Some nations (as Great Britain, etc.,) consume cheese largely as a staple food, while others use it more sparingly, and mainly as a condiment or relish. Bread and cheese consort better with ale than with whiskey and this country is not greatly given to cheese as a staple food, although its consumption is increasing here, owing to recent improvements in the modes of manufacture and in its quality. Two-thirds of our total product now goes to Europe.
The composition of cheese is given as follows:
Cheese dries fast and shrinks in weight; hence the grocer who sells it in small quantities is compelled to charge a fair margin or advance upon its cost to save himself from loss. The ordinary weight of American cheeses is about 60 lbs., but smaller ones are growing in favor, and many are now made weighing from 35 to 40 lbs. A grocer who has a good class of custom soon realizes that our poor cheese takes the place of several good ones, and it is his aim to secure a good and popular quality and stick to it.
The best cheese is made from the rich June grasses, the poorest in the heats of summer. June cheese is safest to keep, as the curds are then scalded higher, to ensure that they will sustain the coming warm weather. Cheese may be made for immediate use—and such will grow sharp if long kept—or it may be so made as to keep a year or more with constant improvement or ripening. It requires about ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese.
“FILLED” CHEESE is made by substituting lard in place of the cream of the milk. Ten pounds of such cheese contains about 1 pound of lard. This product is largely made in some sections, and is chiefly sold in the South or exported.
Cheese made in New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin has the first “Call” in the New York Mercantile Exchange. “FANCY” must be full cream, perfect in flavor, close made, well cured, of uniform color and perfect surface. “FINE” is the next grade below—must be also full cream, clean flavor, etc. “KNOWN MARKS” or FACTORY CHEESE may not be full cream. “WESTERN CHEESE” “Shall include those of all States not mentioned above and shall be classified as fancy, fine, and known marks, but they may not be full cream.”
SWISS CHEESE comes from Switzerland, and more of this is imported than of all others combined. Next stands EDAM from Holland. The delicious ROQUEFORT CHEESE, made in France, from ewes milk and kept in mountain caves to ripen, stands third in the list of imported cheeses, and PARMESAN stands fourth; it is made from skimmed milk, the curd hardened by a gentle heat. This and SBRINZ cheese are used for soups—grated. GORGONZOLA is a fine, rich, Italian cheese, each weighing about ten pounds. Other good Italian cheeses are made from the milk of the buffalo which feed on the Roman Campagna. STILTON is the finest of English cheeses. It is made from full milk with added cream. It improves with age, and is best when at least two years old. The CHEDDAR, CHESHIRE and QUEEN’S ARMS are other varieties of good English cheese.