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Stilton Cheese

This is the king of English cheeses, and, therefore, as it commands a large price, subject to worthless imitations. Although Stilton takes its name from a town of that name in Huntingdon, it is chiefly manufactured near Melton Mowbray, in other parts of Leicestershire, and in Nottinghamshire. It is made in the shape of a cylinder, twice as long as broad, weighing about twelve pounds, and having a very rough, irregular whitish rind. When it is cut, the substance should be white, friable, yet mellow, and marked with greenish blue veins. According to the prevalence of these, the cheese will be judged; but as Stilton takes from three to six months to ripen, many experiments have been tried to give it the appearance of age, though the cheese itself may be young. Rich new milk, to which a proportion of cream is added, the quality varying in proportion to the skill used in its manufacture. The milk is set at ninety degrees Fahrenheit, the curd is broken down in about an hour, and removed into large strainer cloths, from which the whey gradually escapes. As the curd becomes firm, it is broken up and aired until it is sufficiently acid for salting and placing in vats. The vats, hoops or moulds, are filled by hand, and turned regularly until the cheese can be removed, and it is then covered with a clean binder every day until the crust commences to form, when it goes into the curing-room, and there it ripens better when the temperature is well maintained at from fifty-three to fifty-five degrees. "Strohl" Cheese.

Rub together six ounces of butter and six ounces of flour, and add six ounces of grated Parmesan cheese and a small quantity of cayenne, and after this is well mixed, add the yolks of three eggs and one tablespoonful of raw cream, working all together well. Roll the paste out thin, divide it into strips about five inches long, put these on a baking-sheet, and bake in a brisk oven. When they are done, put them on a dish with a folded napkin on it, and serve.