dry ones.
The cut cheese can be kept moist by pressing lightly buttered pieces of parchment firmly on the cut surfaces or by buttering them. There will also be less tendency towards dryness, and therefore less shrinkage, if each exposed surface is cut from alternately. The fresh appearance of the cheese in general can be retained by wiping the outside each day with a damp cloth, soaked in salt water.
For the important part played by bacteria, etc., in the ripening of cheese, see article on BACTERIA.
There are countless varieties of cheese, but those described in the following list may be taken as representative of all popular types. Camembert, Cheddar, Cream, Edam, Limburger, Neufchatel, Pineapple and Swiss are depicted in the two color pages of CHEESE--(1) the frontispiece, and (2) facing page 118.
APPENZELL: made either of skim or whole-milk, in Appenzell, Switzerland. It is very similar to Emmenthaler.
BRANDIED: strong old cheese, ground or rolled fine, and mixed with brandy. A full-cream cheese, which has become a little over-ripe, is pared and then rolled into a smooth dough with a rolling pin. Layers of this dough, from a half inch to an inch thick, are put in an earthen crock, and good brandy is poured over each layer. When the crock is nearly full, the cheese is covered with several thicknesses of oiled muslin, and, during the first few weeks, a little brandy is poured on top at regular intervals. It will improve with years.
BRIE: a soft French cheese, treated and ripened in much the same way as Camembert.
CACIOCAVALLO: an Italian cheese, generally of roundish-beet shape and about three pounds in weight, which after making and salting is filled into sausage skins and lightly smoked. It is sometimes eaten fresh, but is more often stored for several months and then grated to use as a flavoring for soups and as an addition to macaroni and similar pastes.
CAERPHILLY: a hard Welsh cheese generally weighing about eight pounds, made from very sweet whole milk.
CAMEMBERT: a soft, rich cheese, made in the former province of Normandy, France, the best now coming from the districts of Orne and Calvados. It is generally put up in round wooden boxes or tins and is marketed in May and November. It is made from two separate curds, the morning and the evening, and the strength of the rennet mixture employed is varied with the weather, being much stronger for the winter than for the summer product. When the first curd is ready, it is filled into molds with great care so as not to break up the mass, but to fill each round hoop or form with one motion. These filled forms are placed on straw mats, which facilitate drainage and add to the agreeable appearance of the finished cheese. The morning's curd will have sunk considerably by the time the evening's curd is ready, and the latter, which may be a little richer, is added to it, the top of the under layer being slightly disturbed or scored to facilitate joining. On the second day, the cheeses, having hardened sufficiently to be turned, are slightly salted on the surface and set on fresh mats to remain till they are hard enough to be removed from the frames. In the drying room, where they rest for four days, the first or white fungus or mold appears--this is essential to their flavor and ripening and is succeeded after about a week by the fine blue mold characteristic of the fully developed cheese. When the condition of the blue mold is fully established, the cheeses are removed to the curing room, where they are kept at a temperature under 60 degree Fahr. until ready for market.
More Camembert cheese would be used if the ordinary consumer knew how to handle it. At dinner parties or hotels it is easy to dispose of an entire cheese at one meal, but the provident housewife hardly likes to see three-quarters of it dry up or run away because the family is small or the cheese is only appreciated by the head of the house--of whichever sex.
Keep your Camembert cheese under a large inverted finger bowl--you can find no better receptacle.
If kept in a cool place, the cheese naturally stiffens. If it is fresh and not shrunken it will always be soft if held for a few hours in a warm room.
In cutting for the first time, cut a section as shown in Figure 1 below, and then push the two sides of the cheese together as in Figure 2--the rind will thus continue to protect it. At the second meal, cut through crosswise and at the end of the meal push the parts together, so that the four quarter-sections again make a circle, exercising a little care in pasting the side joints. This process may be repeated as often as necessary, but it is to be hoped that the cheese will be sufficiently appreciated to be consumed within four meals.