Title: Cheese and its economical uses in the diet : U. S. Department of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin No. 487
Author: Hunt, Caroline Louisa, Langworthy, C. F.
Language: English
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  Issued February 26, 1912.
  1434 Reprinted with slight changes, June, 1916.

  U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

  FARMERS’ BULLETIN 487.


  CHEESE AND ITS ECONOMICAL
  USES IN THE DIET.


  BY

  C. F. LANGWORTHY, PH. D.,
  _Chief of Office of Home Economics, States Relations Service_,

  AND

  CAROLINE L. HUNT, A. B.,
  _Expert in Nutrition, Office of Home Economics_.


  [Illustration: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE]


  WASHINGTON:
  GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
  1916.



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.


  U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
  STATES RELATIONS SERVICE,

  _Washington, D. C., June 10, 1916_.

SIR: Since cheese is one of the important agricultural products
of the United States and a foodstuff used in a larger or smaller
quantity in nearly every American home, it seemed desirable to study
its relative nutritive value and the ways in which it may be prepared
for the table.

Although it is so generally liked, there seems to be a widespread
belief that it is not well digested and that it is a cause of
physiological disturbances. Neither of these beliefs is substantiated
by the results of the extended series of digestion experiments
undertaken as part of the nutrition investigations of the Office
of Home Economics. Indeed, cheese was found to be very thoroughly
digested, ranking with other staple foods in this respect. Moreover,
experiments made with the respiration calorimeter did not indicate
that it was less easy of digestion than a comparable amount of meat.

In the studies of the digestibility of cheese the Bureau of Animal
Industry cooperated with the States Relations Service and was also of
great assistance in securing, for experimental purposes, cheese made
and cured under controlled conditions. Supplementing the experiments
as to the nutritive value of cheese, many tests were made of methods
of preparing cheese for the table, the main purpose being to suggest
dishes and combinations of such a character that the cheese might
replace other nitrogenous material and fat when this seemed desirable.

Home Economics of the States Relations Service, and Miss Caroline L.
Hunt, who has had wide experience in the study of both scientific and
practical problems in nutrition. The recipes were collected from many
sources and in the majority of cases were studied experimentally by
Miss Hunt.

Acknowledgement should be made to teachers of home economics in
agricultural colleges and other educational institutions, to
housekeepers, and others who have supplied data of great value in
preparing the bulletin.

  Respectfully,      A. C. TRUE,
                      _Director_.

  Hon. D. F. HOUSTON,
  _Secretary of Agriculture_.



CONTENTS.


                                                                 Page.

  Introduction                                                       5

  Cheese making                                                      7

  Kinds of cheese used in American homes                             8

  Cheddar and American full-cream cheese                             8

  English dairy cheese                                               9

  Soft cream cheeses                                                 9

  Neufchâtel cheese                                                  9

  Parmesan cheese                                                   10

  Sap Sago                                                          10

  Gorgonzola and Roquefort                                          10

  Potted or sandwich cheeses                                        10

  Swiss cheese (Emmentaler, Gruyère, etc.)                          10

  Edam cheese                                                       10

  Brie and Camembert cheese                                         11

  Cottage cheese                                                    11

  The care of cheese in the home                                    11

  Cheese as a food                                                  11

  The flavor of cheese                                              12

  Composition of cheese and some other foods compared               12

  Nutritive value and cost of cheese and some other food materials  14

  Amounts of protein and energy obtained for 10 cents expended for
  cheese and other foods at certain assumed prices per pound        14

  The digestibility of cheese                                       15

  The use of cheese in the diet                                     16

  Bill-of-fare making with cheese as the central food               17

  Homemade cheese                                                   19

  Curds and whey                                                    19

  Cottage cheese                                                    19

  Sour-cream cheese                                                 20

  Uncooked curd, or French cottage cheese                           20

  Junket                                                            20

  Buttermilk cheese                                                 20

  Buttermilk cream                                                  21

  Devonshire cream                                                  21

  Cheese dishes and their preparation                               21

  Cheese dishes which may be used in the same way as meat           22

  Cheese sauce No. 1                                                22

  Cheese sauce No. 2                                                23

  Cheese sauce No. 3                                                23

  Cheese sauce No. 4                                                23

  Cheese fondue No. 1                                               24

  Cheese fondue No. 2                                               24

  Boiled fondue                                                     25

  Rice fondue                                                       25

  Corn and cheese soufflé                                           25

  Welsh rabbit                                                      25

  Tomato rabbit                                                     26

  Green corn, tomato, and cheese                                    26

  Macaroni and cheese No. 1                                         26

  Macaroni and cheese No. 2                                         26

  Macaroni and cheese and tomato sauce                              26

  Italian macaroni and cheese                                       26

  Cheese and macaroni loaf                                          27

  Baked rice and cheese No. 1                                       27

  Baked rice and cheese No. 2                                       27

  Baked crackers and cheese No. 1                                   27

  Baked crackers and cheese No. 2                                   28

  Cheese rolls                                                      28

  Boston roast                                                      28

  Pimiento and cheese roast                                         28

  Nut and cheese roast                                              28

  Cheese and spinach roll                                           28

  Vegetable and cheese rolls                                        29

  Cheese used in the stuffing of meat                               29

  Creamed cheese and eggs                                           29

  Baked eggs with cheese                                            29

  Scrambled eggs with cheese                                        29

  Swiss eggs                                                        29

  Cheese omelet No. 1                                               30

  Cheese omelet No. 2                                               30

  Cheese omelet No. 3                                               30

  Breakfast cereals with cheese                                     30

  Oatmeal with cheese                                               30

  Cheese with mush                                                  31

  Fried bread with cheese No. 1                                     31

  Fried bread with cheese No. 2                                     31

  Roman gnocchi                                                     31

  Cheese soufflé                                                    31

  Cheese soufflé with pastry                                        31

  Cheese croquettes                                                 32

  Fried cheese balls                                                32

  Cheese soups and vegetables cooked with cheese                    32

  Milk and cheese soup                                              32

  Cheese and vegetable soup                                         32

  Scalloped potatoes with cheese No. 1                              33

  Scalloped potatoes with cheese No. 2                              33

  Scalloped cabbage or cauliflower with cheese                      33

  Cheese with potato puffs                                          33

  Potatoes with cheese sauce                                        33

  Cheese salads, sandwiches, and similar cheese dishes              33

  Cheese with salads                                                33

  Plain cheese salad                                                34

  Olive and pimiento sandwich or salad cheese                       34

  Cheese and tomato salad                                           34

  Cheese and pimiento salad                                         34

  Cheese jelly salad                                                34

  Cheese salad and preserves                                        34

  Deviled eggs with cheese                                          34

  Cheese and celery                                                 35

  Buttermilk cream salad dressing                                   35

  Buttermilk cream horseradish salad dressing                       35

  Cheese sandwiches                                                 35

  Cheese and anchovy sandwiches                                     35

  Pimiento, olive and cheese sandwiches                             35

  Cuban sandwiches                                                  35

  Toasted cheese sandwiches                                         35

  Cheese pastry, cheese sweets, and similar dishes                  35

  Cheese pastries and similar dishes                                36

  Cheese biscuits No. 1                                             36

  Cheese biscuits No. 2                                             36

  Cheese drops                                                      36

  Cheese wafers                                                     37

  Cheese relish                                                     37

  Cheese straws                                                     37

  Salad biscuit                                                     37

  Cheese gingerbread No. 1                                          37

  Cheese gingerbread No. 2                                          37

  Cheese custard                                                    37

  Cheese cakes                                                      37

  Brown Betty with cheese                                           38

  Conclusion                                                        38



CHEESE AND ITS ECONOMICAL USES IN THE DIET.



INTRODUCTION.


Cheese is believed to be the oldest of the dairy products and the
first form in which milk was preserved for future use. One may
conjecture that it owes its origin to the accidental storing and
ripening of sour milk curd. Although it has been a staple food with
many races for uncounted years, there is a widespread belief that
it is suitable for use chiefly in small quantities as an accessory
to the diet, and that in large quantities it is likely to produce
physiological disturbances. We are inclined, therefore, to think of
those who make cheese one of the chief articles of their diet as
being driven to this course by necessity rather than being led to it
by choice.

Because of these opinions extensive studies have been carried
on as a part of the Department Work in Home Economics, of the
food value, thoroughness of digestibility, ease of digestion,
physiological effect, and special character of cheese as food as
well as of methods which are followed in preparing it for the
table. The conclusion drawn from this extended study is, in brief,
that cheese properly prepared and used is not generally a cause of
physiological disturbances, and that it may easily be introduced
into the bill of fare in such quantities as to serve as the chief
source of nitrogenous food and may be made a substitute for other
nitrogenous foods when such substitution is desired.[1] The results
of these studies have been brought together in this bulletin with a
view to making them helpful to all interested in the subject, but
particularly to housekeepers.

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.

From the point of view of agriculture cheese is an important
commodity. The latest census figures available show that considerably
over 300,000,000 pounds are made yearly in the United States, the
value of the product being nearly $29,000,000, and the amount of
money invested being over $6,000,000. The figures quoted are from
the census report which first separated the details of the cheese
industry from those of the butter and condensed-milk industries.
From earlier statistics available, however, it is fair to judge in a
general way of the development of any one of these industries from
the figures given for the three industries combined. In general,
these figures show that there was a great leap forward in the three
industries in the decade between the years 1880 and 1890, and that
since that time there has been a continuous, steady, healthy growth
in the business of cheese making.

As might be expected, the amount of the product and the amount of
money invested have increased more rapidly than the number of men
employed, indicating that, as in most manufacturing industries,
labor-saving devices and other improvements have reduced the
proportion of physical labor required.

As regards the kind of cheese made in the United States, the figures
show that of the amount produced in 1905 approximately three-fourths
was what is known to the trade as standard factory cheese, or what
is usually known to the retail purchaser as American cheese. A very
small per cent—1.1 per cent—was skim-milk cheese, the remainder
being American modifications of certain important foreign brands,
Neufchâtel, Camembert, and others.

From the standpoint of the retail dealer, cheese is important because
it is a convenient article to handle. Its percentage of nutrients
being high and its percentage of water low, it is not bulky. It
is comparatively easy, too, to preserve in good condition. The
difficulty of cutting exact amounts called for by customers may
be considered the chief inconvenience. Efforts have been made to
obviate this difficulty by making small cheeses. Experiments have
been reported from the Oregon Experiment Station[2] on the canning of
cheese in pound lots; and from the Wisconsin Experiment Station[3]
in making cheese prints like those in which butter is commonly sold.
In some of the factories cheeses weighing about 5 pounds and having
the same shape as the larger cheeses are made. These are convenient
for use in families where a large amount of cheese is eaten, and
furthermore cheese in such form dries out and spoils less quickly and
easily than cheese cut in wedge-shaped slices, as it usually is when
sold by the pound. A convenient way of keeping and using such cheese
is given on page 11.

The sale of cheese in pots is another way of overcoming the
difficulty of cutting exact amounts. Cheese thus prepared is, as a
rule, softened by the addition of butter fat or other fat, with the
idea of making it of such consistency that it can be used like soft
cheeses.

There is something to be said also of the value of cheese to that not
inconsiderable number of individuals who must occasionally cater for
themselves—those men and women in business life, for example, who
find it convenient neither to carry lunches nor to go to restaurants.
For these, cheese offers a convenient way of supplying the necessary
protein, for it can usually be obtained in good condition in any
neighborhood. Combined with crackers, some of the ready-cooked
cereals, or bread, and with fruit, it makes a fairly well-balanced
meal.


FOOTNOTES:

[1] U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook 1910, p. 359.

[2] Oregon Sta. Bul. 78.

[3] Wisconsin Sta. Rpt. 1901, p. 132; U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers’ Bul.
156.



CHEESE MAKING.


Though the chief points in the manufacture of cheese are well
known, and are discussed in detail in other publications[4] of this
department, it may not be out of place to review them here. Cheese is
made ordinarily from whole milk, and most of the kinds best known in
the United States from cows’ milk. In every 8 parts of milk by weight
there is approximately 1 part of solid nutrients, the remainder being
water. For our present purpose we may think of the nutrients as being
equally divided into three groups—protein substances (casein and
albumin principally), fat, and milk sugar. In the process of cheese
making the casein, which constitutes more than three-fourths of the
proteids of the milk, is precipitated by rennet, forming a curd. Most
of the fat attaches itself to this curd. The curd is broken up, and
the whole is heated to a temperature between 96° and 108° F. The whey
is drained off and carries with it most of the milk sugar and the
albumin. The curd is salted and pressed. It is kept for several weeks
or longer in a cool place, where it “ripens,” developing flavors
through the action of bacteria or other microorganisms, and also
undergoing certain other marked changes.

The average cheese while fresh and moist contains proteids and fat
in much the same ratio as that in which they are found in the milk.
More than one-fourth its weight is proteid, about one-third fats, and
one-third water. There are always present small amounts of albumin
and sugar which have clung to the curd. Owing to the addition of
salt, the percentage of mineral matter is high compared with that of
most other foods.

In ripening, cheese changes in texture and its original pastiness
gives away to a somewhat granular consistency in some types, or to a
waxy or a buttery consistency in others.

The above brief outline refers only to the essentials of cheese
making. In practice, there are many variations with respect to the
kind of milk used, the proportion of butter fat or cream retained
in or added to the milk, with respect to the methods followed in
separating, preparing, seasoning, and handling the curd, and to
the handling and ripening of the cheese. It follows that there is
an almost endless number of cheeses with different names and of
different appearance and flavor.

Cheese making was formerly a home or farm industry, but is now, in
the United States at least, very largely a commercial enterprise
carried on in factories. It differs from many industries in that the
factories are almost always located in the country or in the smaller
towns rather than in large cities, this being more true of cheese
making than of the manufacture of potted cheeses or other special
articles, which has become a large industry. It is worthy of mention
in this connection that the making of cheese crackers and other
bakers’ goods in which cheese is an ingredient has developed into an
important part of the baking trade.


FOOTNOTES:

[4] U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers’ Buls. 166, 225, 244; Bur. Anim. Indus.
Buls. 105, 146.



KINDS OF CHEESE USED IN AMERICAN HOMES.


The American factory cheese—the so-called American cream cheese—is
of the English Cheddar type, and as it is the most commonly used
of all the commercial varieties in the United States, may be taken
as a standard. Other types are, however, well known, particularly
in cities and large towns where there are well-stocked markets and
stores, and it is interesting to note also, at least briefly, the
characteristics of some of them. Full descriptions of a very large
number of cheeses (about 250 in all) may be found in an earlier
bulletin of this department.[5]


CHEDDAR AND AMERICAN FULL-CREAM CHEESE.

Cheddar cheese—named from the English village where it originated—is
a comparatively old type of cheese, very popular in England and also
in the United States. The name is now more fitly applied to a process
than to any particular shape.

Cheddar cheese is made from sweet cows’ milk, which may be skimmed,
partly skimmed, or unskimmed. If made from unskimmed milk the cheese
is called “full cream.” If cream is removed the cheese is designated
“part-skim” or “skim,” as the case may be.

Cheese of Cheddar type as made in the United States is perhaps most
often marketed in large, flat, round forms, 13 to 16 inches in
diameter, about 5 or 6 inches in height, and weighing 26 to 32 pounds
each, though other shapes and sizes are also fairly common. It is
usually pale to darker yellow in color, though it may be white when
uncolored. When fresh it is mild in flavor, but when well ripened
has a characteristic and sharp taste. The new cheese is soft, though
not waxy, in texture, and may be easily shaved or broken into small
pieces. When well ripened it may be finely grated.

These characteristics, together with its distinctive and peculiar
flavor and its wide distribution in the markets, are qualities which
help to make it the variety most commonly used in the United States.

Sage cheese is a variety of Cheddar cheese, which is flavored with
sage and is further characterized by the green mottled appearance
formerly due to bits of sage leaf but now generally obtained in
another way.


ENGLISH DAIRY CHEESE.

From the standpoint of the cook who frequently wishes to use grated
cheese this variety is important. Though made in much the same way as
Cheddar, it differs from it, in that the curd is heated to a somewhat
higher temperature, and the cheese is therefore harder. It commonly
sells for somewhat more per pound than the standard or American
factory variety and is likely to be found only in the larger markets.


SOFT CREAM CHEESES.

Cream cheese true to name is made from rich cream thickened by
souring or from sweet cream thickened with rennet. The whey is
removed by draining. It is then covered, salted, and turned
occasionally, being ready for market in 5 to 10 days. A variety is
also made with rennet from cream of low fat content, as well as a
number of other special sorts much more common in France than in the
United States.

The term “cream cheese,” however, is an elastic one and includes many
varieties which are sold under special trade names. Such cheese is
common in most markets.

Soft cream cheese differs from standard cheese, so far as composition
is concerned, in having more water and fat and less protein, water
usually making up about one-half of the total weight. It differs also
in being much more perishable. These cheeses commonly sell for 10 or
15 cents each, which is about 40 to 50 cents a pound.

Of late there have been on the market varieties of such cheese or of
Neufchâtel, made by combining the cheese with chopped pimiento. These
bring a relatively high price in market and may be easily prepared at
home if this seems more convenient. (See p. 34.)


NEUFCHÂTEL CHEESE.

This very popular variety—named from a town in northeastern France—is
similar in appearance and in the way it is marketed to soft cream
cheese. It is made either from whole or skim milk curdled with
rennet. After draining and pressing, it is kneaded thoroughly, formed
into small rolls or blocks, and then ripened until special molds
develop, which requires about four weeks. It is then wrapped in
tinfoil and marketed.


PARMESAN CHEESE.

This is a name given outside of Italy to a very hard cheese which in
that country is said to be known as Grana, a name given because of
the granular appearance which it has after it has been broken. It is
sometimes sold in grated form and brings a relatively high price, but
is more commonly sold ungrated. When well made it will keep for years
and may be easily broken and grated. It is very generally used in
Europe for serving with soups, for seasoning macaroni, and for other
similar purposes, and is quite common in American markets.


SAP SAGO.

This is a skim-milk cheese made in Switzerland, which is suitable
for grating. It contains, for every 4 pounds of cheese, 1 pound of a
clover (_Melilotus cæruleus_) grown in Switzerland. It is greenish in
color and has an unusual flavor. It is not high-priced.


GORGONZOLA AND ROQUEFORT.

These are highly flavored cheeses characterized by the presence of
molds through their entire mass. Roquefort is made from the milk of
sheep; Gorgonzola, from cows’ milk.


POTTED OR SANDWICH CHEESES.

Ordinary cheese is often mixed with butter or oil in the proportion
of 5 parts of cheese to 1 of butter or oil, by weight. The mixture is
sometimes seasoned with mustard or with curry powder. Such cheeses,
unseasoned or seasoned, are on the market in great variety. Potted
cheese may be easily prepared at home if the housekeeper wishes to
take the trouble.


SWISS CHEESE (EMMENTALER, GRUYÈRE, ETC.).

This term as used in America is somewhat vague. Different names are
given to the varieties according to the districts of Switzerland in
which they are made, but they are all similar and characterized by
a mild, sweetish flavor and the presence of large holes or “eyes.”
Foreign and domestic brands are to be found in most markets. They
are suitable for cooking purposes, as well as for use without being
cooked, and are much used in this way in Europe and well known and
liked in the United States.


EDAM CHEESE.

This is a cheese made in Holland. It is molded in spherical form, and
the outside is usually dyed red. It is usual in this country to cut
off a section of the top, which serves as a lid, and to scoop out
the inside as needed. In Holland it is frequently served in slices,
particularly when it is fresh. Edam cheese is seldom used in cookery
in American homes, though thrifty housewives, after the greater part
of the cheese has been removed, often stuff the hollow shell with
cooked and seasoned macaroni, rice, or something similar and bake.


BRIE AND CAMEMBERT CHEESE.

These are very soft rennet cheeses of foreign origin and of somewhat
smaller nutritive value than standard cheese, and of strong flavor
and odor. They are not often used in cookery, but are used as an
accompaniment to other foods. The Bureau of Animal Industry and
the Connecticut Storrs Experiment Station in cooperation have
experimented with the making of Camembert cheese with marked success,
and have published a full account of the work.[6]


COTTAGE CHEESE.

Cottage cheese and other sour milk and cream cheeses, junket,
Devonshire cream, and a number of other cheese-like products are
described in the section which deals with homemade cheese.


FOOTNOTES:

[5] U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Anim. Indus. Bul. 146.

[6] U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Anim. Indus. Buls. 71, 98, 109, 115, 120,
Circ. 145; Conn. Storrs Sta. Buls. 35, 46, and 58.



THE CARE OF CHEESE IN THE HOME.


One of the best ways of keeping cheese which has been cut is to wrap
it in a slightly damp cloth and then in paper, and to keep it in a
cool place. To dampen the cloth, sprinkle it and then wring it. It
should seem hardly damp to the touch. Paraffin paper may be used in
place of the cloth. When cheese is put in a covered dish, the air
should never be wholly excluded, for if this is done, it molds more
readily.

In some markets it is possible to buy the small whole cheeses
mentioned on page 6. These may be satisfactorily kept by cutting a
slice from the top, to serve as a cover, and removing the cheese
as needed with a knife, a strong spoon, or a cheese scoop. It is
possible to buy at the hardware stores knobs which inserted in the
layer cut from the top make it easy to handle. The cheese below the
cover should be kept wrapped in a cloth.



CHEESE AS A FOOD.


Cheese is used in general in two ways—in small quantities chiefly for
its flavor and in large quantities for its nutritive value as well
as for its flavor. Some varieties of cheese are used chiefly for the
first purpose, others chiefly for the second. Those which are used
chiefly for their flavor, many of which are high priced, contribute
little to the food value of the diet, because of the small quantity
used at a time. They have an important part to play, however, in
making the diet attractive and palatable. The intelligent housekeeper
thinks of them not as necessities, but as lying within what has been
called “the region of choice.” Having first satisfied herself that
her family is receiving sufficient nourishment, she then, according
to her means and ideas of an attractive diet, chooses among these
foods and others which are to be considered luxuries.

Those cheeses, on the other hand, which are suitable to be eaten in
large quantities and which are comparatively low priced are important
not only from the point of view of flavor, but also from the point of
view of their nutritive value. Among such cheeses the one which, as
noted above, is known to the trade as standard factory cheese and to
the housewife as American cheese stands out pre-eminently. Therefore
when the word “cheese” is used without specification in the following
pages it may be taken to refer to this particular variety.



THE FLAVOR OF CHEESE.


Cheese owes its flavor to the fatty acids and their compounds which
it contains and to ammonia-like bodies formed during ripening from
the cleavage of the casein, to salt added to the curd, and in some
varieties, like Roquefort, to bodies elaborated by molds which
develop in the cheese. In the highly flavored sorts some of the fatty
acids of a very marked odor are present in abundance, as are also the
ammonia-like bodies. Indeed, in eating such cheese as Camembert a
trace of ammonia flavor may often be plainly detected.

The cleavage of the nitrogenous material of the cheese and other
changes are brought about chiefly by the action of enzymes originally
present in cheese or by microorganisms and are to be regarded as
fermentative and not as putrefactive changes.

The liking for highly flavored cheeses of strong odor is a matter of
individual preference, but from the chemist’s standpoint there is no
reason for the statement often made that such cheeses have undergone
putrefactive decomposition.



COMPOSITION OF CHEESE AND SOME OTHER FOODS COMPARED.


In the present state of our knowledge concerning dietetics it seems
best to give the housekeeper general rather than absolute rules with
respect to the kind and amount of food which should be eaten at any
meal or at any given time by persons in normal health living under
usual conditions. It is not necessary, therefore, for the housekeeper
to know the exact composition of food materials in order to cater
well for her family, a rough approximation being sufficient for
the purpose. In the case of cheese she will be near enough to the
fact if she thinks of it as composed approximately of equal parts
by weight of proteids, fats, and water. This rough conception is
sufficient to associate it in her mind with the foods of high proteid
value, a point which is important in connection with the making of
bills of fare. It should lead her to class it also with the foods
which are rich in fat and prevent her from combining it unnecessarily
with other fatty foods.

In order, however, that the question of the use of cheese in the
diet may be adequately discussed, knowledge of its composition in
comparison with other foods is desirable, and there is an abundance
of data available on this subject, since the composition of cheese
and other foods has often been investigated at the Department of
Agriculture, in experiment station laboratories, and in many other
places where nutrition problems are studied. An extended summary
of analyses of cheese of different sorts is included in an earlier
publication of this department.[7]

Data regarding the composition of cheese and a few other common foods
are summarized in the following table:

_Average composition of cheese and some other common foods as
purchased, and also on the basis of edible portion._

  ----------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------
                        |         |           |           |
   Food materials.      | Refuse. |  Water.   | Protein.  |    Fat.
                        |         |           |           |
  ----------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------
                        |_Per     |_Per       |_Per       |_Per
                        | cent._  | cent._    | cent._    | cent._
  Cheese                |         |     34.2  |     25.2  |     33.7
  Beef of average       |         |           |           |
  composition as        |         |           |           |
      purchased         |   18.6  |     50.5  |     15.2  |     15.5
    Edible portion      |         |     62.2  |     18.8  |     18.8
  Porterhouse steak     |         |           |           |
      as purchased      |   12.7  |     52.4  |     19.1  |     17.9
    Edible portion      |         |     60.0  |     21.9  |     20.4
  Loin steak, broiled,  |         |           |           |
  edible portion        |         |     54.8  |     23.5  |     20.4
  Dried beef            |         |     53.7  |     26.4  |      6.9
  Eggs as purchased     |   11.2  |     65.5  |     13.1  |      9.3
    Edible portion      |         |     73.7  |     13.4  |     10.5
  Milk                  |         |     87.0  |      3.3  |      4.0
  Bread                 |         |     35.3  |      9.2  |      1.3
  Potatoes as purchased |   20.0  |     62.6  |      1.8  |       .1
    Edible portion      |         |     78.3  |      2.2  |       .1
  Apples as purchased   |   25.0  |     63.6  |       .3  |       .3
    Edible portion      |         |     84.6  |       .4  |       .5
  ----------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+-----------

  ----------------------+--------------+------------+-----------
                        |              |            |   Fuel
   Food materials.      |Carbohydrates.|    Ash.    | value per
                        |              |            |   pound.
  ----------------------+--------------+------------+-----------
                        |_Per cent._   |_Per cent._ |_Calories._
  Cheese                |       2.4    |      3.8   |    1,950
  Beef of average       |              |            |
  composition as        |              |            |
      purchased         |              |       .7   |      935
    Edible portion      |              |       .9   |    1,145
  Porterhouse steak     |              |            |
      as purchased      |              |       .8   |    1,110
    Edible portion      |              |      1.0   |    1,270
  Loin steak, broiled,  |              |            |
  edible portion        |              |      1.2   |    1,300
  Dried beef            |              |      8.9   |      790
  Eggs as purchased     |              |       .9   |      635
    Edible portion      |              |      1.0   |      720
  Milk                  |       5.0    |       .7   |      310
  Bread                 |      53.1    |      1.1   |    1,215
  Potatoes as purchased |      14.7    |       .8   |      295
    Edible portion      |      18.4    |      1.0   |      385
  Apples as purchased   |      10.8    |       .3   |      190
    Edible portion      |      14.2    |       .3   |      290
  ----------------------+--------------+------------+-----------

It will be seen from the above table that cheese has nearly twice
as much protein, weight for weight, as beef of average composition
as purchased and that its fuel value is more than twice as great.
It contains over 25 per cent more protein than the same weight of
porterhouse steak as purchased, and nearly twice as much fat.

As shown by the figures in the above table, cheese contains 3.8
per cent ash. Of this a considerable part may be salt added in
cheese making. Like the milk from which it is made, cheese ash is
characterized chiefly by the presence of calcium (lime), magnesium,
phosphorus, and iron, the average values as given in earlier
bulletins of the department[8] being 1.24 per cent calcium oxid,
0.049 per cent magnesium oxid, 1.49 per cent phosphorus pentoxid, and
0.0015 per cent iron.

The total amount of the mineral matter needed per day by the body
is relatively small, yet mineral matter is very important. It is
commonly assumed and is probably true, that a mixed diet reasonably
varied and reasonably generous will supply all the ash constituent
which the body requires. If for any reason calcium and phosphorus are
lacking in the diet, the amounts may be readily increased (as pointed
out in one of the publications just cited) by a free use of milk
and such milk products as cheese and junket, without decreasing the
palatability of the diet or materially increasing its cost.


FOOTNOTES:

[7] U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Anim. Indus. Bul. 146.

[8] U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Buls. 185 and 227.



NUTRITIVE VALUE AND COST OF CHEESE AND SOME OTHER FOOD MATERIALS.


Since the market prices of foods vary, it is difficult to compare
the amounts of nourishment secured for a given sum, 10 cents say,
in buying different food materials. We may, however, suppose that
foods have certain prices and make the comparison on this basis. In
the following table the amount of cheese obtained for 10 cents when
cheese costs 22 cents a pound is shown, together with the protein and
energy value of this quantity, this value being compared with similar
values for a number of other common foods at certain assumed prices
per pound.


_Amounts of protein and energy obtained for 10 cents expended for
cheese and other foods at certain assumed prices per pound._

  --------------+---------------------+----------+----------------------
                |                     |          | 10 cents’ worth will
                |                     | 10 cents |      contain—
   Food         |       Price.        |   will   |----------------------
     materials. |                     |  buy—    |          |  A fuel
                |                     |          | Proteid. | value of—
  --------------+---------------------+----------+----------+-----------
                |                     |_Ounces._ |_Ounces._ |_Calories._
  Cheese        | 22 cents per pound  |      7.3 |      1.9 |     886
  Beef, average | 20 cents per pound  |      8.0 |      1.2 |     467
  Porterhouse   |                     |          |          |
    steak       | 25 cents per pound  |      6.4 |      1.3 |     444
  Dried beef    |      do             |      6.4 |      1.6 |     315
  Eggs          | 24 cents per dozen  |     10.0 |      1.3 |     198
  Milk          | 9 cents per quart   |     38.3 |      1.2 |     736
  Wheat bread   | 5 cents per pound   |     32.0 |      2.9 |   2,400
  Potatoes      | 60 cents per bushel |    160.0 |          |   2,950
  Apples        | 1½ cents per pound  |    106.7 |          |   1,270
  --------------+---------------------+----------+----------+-----------

Since cheese is ready to be eaten when it comes from the market, it
may be more interesting for some purposes to compare its composition
with that of cooked beef, freed from bone and from superfluous fat,
such a piece as would be served to a person at the table. Weight for
weight, cheese has appreciably more protein than such cooked beef,
and 50 per cent more fat.

So far as its composition is concerned, then, cheese is entitled to
be considered as directly comparable with meat. The possibilities
of using cheese and some other food materials in the same way as
meat is discussed in some detail in an earlier publication of this
department.[9] It is so used by the peasants of some parts of Europe,
and was formerly so used among many other groups of people. The fact
that it is not more commonly so used in this country is probably due
to several causes. One cause is habit, which makes the meal seem
incomplete unless it includes meat; another is the fact that since
cheese has a more pronounced flavor than meat, it is not so likely to
be generally acceptable as the chief food of a meal. There is always
likely to be at least one member of the family who does not relish it
in quantity. Another cause is the fact that it is commonly believed
to be indigestible, and still another is the fact that housekeepers,
through lack of experience, are much less skillful in the arrangement
of bills of fare in which cheese is the central food than they are in
arranging bills of fare in which meat is thus used. These last two
causes will be considered in sections which follow.


FOOTNOTES:

[9] U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook 1907, p. 367.



THE DIGESTIBILITY OF CHEESE.


As was stated above, cheese has been thought a cause of digestive
disturbances, but work recently done by the Office of Experiment
Stations, in cooperation with the Bureau of Animal Industry, and
briefly summed up in a recent publication tends to disprove this.[10]

In the large number of experiments which were conducted, young men in
good health were fed on a diet consisting of bread and fruit combined
with American factory cheese which was made with different amounts
of rennet and in different stages of ripening. The results showed
that over 90 per cent of the nitrogenous material of the cheese was
digested—that is, retained in the body—and nearly 90 per cent of the
energy it supplied was available. In other words, cheese compares
favorably with other foods in thoroughness of digestion—that is,
in the percentage finally digested. Furthermore, it did not cause
constipation or other physiological disturbances.

The above statement refers to full-cream cheese. Experiments made at
the same time gave practically the same values for the digestibility
of skim-milk cheese, of Swiss cheese, of Roquefort and Camembert
cheese, and of cottage cheese.

Artificial digestion experiments made at the Minnesota Agricultural
Experiment Station[11] indicate that cheese protein is digested by
the ferments of the intestines rather than by those of the stomach,
and this is suggested as a reason for its reputation as a “hearty”
food, the belief being that some foods which remain in the stomach
longer than the average time, or are not digested by the stomach, are
“hearty.” Cheese protein (casein) is intimately associated with fat,
and there is experimental evidence to show that this condition has an
effect upon the progress of digestion in the stomach.

The burning sensation or similar sensations sometimes experienced
after eating certain sorts of cheese has been attributed to the
presence of small amounts of free fatty acids.[12] It is commonly
said that cheese is difficult to digest, the idea being that the body
expends more labor in assimilating it than is required for other
comparable foods. Experiments recently carried on by the Office of
Experiment Stations in which the respiration calorimeter was used to
study the energy expenditure during the period of active digestion,
do not indicate that cheese differs materially in ease of digestion
from a comparable amount of meat.[13] Uncooked full-cream cheese
was used in these experiments. Another series recently begun by the
Office of Experiment Stations with cooked cheese, though not yet
sufficiently advanced to be conclusive, indicates that cheese thus
eaten does not differ materially from raw cheese in this respect.

In connection with the use of cooked cheese in the diet, one fact
should always be kept in mind. This is that, in common with all
other fatty foods, cheese which has been overheated in cooking is
likely to contain burned—that is, decomposed—fats. Disturbances from
this cause, however, should be laid to poor cooking and not to the
composition of this special food.

The use of potassium bicarbonate has often been recommended for
increasing the digestibility of cheese, the amount suggested being a
level teaspoonful to a pound of cheese. That the bicarbonate renders
the cheese soluble in any appreciable degree, as has been claimed,
is not apparent from a number of experiments which have been made.
It does, however, neutralize some of the free fatty acids of the
cheese, thus destroying some of the characteristic flavor. To some
people this may be an advantage, but to others it would be counted a
disadvantage.


FOOTNOTES:

[10] U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Anim. Indus. Circ. 166.

[11] Minnesota Sta. Bul. 74.

[12] Hutchison’s “Food and the Principles of Dietetics,” London,
1901, p. 145.

[13] U. S. Dept. Agr., An. Rpt. Sec. 1910, p. 149; Rpt. Office Expt.
Stas. 1910, p. 35; Yearbook 1910, p. 359.



THE USE OF CHEESE IN THE DIET.


It has been the purpose, in preparing this discussion of cheese,
to consider ways in which mild-flavored sorts may serve as staple
articles of diet, rather than the use of highly flavored varieties
as appetizers and as accompaniments of other foods. The use
of highly flavored cheese as a condiment is customary and may
profitably be extended, since it offers a simple way of adding to
the attractiveness of the diet. The variety of the cheese selected
is a matter of choice, some persons preferring such kinds as
well-ripened American full-cream cheese or the potted cheeses, and
others such sorts as Roquefort, Camembert, and other varieties.
From the physiologist’s standpoint, cheese used in this way for its
flavor should really form a part of a well-balanced meal rather than
be added to a meal which already supplies an abundance of nutritive
material. In other words, condimental cheeses may better accompany a
moderate than a very generous menu.

In considering the use of cheese in quantity as an integral part of
the diet there are many possibilities from simple combinations like
bread and cheese to elaborate dishes in which cheese is used as a
flavor and as a principal constituent.

As has been pointed out, cheese, being rich in both protein and fat,
would logically replace such foods as meat, fish, and eggs when
taken in quantity, rather than cereal foods characterized by a large
amount of starch, or succulent foods, such as vegetables and fruits.
In planning menus of which cheese forms a large part the housekeeper
should bear these facts in mind.



BILL-OF-FARE MAKING WITH CHEESE AS THE CENTRAL FOOD.


Since meat has so generally been the chief protein food of a meal,
and the kind selected usually has determined the choice of vegetables
and condiments, it is not strange that very many housekeepers should
be inexperienced and consequently unskillful in planning meals in
which cheese is substituted for meat when for any reason they may
desire to make such a change. In seeking skill they might take a
suggestion from the experiments to which reference has been made,
and also from a case investigated and reported by the Office of
Experiment Stations, of a man who lived for months upon a diet of
bread, fruit, and cheese, and who remained in good health and active,
and did not weary of the monotony of the diet.

The first two articles of the diet mentioned, namely, the bread and
the cheese, could have been taken in such amounts as to constitute
what is usually considered a balanced ration, i.e., in such amounts
as to supply the right quantity of muscle-forming foods in comparison
with the energy value. The bread and cheese taken with the fruit,
however, make a ration which is well balanced not only in the older
and more widely accepted sense, but also in the more modern sense
that it makes an attractive and palatable combination of foods, as
well as a balanced ration, and thus favors digestion. The watery and
refreshing fruits or succulent vegetables with their large supply
of cellulose are a pleasant contrast to the concentrated and fatty
cheese.

Housekeepers would probably find that if in planning menus of which
a cheese dish is the chief feature they were to take pains to supply
also crisp, watery vegetables, water cress, celery, lettuce served
with a dressing or with salt alone, or simple fruit salads, and would
give preference to refreshing fruits, either fresh or cooked, rather
than to what are known as heavy desserts, they would in general be
more successful in pleasing those who are served.

There is another point also to be considered in combining cheese with
other foods. Whether it is raw or cooked it is likely to be somewhat
soft, and so seems to call for the harder kinds of bread—crusty
rolls or biscuit, zweiback, toast, pulled bread, rye bread, the
harder brown breads, or crackers, and some of the numerous crisp
ready-to-eat cereal breakfast foods. Brittle cookies, too, seem more
suitable than rich soft cakes or puddings for the dessert in such
meals.

A few bills of fare are given below which experience has shown to
represent combinations of dishes which are palatable and which, if
eaten in usual amounts, will supply protein and energy in proportions
which accord with usual dietary standards. Menus such as these are
more commonly served at lunch or at supper, but they might equally
well be served for dinner, the selection of dishes for any meal being
of course chiefly a matter of custom and convenience for those who
have any range of choice.


_Suggested bills of fare in which cheese dishes are the chief source
of protein and fat._

  MENU NO. 1.

  Macaroni and cheese (p. 26 or p. 27).
  Raisin bread or date bread.
  Orange and water-cress salad.
  Baked apples.
  Sugar cookies.
  Cocoa.


  MENU NO. 2.

  Cheese fondue (p. 24 or p. 25).
  Toast, zwieback, or thin and crisp baking-powder biscuit.
  Celery.
  Potatoes, baked, boiled, or fried in deep fat.
  Peas, or some other fresh vegetables.
  Coffee.
  Fruit salad with crisp cookies or meringues.


  MENU NO. 3.

  Clear soup.
  Baked eggs with cheese (p. 29) or Boston roast (p. 28).
  Baked potatoes.
  Lettuce salad.
  A sweet jelly, crab apple or quince for example, or a preserve.
  Rye bread.
  Orange or banana shortcake.
  Tea.

These bills of fare should be taken as suggestive merely and not as
a solution of the problem. In fact, the whole art of making bills of
fare needs developing. There is abundant evidence that overeating,
where it exists, is frequently due to the fact that meals are not
skillfully planned. People often continue eating after they have
taken enough in total bulk because they have not had all they want
of some particular kind of food. The meal has contained too large a
percentage of proteid or too much starch; has been too moist or too
dry; too highly flavored or not sufficiently flavored. Bill-of-fare
making calls not only for knowledge of food values but also for skill
in combining flavors and textures.

In this discussion of menu making, and of the use of cheese as an
integral part of the diet, the aim has been to suggest ways of
using cheese to add to the palatability of meals made up of usual
dishes, and to suggest dishes containing cheese which could serve as
substitutes for meat dishes when so desired, and also for dishes of
many sorts to be used as taste suggests and in which the nutritive
value as well as the flavor is increased by the addition of cheese.
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.



HOMEMADE CHEESE.


Even as late as a generation or two ago cheese of different kinds was
made at home for family use, as sour-milk or cottage cheese still is,
and cheese making was very generally a farm industry, cheese, like
butter, being sold by the farmer who made it. Cottage cheese is very
commonly homemade. Most types of cheese, however, are now as a rule
made on a large scale in factories where advantage may be taken of
labor-saving devices. The general topic of farm cheese making has
been considered in an earlier bulletin of this series,[14] prepared
by the Dairy Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry.


Curds and Whey.

  Cheese curds and whey, an old-fashioned dish, which is often spoken
  of in accounts of life in earlier times, sometimes refers to
  sour-milk curd and sometimes to curd separated with rennet. This
  dish when made with rennet is much like junket and though far less
  common to-day than was once the case is wholesome and palatable.


Cottage Cheese.

  This cheese is very commonly prepared in the home, and the process
  of making it is very simple. It consists merely of curdling the
  milk, separating the curd from the whey, seasoning, and pressing it.

  The curd is formed by the souring of the milk, and the process is
  hastened if the milk is kept warm, the best temperature being about
  blood heat, 96° F. A temperature much above this should be avoided,
  as the curd is likely to become hard and tough if much heated. The
  danger is usually not that the whole will be overheated but that
  the portion nearest the fire will be. In the old-fashioned kitchen
  there was usually a place where the milk could stand till it was
  uniformly warm throughout. With our present cooking arrangements
  it is often desirable to hasten the process. This may be done by
  setting the milk into a pan of warm water or by pouring hot water
  directly into the milk itself. The effect of the latter method
  is to remove much more of the acid than when the whey is left
  undiluted. Some consider this a great advantage.

  If, for any reason, the curd is overheated, it should be put
  through a meat chopper. This will insure cottage cheese of
  excellent texture.

  If the milk is thoroughly chilled before the whey is drained off
  it retains more of the fat than if this is done when warm. Under
  no circumstances, however, is much of the fat retained in cottage
  cheese. It is therefore more economical to make it out of skim milk
  and to add the fat to the curd in the form of butter or cream.

  Chopped parsley, caraway seeds, chopped olives, and pimiento may
  all be used for flavoring if such flavored cheese is preferred to
  plain cottage cheese.

  Cottage cheese[15] is most commonly consumed immediately, but if
  made in quantity for commercial purposes, it may be packed in tubs
  and placed in cold storage. Sometimes it is formed into rolls or
  blocks and wrapped in tinfoil when marketed. Such cheese is used
  without ripening.

  Though cottage cheese is usually made by allowing the milk to sour
  naturally, it is sometimes more convenient to curdle the milk by
  adding rennet, and some housekeepers have a preference for cottage
  cheese thus made, since the flavor is milder and the acid taste
  which it possesses when made from sour milk is lacking.


Sour-Cream Cheese.

  When cream is to be made into cheese similar to cottage cheese,
  it should be drained without having previously been heated. The
  drainage is facilitated by moistening the cloth in salt water
  before the cream is poured in. The curd is formed either by souring
  or by the addition of rennet.


Uncooked Curd, or French Cottage Cheese.

  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. It is a staple dessert in many
  French families, especially in hot weather, and is delicious served
  with acid fruit, such as currants, or with strawberries.


Junket.

  If cottage cheese is made from sweet milk and rennet and served
  without breaking and separating the curd and whey, the dish is
  called junket. It is customary to season it a little, as with
  grated nutmeg or with cinnamon and sugar.


Buttermilk Cheese.

  At the Wisconsin Experiment Station[16] a method has been devised
  for making a soft moist cheese out of buttermilk. When made on
  a large scale, as it might be in creameries, there are various
  precautions to be taken which are pointed out in the publication
  cited. In making it in small quantities, these precautions are
  unnecessary, and the method is even simpler than that of making
  cottage cheese, because the quality does not depend so much on the
  temperature.

  To make the buttermilk cheese, heat buttermilk gradually to about
  130° or 140° F. Allow it to cool and strain it. As the curd will
  settle to the bottom, most of the whey may be poured off before the
  draining is begun.

  This cheese is, of course, almost wholly without fat and yet,
  probably because the particles of curd are very finely divided,
  it has a smooth consistency, which suggests the presence of fat.
  It may be served seasoned with salt only or it may be mixed with
  butter or cream and seasonings. It is suitable for combining with
  olives and pimientos, as recommended on page 34, or for any use to
  which the ordinary cream cheeses are put.

Buttermilk Cream.

  This product also was devised by the Wisconsin Experiment
  Station.[17] By controlling the temperature in heating the
  buttermilk and not allowing it to go above 100° F., a compound
  is made which after draining has the consistency of a very thick
  cream. It is claimed by the station investigators that this “cream”
  is suitable for eating on bread in place of butter.

  The recipes on pages 34 and 35 suggest ways of making a salad
  dressing out of buttermilk cream.


Devonshire Cream.

  Devonshire cream somewhat resembles sweet cream in flavor and
  consistency. It is very much liked in England, where it is commonly
  eaten with fresh or preserved fruit, but is not so well known in
  America.

  To make Devonshire cream, allow a pan of whole milk to stand for
  24 hours in a cool place or for 12 hours in a warmer place. Place
  the pan on the cooler part of the stove and heat until the milk is
  very hot, but not to the boiling point. If heated too much a thick
  skin will form on the surface. The more slowly the milk is heated
  the better. Having been heated, the milk should be kept in a cool
  place for 24 hours and then skimmed. The thick cream obtained has a
  characteristic flavor and texture.


FOOTNOTES:

[14] U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmer’s Bul. 166.

[15] North Carolina Sta. Bul. 210.

[16] Wisconsin Sta. Bul. 195.

[17] Loc. cit.



CHEESE DISHES AND THEIR PREPARATION.


The list of cheese dishes in the culinary literature of this and
other countries is a long one, but most of them are variations of a
comparatively small number of general types. Those which have been
selected and studied experimentally represent the principal types and
in many cases have been adapted to American methods of preparations
and tastes. In some instances, this has resulted in new and perhaps
more rational combinations than those which served as models.

For convenience, the cheese dishes included in this bulletin have
been grouped under the following heads:

  (1) Cheese dishes which may serve as meat substitutes.
  (2) Cheese soups and vegetables cooked with cheese.
  (3) Cheese salads, sandwiches, and similar dishes.
  (4) Cheese pastry, cheese sweets, and similar dishes.

Variety may be obtained in the recipes by varying the flavorings.
Among the best flavorings for cheese dishes are onion, chives, and
the ordinary green sweet pepper. Since the cheese needs very little
cooking, however, and onion or the pepper needs a great deal, they
should always be previously cooked, either by stewing in a very
little water, or by cooking in butter. The seeds of the pepper,
of course, should be removed before cooking. Where chopped celery
is used, as it may be in most of these dishes, it, too, should be
cooked beforehand until tender. Other good flavors are mustard, curry
powder, onion juice, chopped olives, pimiento, and, according to
European recipes, nutmeg or mace.

In preparing the cheese it often has been found convenient to use a
very coarse grater having slits instead of the usual rounded holes.
Such a grater, in spite of its name, shaves the cheese instead of
grating it. When the cheese is soft this is an advantage, since the
grater does not become clogged.



CHEESE DISHES WHICH MAY BE USED IN THE SAME WAY AS MEAT.


Meat is wholesome and relished by most persons, yet it is not
essential to a well-balanced meal and there are many housekeepers
who for one reason or another are interested in lessening the amount
of meat which they provide or to substitute some other foods for it.
The problem with the average family is undoubtedly more often the
occasional substitution of other palatable dishes for the sake of
variety, for reasons of economy, or for some other reason than the
general replacement of meat dishes by other things.

Foods which are to be served in place of meat should be rich in
protein and fat and should also be savory. Cheese naturally suggests
itself as a substitute for meat, since it is rich in the same kinds
of nutrients which meat supplies, is a staple food with which
everyone is familiar, and is one which can be used in a great variety
of ways. In substituting cheese for meat, especial pains should
be taken to serve dishes which are relished by the members of the
family. A number of recipes for dishes which contain cheese are given
below. They are preceded by several recipes for cheese sauces which,
as will appear, are called for in the preparation of some of the more
substantial dishes.


Cheese Sauce No. 1.

  1 cupful of milk.
  2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
  1 ounce of cheese (¼ cupful of grated cheese).
  Salt and pepper.

  Thicken the milk with the flour and just before serving add the
  cheese, stirring until it is melted.

  This sauce is suitable to use in preparing creamed eggs, or to pour
  over toast, making a dish corresponding to ordinary milk toast,
  except for the presence of cheese. It may be seasoned with a little
  curry powder and poured over hard-boiled eggs.


Cheese Sauce No. 2.

  Same as cheese sauce No. 1, except that the cheese is increased
  from 1 to 2 ounces.

  This sauce is suitable for using with macaroni or rice, or for
  baking with crackers soaked in milk. (See p. 27.)


Cheese Sauce No. 3.

  Same as cheese sauce No. 1, except that two cupfuls of grated
  cheese or 8 ounces are used. This may be used upon toast as a
  substitute for Welsh rabbit.


Cheese Sauce No. 4.

  Same as cheese sauce No. 2, save that 2 tablespoonfuls of melted
  butter are mixed with the flour before the latter is put into the
  milk. This sauce is therefore very rich in fat and has only a mild
  flavor of cheese.

Among the recipes for dishes which may be used like meat, the first
30 are such that, eaten in usual quantities, they will provide much
the same kind and amount of nutritive material as the ordinary
servings of meat dishes used at dinner. In several cases there is a
resemblance in appearance and flavor to common meat dishes, which
would doubtless be a point in their favor with many families.

While, chiefly owing to custom, it may not accord with the taste of
the family to serve cheese dishes at dinner in place of meat, it
is much more in accord with usual dietary habits in American homes
to serve such dishes at least occasionally for lunch, for supper,
or for breakfast; that is, for a less formal meal than dinner. The
last group of recipes in this section, beginning with “breakfast
cereals with cheese,” supply rather smaller proportions of nutritive
materials than those in the first group and so may be more suitable
for use at the less hearty meals. There is no hard and fast line to
be drawn between the two groups, however, and many of the recipes may
be used interchangeably.

In the recipes calling for large amounts of cheese the food value
is given, not in figures, but in comparison with beef of average
composition and average percentage of waste. This comparison is
necessarily rough owing to the varying composition of the foods
and the varying weights of such ingredients as a cupful of grated
cheese or bread crumbs. In making the comparisons, beef of average
composition has been considered to have 15.2 per cent of protein,
and a fuel value of 935 calories per pound; ordinary American cheese
has been considered to have 26 per cent of protein and a fuel value
of 1,965 calories per pound. After many weighings, 4 ounces was
decided to be the average weight of a cupful of cheese and 2½ ounces
the average weight of a cupful of bread crumbs. These weights have
been taken, therefore, in calculating the food value of dishes.
When cheese is very soft, however, it may be pressed into a cup and
measured like butter. Under these circumstances, the weight of a
cupful of cheese may be considered one-half a pound. The price of
cheese is taken as 22 cents a pound, of butter 25 cents a pound,
of eggs 25 cents a dozen, in this and all similar calculations in
this bulletin. Prices vary with time, place, and season. Those
mentioned above are such as were paid for materials at the time the
experiments here summarized were made and are not extreme values in
either direction. Like all such estimates, the calculations are only
relative, and the housekeeper who wishes to estimate the comparative
cost of the cheese dishes and other foods can readily do so by taking
into account the amount of materials used and the prices paid for
ingredients at any particular time.


Cheese Fondue No. 1.

  1⅓ cupfuls of soft, stale bread crumbs.
  6 ounces of cheese (1½ cupfuls of grated
    cheese or 1⅓ cupfuls of cheese grated
    fine or cut into small pieces.)
  4 eggs.
  1 cupful of hot water.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.

  Mix the water, bread crumbs, salt, and cheese; add the yolks
  thoroughly beaten; into this mixture cut and fold the whites of
  eggs beaten until stiff. Pour into a buttered baking dish and cook
  30 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve at once.

  The food value of this dish, made with the above quantities, is
  almost exactly the same as that of a pound of beef of average
  composition and a pound of potatoes combined. It contains about 80
  grams of proteids and has a fuel value of about 1,300 calories.
  Estimated cost, 18 cents, calculated as explained on p. 23.


Cheese Fondue No. 2.

  1⅓ cupfuls of hot milk.
  1⅓ cupfuls of soft, stale bread crumbs.
  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  4 eggs.
  ⅓ of a pound of cheese (1⅓ cupfuls of grated
    cheese or 1 cupful of cheese cut into
    small pieces).
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.

  Prepare as in previous recipe.

  The protein value of this dish is equal to that of 1⅛ pounds of
  potato and beef, the fuel value, however, being much in excess of
  these. Calculated cost (see p. 23), 22 cents.

  In making either of these fondues, rice or other cereals may be
  substituted for bread crumbs. One-fourth cupful of rice measured
  before cooking, or one cupful of cooked rice or other cereals,
  should be used.

  A comparison of the recipes for the two fondues may indicate the
  general principle on which the recipes in this bulletin have been
  worked out. The second recipe is one commonly found in cookbooks.
  In the first one, the butter has been omitted and water substituted
  for milk and the amount of cheese is slightly increased. This makes
  a somewhat cheaper dish and one which is less rich because its
  percentage of fat is not so great. For this reason it is easier
  to adjust to the ordinary bill of fare. A dish in which there is
  combined cheese with its large percentage of fat, butter with its
  85 per cent of fat, and eggs with their 10 per cent of fat, is
  too rich to admit of being combined rationally with other fatty
  dishes. It therefore limits the number of dishes that may be served
  with it, making milk soup, for example, or dishes containing white
  sauce or those containing much butter or oil seem out of place. The
  omission of butter from the ordinary recipes and the substitution
  of water or skimmed milk for whole milk may perhaps be the means of
  making cheese dishes more wholesome and more generally acceptable.

  Another advantage of omitting butter from cheese dishes and of
  substituting water or skimmed milk for whole milk is that it makes
  it possible to increase the amount of cheese without making the
  dish too rich. This is of advantage to those who like the flavor of
  cheese, and also, because it tends to increase the tissue-forming
  value of the dish, particularly if skimmed milk is used rather than
  water.


Boiled Fondue.

  1½ cupfuls of bread crumbs.
  1½ cupfuls of milk.
  1½ cupfuls of cheese cut into small pieces.
  1 egg.
  2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
  6 ounces of crackers.

  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.


Rice Fondue.

  1 cupful of boiled rice.
  2 tablespoonfuls of milk.
  4 eggs.
  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.
  1 teaspoonful of some commercial meat
    sauce, or similar flavoring.

  Heat the rice in the milk, add the other ingredients, and cook
  slowly until the cheese is melted. Serve on crackers or toast.

  The food value is not far from that of a pound of beef of average
  composition, and the calculated cost (see p. 23) is 15 cents.


Corn and Cheese Soufflé.

  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  1 tablespoonful of chopped green pepper.
  ¼ cupful of flour.
  2 cupfuls of milk.
  1 cupful of chopped corn.
  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  3 eggs.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.

  Melt the butter and cook the pepper thoroughly in it. Make a sauce
  out of the flour, milk, and cheese (see p. 23); add the corn,
  cheese, yolks, and seasoning; cut and fold in the whites beaten
  stiffly; turn into a buttered baking dish and bake in a moderate
  oven 30 minutes.

  Made with skimmed milk and without butter, this dish has a food
  value slightly in excess of a pound of beef and a pound of
  potatoes. Calculated cost (see p. 23), about 20 cents.


Welsh Rabbit.

  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  1 teaspoonful of cornstarch.
  ½ cupful of milk.
  ½ pound of cheese, cut into small pieces.
  ¼ teaspoonful each of salt and mustard.
  A speck of cayenne pepper.

  Cook the cornstarch in the butter; then add the milk gradually
  and cook two minutes; add the cheese and stir until it is melted.
  Season and serve on crackers or bread toasted on one side, the
  rabbit being poured over the untoasted side. Food value is that of
  about three-fourths of a pound of beef. Calculated cost (see p.
  23), 13 cents.


Tomato Rabbit.

  2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
  2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
  ¾ cupful of milk.
  ¾ cupful of stewed and strained tomatoes.
  ⅛ teaspoonful of soda.
  1 pound of cheese.
  2 eggs, slightly beaten.
  Salt, mustard, cayenne pepper.

  Cook the butter and the flour together, add the milk, and as soon
  as the mixture thickens add tomatoes and soda. Then add cheese,
  eggs, and seasoning. Serve on toasted whole wheat or Graham bread.


Green Corn, Tomato, and Cheese.

  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  2 cups of grated cheese.
  ¾ cup of canned or grated fresh corn.
  1 ripe pimiento.
  ½ cup of tomato purée.
  2 egg yolks.
  1 teaspoonful of salt.
  ½ teaspoonful of paprika.
  1 clove of garlic.
  4 slices of bread.

  Into the melted butter stir the cheese until it, too, is melted.
  Then add the corn and pimiento, stir for a moment and add the egg
  yolks beaten and mixed with the tomato juice and the salt and
  paprika. Have ready the bread toasted on one side and very lightly
  rubbed on its untoasted side with the garlic cut in two. Pour the
  mixture over the untoasted side of the bread and serve at once. A
  poached egg is sometimes placed on top of each portion, making a
  very nutritious combination.


Macaroni and Cheese No. 1.

  1 cupful of macaroni, broken into small pieces.
  2 quarts of boiling salted water.
  1 cupful of milk.
  2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
  ¼ to ½ pound of cheese.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.
  Speck of cayenne pepper.

  Cook the macaroni in the boiling salted water, drain in a strainer,
  and pour cold water over it to prevent the pieces from adhering
  to each other. Make a sauce out of the flour, milk, and cheese.
  (See p. 23.) Put the sauce and macaroni in alternate layers in a
  buttered baking dish, cover with buttered crumbs, and heat in oven
  until crumbs are brown.


Macaroni and Cheese No. 2.

  A good way to prepare macaroni and cheese is to make a rich cheese
  sauce and heat the macaroni in it. (See p. 23.) The mixture is
  usually covered with buttered crumbs and browned in the oven. The
  advantage of this way of preparing the dish, however, is that it is
  unnecessary to have a hot oven, as the sauce and macaroni may be
  reheated on the top of the stove.


Macaroni with Cheese and Tomato Sauce.

  Boiled macaroni may be heated in tomato sauce and sprinkled with
  grated cheese just before serving.


Italian Macaroni and Cheese.

  1 cupful of macaroni broken into small pieces.
  2 quarts of boiling salted water.
  ½ onion.
  2 cloves.
  1½ cupfuls of tomato sauce.
  ½ cupful or more of grated cheese.

  Cook the macaroni in the boiling salted water with the onion and
  cloves. Drain, remove the onion and cloves, reheat in tomato sauce,
  and serve with grated cheese.


Cheese and Macaroni Loaf.

  ½ cupful of macaroni broken into small pieces.
  1 cupful of milk.
  1 cupful of soft bread crumbs.
  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  1 tablespoonful of chopped green pepper.
  1 teaspoonful each of chopped onion and parsley.
  3 eggs.
  1 teaspoonful of salt.
  ½ cupful of grated cheese.

  Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water until tender, and rinse
  in cold water. Cook the parsley, onion, and pepper in a little
  water with the butter. Pour off the water or allow it to boil away.
  Beat the egg white and yolk separately. Mix all the ingredients,
  cutting and folding in the stiffly beaten whites at the last. Line
  a quart baking dish with buttered paper; turn the mixture into it;
  set the baking dish in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate
  oven from one-half to three-fourths of an hour. Serve with tomato
  sauce.


Baked Rice and Cheese No. 1.

  1 cupful of uncooked rice and
  4 cupfuls of milk;
          or,
  3 cupfuls of cooked rice and
  1 cupful of milk.

  2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
  ½ pound of cheese.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.

  If uncooked rice is used, it should be cooked in 3 cupfuls of milk.
  Make a sauce with one cupful of milk, add the flour, cheese, and
  salt. (See p. 23.) Into a buttered baking dish put alternate layers
  of the cooked rice and the sauce. Cover with buttered crumbs and
  bake until the crumbs are brown. The proteids in this dish, made
  with rice cooked in milk, are equal to those of nearly 1¾ pounds
  of average beef. If skimmed milk is used, the fuel value is equal
  to nearly 3½ pounds of beef. Whole milk raises the fuel value
  still higher. Estimated cost (see p. 23), 28 cents.


Baked Rice and Cheese No. 2.

  ¼ pound of cheese grated or cut into small pieces.
  1 cupful of rice.
  Milk as needed.

  Cook the rice; put into a buttered baking dish alternate layers of
  rice and cheese; pour over them enough milk to come halfway to the
  top of the rice; cover with buttered crumbs and brown.

  If the rice is cooked in milk either whole or skimmed, and one cup
  of milk is used to pour over it, this dish has as much protein as
  1¼ pounds of beef of average composition, and a much higher fuel
  value.


Baked Crackers and Cheese No. 1.

  9 or 10 butter crackers or Boston crackers.
  ¼ pound of cheese or 1 cupful of grated cheese.
  1½ cupfuls of milk.
  ¼ teaspoonful of salt.
  Flour.

  Split the crackers, if the thick sort are selected, or with a sharp
  knife cut them into pieces of uniform size. Pour the milk over
  them and drain it off at once. With the milk, flour, cheese, and
  salt, make a sauce. (See p. 23.) Into a buttered baking dish put
  alternate layers of the soaked crackers and sauce. Cover with bread
  crumbs and brown in the oven, or simply reheat without covering
  with crumbs.

  The above is a very satisfactory substitute for macaroni and
  cheese, and can be prepared in less time.


Baked Crackers and Cheese No. 2.

  9 or 10 butter crackers or soda crackers.
  2 cupfuls of hot milk, whole or skimmed.
  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  ¼ teaspoonful of salt.

  This is more quickly prepared than the preceding recipe, but as the
  milk is likely to curdle, it has not so good a consistency.

  Soak the crackers in the milk; place them in a buttered baking
  dish in alternate layers with the cheese; pour the remaining milk
  over them and bake. This dish may be covered with buttered crumbs.
  Variety may be secured, in either this recipe or the preceding one,
  by putting a very small amount of mixed mustard on each cracker.


Cheese Rolls.

  A large variety of rolls may be made by combining legumes, either
  beans of various kinds, cowpeas, lentils, or peas, with cheese of
  various kinds, and adding bread crumbs to make the mixture thick
  enough to form into a roll. Beans are usually mashed, but peas or
  small Lima beans may be combined whole with bread crumbs and grated
  cheese, and enough of the liquor in which the vegetables have been
  cooked may be added to get the right consistency. Or, instead of
  beans or peas, chopped spinach, beet tops, or head lettuce may
  be used. Homemade cottage cheese, and the soft cream cheese of
  commerce, standard cheese, or English dairy may be used.


Boston Roast.

  1 pound can of kidney beans or equivalent
    quantity of cooked beans.
  ½ pound of grated cheese.
  Bread crumbs.
  Salt.

  Mash the beans or put them through a meat grinder. Add the cheese
  and sufficient bread crumbs to make the mixture stiff enough to be
  formed into a roll. Bake in a moderate oven, basting occasionally
  with butter and water. Serve with tomato sauce. This dish may be
  flavored with onions, chopped and cooked in butter and water.


Pimiento and Cheese Roast.

  2 cupfuls of cooked Lima beans.
  ¼ pound of cream cheese, commercial or homemade.
  3 canned pimientos chopped.
  Bread crumbs.

  Put the first three ingredients through a meat chopper. Mix
  thoroughly and add bread crumbs until it is stiff enough to form
  into a roll. Brown in the oven, basting occasionally with butter
  and water.


Nut and Cheese Roast.

  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  1 cupful of chopped English walnuts.
  1 cupful of bread crumbs.
  2 tablespoonfuls of chopped onion.
  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  Juice of half a lemon.
  Salt and pepper.

  Cook the onion in the butter and a little water until it is tender.
  Mix the other ingredients and moisten with water, using the water
  in which the onion has been cooked. Pour into a shallow baking dish
  and brown in the oven.


Cheese and Spinach Roll.

  2 quarts of spinach.
  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  Salt.
  Bread crumbs.

  Cook the spinach in water for 10 minutes. Drain off the water, add
  the butter, cook until tender, and chop. Add the grated cheese and
  then bread crumbs enough to make a mixture sufficiently stiff to
  form into a roll, or leave more moist and cook in a baking dish.


Vegetable and Cheese Rolls.

  For the spinach of the above recipe there may be substituted beet
  tops, Swiss chard, or the outer leaves of lettuce.


Cheese Used in the Stuffing of Meat.

  The mixtures in the preceding two recipes may be used for stuffing
  veal or beef. Eggs may be added if desired, and chopped onions
  or parsley may be cooked with the greens. In Italy roasts thus
  prepared are sprinkled with a little finely chopped garlic, and
  covered with celery tops and thin slices of bacon or fat pork
  before roasting.


Creamed Cheese and Eggs.

  3 hard-boiled eggs.
  1 tablespoonful of flour.
  1 cupful of milk.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.
  Speck of cayenne.
  ¼ cupful or 1 ounce grated cheese.
  4 slices of toast.

  Make a thin white sauce with the flour and milk and seasonings. Add
  the cheese and stir until melted. Chop the whites and add them to
  the sauce. Pour the sauce over the toast, force the yolks through a
  potato ricer or strainer, sprinkle over the toast.


Baked Eggs with Cheese.

  4 eggs.
  1 cupful, or 4 ounces, of grated cheese.
  1 cupful of fine, soft, stale bread crumbs.
  ¼ teaspoonful salt.
  A few grains of Cayenne pepper.

  Break the eggs into a buttered baking dish or into ramekins and
  cook them in a hot oven until they begin to turn white around the
  edge. Cover with the mixture of crumbs, cheese, and seasonings.
  Brown in a very hot oven. In preparing this dish it is essential
  that the oven be very hot or the egg will be too much cooked by the
  time the cheese is brown. To avoid this, some cooks cover the eggs
  with white sauce before adding crumbs.

  The food value of the dish is very close to that of a pound of beef
  of average composition. The estimated cost (see p. 23) is about 14
  cents.

  For those who are particularly fond of cheese the amount of cheese
  in this recipe may be very much increased, thus making a much more
  nourishing dish. Or the amount may be reduced so as to give hardly
  more than a suggestion of the flavor of cheese.


Scrambled Eggs with Cheese.

  ½ pound of cheese grated or cut into small pieces.
  8 eggs
  1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley.
  A pinch of nutmeg.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.

  Beat the eggs slightly, mix them with the other ingredients, and
  cook over a very slow fire, stirring constantly, so that the cheese
  may be melted by the time the eggs are cooked. In food value the
  dish is equal to nearly 2 pounds of average beef. The calculated
  cost (see p. 23) is about 30 cents.


Swiss Eggs.

  4 eggs.
  ½ cupful of cream.
  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  Salt and pepper.
  ¼ cupful of grated cheese.

  Heat the butter and cream together, break in the eggs whole,
  sprinkle with salt and pepper. When nearly done, add the cheese.
  Serve on buttered toast. Strain the cream over the toast.


Cheese Omelet No. 1.

  Cheese may be introduced into omelets in several ways. An ordinary
  omelet may be served with thin cheese sauce made in the following
  proportions:

  1½ tablespoonfuls of flour.
  ¼ cupful of grated cheese.
  1 cupful of milk.

  This sauce may also be added to omelets in which boiled rice,
  minced meat, or some other nutritious material has been included.


Cheese Omelet No. 2.

  Grated cheese may be sprinkled over an ordinary omelet before it is
  served.


Cheese Omelet No. 3.

  Yolks of 2 eggs.
  2 tablespoonfuls of hot water.
  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  Salt and pepper.
  Whites of 4 eggs.
  1 tablespoonful of butter.

  Beat the yolks until lemon colored and add the hot water and the
  seasoning. Beat the whites until they are stiff, and add the
  cheese. Cut and fold the two mixtures together. Heat the butter in
  omelet pan and cook the mixture very slowly until it is brown on
  the underside. If possible, cook the top of the omelet in the oven
  or by means of a hot plate held over it.


Breakfast Cereals with Cheese.

  That cheese combined with cereal foods makes a rational dish as
  regards the proportion of nutrients it supplies has been pointed
  out on another page (p. 18). Cheese and some of the crisp “ready to
  serve” cereal breakfast foods is a combination which is common, the
  cheese being melted with the cereal food, or simply served with it.

  There are many who relish a piece of cheese with the cooked cereal
  so commonly eaten for breakfast and find such a combination
  satisfying to appetite and taste. Oatmeal or some other home-cooked
  breakfast cereal prepared with cheese is palatable, and such
  dishes have an advantage in that they may be served without cream
  and sugar. Since such a dish contains considerably more protein
  than the breakfast cereals as ordinarily served, it has a further
  advantage in that it may well serve as the principal item of a
  breakfast menu, instead of a preliminary to other courses. Such
  a combination as cereals cooked with cheese, toast, fruit, and
  tea, coffee, or chocolate, makes a palatable as well as nutritious
  breakfast and one which does not require much work to prepare and
  to clear away. A recipe for preparing oatmeal with cheese follows.
  Wheat breakfast foods, either parched or unparched, corn meal, and
  hominy may be prepared in the same way.


Oatmeal with Cheese.

  2 cupfuls of oatmeal.
  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  1 tablespoonful of butter.
  1 level teaspoonful of salt.

  Cook the oatmeal as usual. Shortly before serving, stir in the
  butter and add the cheese, and stir until the cheese is melted and
  thoroughly blended with the cereal.

  The cheese should be mild in flavor and soft in texture. The
  proportion of cheese used may be increased if a more pronounced
  cheese flavor is desired.


Cheese with Mush.

  Cheese may be added to corn-meal mush or to mush made from any of
  the corn or wheat preparations now on the market. The addition of
  cheese to corn-meal mush is particularly desirable when the mush is
  to be fried.


Fried Bread with Cheese No. 1.

  6 slices of bread.
  1 cupful of milk.
  2 ounces of cheese, or ½ cupful of grated cheese.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.
  ½ teaspoonful of potassium bicarbonate.
  Butter or other fat for frying.

  Scald the milk with the potassium bicarbonate; add the grated
  cheese, and stir until it dissolves. Dip the bread in this mixture
  and fry it in the butter. The potassium bicarbonate helps to keep
  the cheese in solution. It is desirable, however, to keep the milk
  hot while the bread is being dipped.


Fried Bread with Cheese No. 2.

  Cut stale bread into thin pieces. Put two pieces together with
  grated cheese between them; dip into a mixture of egg and milk and
  fry in butter or other fat.


Roman Gnocchi.

  ¼ cupful of butter.
  ¼ cupful of flour.
  ¼ cupful of cornstarch.
  2 cupfuls of milk.
  2 egg yolks.
  ¾ cupful of grated cheese.
  Salt.

  Melt the butter; cook the cornstarch thoroughly, and then the flour
  in the butter; add the milk gradually; cook three minutes, stirring
  constantly; add the yolks and one-half cupful of the cheese. Pour
  into a buttered shallow pan and cool. Cut into squares; place them
  on a platter a little distance apart; sprinkle with remaining
  cheese, and brown in the oven.

  The proteid value is that of three-fourths of a pound of average
  beef, the fuel value that of 1¾ pounds. Calculated cost (see p.
  23), 17 cents.


Cheese Soufflé.

  2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
  3 tablespoonfuls of flour.
  ½ cupful of milk (scalded).
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.
  A speck of cayenne.
  ¼ cupful of grated cheese.
  3 eggs.

  Melt the butter; add the flour and, when well mixed, add gradually
  the scalded milk. Then add salt, cayenne, and cheese. Remove from
  the fire and add the yolks of the eggs, beaten until lemon colored.
  Cool the mixture and fold into it the whites of the eggs, beaten
  until stiff. Pour into a buttered baking dish and cook 20 minutes
  in a slow oven. Serve at once.

  The proteid of this recipe is equal to that of half a pound of
  beef; the fuel value is equal to that of three-fourths of a pound.


Cheese Soufflé with Pastry.

  2 eggs.
  ⅔ cupful of thin cream.
  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  ½ cupful of Swiss cheese cut into small pieces.
  Salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg.

  Add the eggs to the cream and beat slightly, then add the cheese
  and seasoning. Bake 15 minutes in a hot oven, in patty tins lined
  with puff paste.


Cheese Croquettes.

  3 tablespoonfuls of butter.
  ¼ cupful of flour.
  ⅔ cupful of milk.
  Yolks of 2 eggs.
  1 cupful of cheese cut in very small pieces.
  ½ cupful grated cheese.
  Salt and pepper.

  Make with a white sauce, using the butter, flour, and the milk. Add
  the unbeaten yolks and stir until well mixed, then add the grated
  cheese. As soon as the cheese melts, remove from the fire, fold in
  the pieces of cheese, and add the seasoning. Spread in a shallow
  pan and cool. Cut into squares or strips, cover with an egg and
  crumb mixture, and fry in deep fat.


Fried Cheese Balls.

  1½ cupfuls of grated cheese.
  1 tablespoonful of flour.
  The whites of 3 eggs.
  Salt, pepper, cracker dust.

  Beat the whites of the eggs; add the other ingredients; make into
  balls and roll in cracker dust. If the amount of flour is doubled,
  the mixture may be dropped from a spoon and fried without being
  rolled in crumbs.



CHEESE SOUPS AND VEGETABLES COOKED WITH CHEESE.


In these dishes the cheese is used not only to add nutritive value,
but also to give its characteristic flavor either to materials
otherwise rather mild in taste (as in potatoes with cheese) or to
combine its flavor with that of some more highly flavored vegetables
(as in cheese and vegetable soup). The ingenious housekeeper whose
family is fond of cheese can doubtless think of many desirable ways
of making such combinations besides those given in the following
recipes:


Milk and Cheese Soup.

  3 cupfuls of milk, or part milk and part stock.
  1½ tablespoonfuls of flour.
  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  Salt and paprika.

  Thicken the milk with the flour, cooking thoroughly. This is best
  done in a double boiler, with frequent stirrings. When ready to
  serve, add the cheese and the seasoning.

  The proteids in this soup are equal in amount to those in
  five-sixths of a pound of beef of average composition; its fuel
  value is higher than that of a pound of beef.


Cheese and Vegetable Soup.

  2 cupfuls of stock.
  2 tablespoonfuls of finely chopped carrots.
  1 tablespoonful of chopped onion.
  A very little mace.
  2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
  2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
  1½ teaspoonfuls of salt.
  1 cupful of scalded milk.
  ¼ cupful of grated cheese.

  Cook the vegetables a short time in one-half of the butter, add
  the stock and the mace, boiling 15 or 20 minutes. Strain and add
  the milk. Thicken with flour cooked in the remaining butter. Just
  before serving, stir in the cheese and cook until it is melted.


Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese No. 1.

  Put into a buttered baking dish alternate layers of cheese sauce
  No. 1 (see p. 22) and cold boiled potatoes, sliced or cut into
  dice. Cover with buttered crumbs and bake.


Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese No. 2.

  Put into a buttered baking dish alternate layers of white sauce and
  cold boiled potatoes, either sliced or cut into dice. Put over the
  top a layer of grated cheese and then a layer of buttered bread
  crumbs. Brown in the oven.


Scalloped Cabbage or Cauliflower with Cheese.

  Cauliflower or cabbage may be scalloped according to either of
  the recipes given for scalloped potatoes and cheese. Sometimes a
  cauliflower is boiled whole, spread with grated cheese, then with
  buttered bread crumbs. It is browned in the oven and served with
  white sauce poured around it.


Cheese with Potato Puffs.

  1 cupful of mashed potatoes.
  ¼ cupful of milk.
  1 egg.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.
  ½ cupful of grated cheese.

  Beat the potatoes and milk together until thoroughly mixed. Add the
  egg and the salt and beat thoroughly. Finally add the cheese. Bake
  in muffin tins in a slow oven 10 or 15 minutes.

  A similar dish may be made by scooping out the inside of a baked
  potato and mixing it with cheese as above. Fill the potato-skin
  shell with the mixture, return to the oven, and bake until light
  brown.


Potatoes with Cheese Sauce.

  Cut boiled potatoes into cubes and serve with cheese sauce No. 1.
  (See p. 22.) This is one of the cheese and vegetable dishes most
  frequently found on restaurant menus.



CHEESE SALADS, SANDWICHES, AND SIMILAR CHEESE DISHES.


Cheese of one sort or another is a very common accompaniment of
salads, and the combination is rational as well as palatable,
for the constituents of the succulent foods—chiefly water and
cellulose—supplement the protein and fat of the cheese. Cheese is
often used also as a part of the salad.

A number of recipes are given below for cheese salads and other
cheese dishes which may be served with dinner or other regular meals,
or served as part of a special lunch or special supper. Many of the
cheese dishes discussed in other sections are also commonly used for
such occasions when something savory is desired which can be easily
and quickly prepared.


Cheese with Salads.

  Cheese or cheese dishes are an acceptable addition to salads.
  Neufchâtel or other cream cheese, either plain or mixed with
  pimientos and olives, may be passed with lettuce or may be cut into
  slices and served on lettuce.

  Cheese balls are often served with salad. They are made of some
  soft cream cheese, and are frequently combined with chopped chives,
  olives, sweet peppers, chopped nuts, etc., for the sake of adding
  flavor. Cooked egg yolk, spinach extract, etc., are sometimes mixed
  in for the sake of color. If the balls are rolled in chopped chives
  or parsley, both flavor and color are supplied.


Plain Cheese Salad.

  Cut Edam or ordinary American cheese into thin pieces, scatter them
  over lettuce leaves, and serve with French dressing.


Olive and Pimiento Sandwich or Salad Cheese.

  Mash any of the soft cream cheeses and add chopped olives and
  pimientos in equal parts. This mixture requires much salt to make
  it palatable to most palates, the amount depending chiefly on the
  quantity of pimiento used. The mixture may be spread between thin
  slices of bread or it may be made into a roll or molded, cut into
  slices, and served on lettuce leaves with French dressing.


Cheese and Tomato Salad.

  Stuff cold tomatoes with cream cheese and serve on lettuce leaves
  with French dressing.


Cheese and Pimiento Salad.

  Stuff canned pimientos with cream cheese, cut into slices, and
  serve one or two slices to each person on lettuce leaves with
  French dressing.


Cheese Jelly Salad.

  ½ cupful of grated cheese.
  1 tablespoonful of gelatin.
  1 cupful of whipped cream.
  Salt and pepper to taste.

  Mix the cheese with the whipped cream, season to taste with salt
  and pepper, and add to the gelatin dissolved in a scant cupful of
  water. This may be molded in a large mold or in small molds.

  When the jelly begins to harden, cover with grated cheese. The
  jelly should be served on a lettuce leaf, preferably with a cream
  dressing or a French dressing, to which a little grated cheese has
  been added.


Cheese Salad and Preserves.

  Epicures have devised a dish which consists of lettuce with
  French dressing served with cream cheese and thick preparations
  of currants or other fruits preserved in honey or sugar, which,
  owing to the fact that the seeds have been extracted by a laborious
  process, are fairly expensive. The soft cheese often found in
  market is also relatively expensive. There is a suggestion in this
  dish, however, for others which are much less costly. Buttermilk
  cream (see p. 21), or ordinary cottage cheese served with lettuce
  or other green salad and a small amount of rich homemade preserves,
  is a combination with much the same character, and also very
  appetizing.


Deviled Eggs with Cheese.

  In making deviled eggs, either to be eaten alone or upon lettuce
  leaves in the form of salad, a little grated cheese may be mixed
  with the yolks in addition to the usual salad dressing and
  flavorings with which the yolks are mixed.


Cheese and Celery.

  Cut stalks of celery having deep grooves in them into pieces
  about 2 inches long. Fill the grooves with cream cheese salted or
  flavored with chopped pimientos, and serve with bread and butter as
  a salad course or serve as a relish at the beginning of a meal.

Although not cheese dishes, strictly speaking, the following salad
dressings made with buttermilk cream (see p. 21) may be included in
this section.


Buttermilk Cream Salad Dressing.

  ½ cupful of buttermilk cream (see p. 21).
  1 tablespoonful of vinegar.
  ¼ teaspoonful of salt.
  Cayenne pepper.

  This dressing is particularly suitable for serving with cucumbers.


Buttermilk Cream Horseradish Salad Dressing.

  To buttermilk cream add a little grated horseradish and vinegar and
  salt. Serve on whole or sliced tomatoes.


Cheese Sandwiches.

  Mash or grate American cheese, add salt, a few drops of vinegar and
  paprika, and a speck of mustard. Mix thoroughly and spread between
  thin slices of bread.


Cheese and Anchovy Sandwiches.

  To the mixture mentioned in the preceding recipe, add a little
  anchovy essence. Sardines mashed or rubbed into a paste or any
  other fish paste may be used in a similar way.


Pimiento, Olive, and Cheese Sandwiches.

  These sandwiches are referred to on page 34.


Cuban Sandwiches.

  This sandwich may be described as a kind of club sandwich with
  cheese. It is usually made large so that it is necessary to eat it
  with a knife and fork. It may be made in such proportions as to
  supply a large amount of nourishment.

  Cut the crusts from slices of bread. Between two slices lay first
  lettuce with a little salad dressing or salt on it, then a slice
  of soft mild cheese and finally thin slices of dill pickles or a
  little chopped pickle.


Toasted Cheese Sandwiches.

  Plain bread and butter sandwiches with fairly thick slices of
  cheese put between the slices are frequently toasted, and on
  picnics, or at chafing-dish suppers, are often browned in a pan in
  which bacon has just been fried.



CHEESE PASTRY, CHEESE SWEETS, AND SIMILAR DISHES.


In the foregoing pages a large number of recipes have been included
in which cheese is combined with materials without cooking, as
in salads, or used in cooked dishes of creamy or custard-like
consistency, as in soufflés and Welsh rabbit or in combination with
vegetables or cereals, such as rice.

There are a number of cheese dishes of quite different character in
which the cheese is combined with dough, batter, or pastry in various
ways, and a number of dishes in which cheese or cheese curd is used
in combinations suitable for dessert. Such sweet dishes were once
much more common than they are to-day, as reference to old cookery
books will show, but some of them are well worth retaining.

In cheese sweets, flavor and richness are both contributed by the
cheese.

When cheese is used in pastry or dough it may serve simply as a
flavor, as in cheese sticks or cheese straws, or it may wholly or in
part replace with its fat the usual shortening, as butter or other
fat, and with its protein (casein) the protein (albumin) of eggs. As
an illustration of such a use of cheese, cheese gingerbread may be
cited.

Using cheese in this way is often an economy when eggs are scarce.
Better results will be obtained if soft cheese is used which can
be worked into the dough in much the same way as butter or other
shortening. To those who like cheese the flavor which it imparts
would be an advantage. However, if a very mild cheese is used in
combination with molasses or spice the dish differs a little in
flavor from one prepared in the usual way.


CHEESE PASTRIES AND SIMILAR DISHES.


Cheese Biscuit No. 1.

  2 cupfuls of flour.
  4 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
  2 tablespoonfuls of lard or butter.
  ⅞ of a cup of milk.
  ¼ teaspoonful of salt.
  Grated cheese sufficient to give desired flavor.

  Mix all the ingredients excepting the cheese as for baking powder
  biscuits. Roll thin, divide into two parts, sprinkle one half with
  grated cheese, lay the other half of the dough over the cheese, cut
  out with a small cutter, and bake.


Cheese Biscuit No. 2.

  ¼ pound of soft cheese.
  2 cupfuls of flour.
  1 cupful of water.
  4 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
  1½ teaspoonfuls of salt.

  Mix and sift the dry ingredients, then work in the cheese with
  a fork or with the fingers, and add the water gradually. The
  approximate amount of water has been given; it is impossible to
  give the exact amount, as flour differs in its capacity for taking
  up moisture. Toss the dough on a floured board and roll out and
  cut with a biscuit cutter. Place in a buttered pan and bake in a
  quick oven from 12 to 15 minutes. The biscuit may be sprinkled with
  cheese before being put into the oven.

  If the cheese is sufficiently soft it can be measured just as
  butter is. This recipe, then, would call for ½ cupful.


Cheese Drops.

  2½ tablespoonfuls of milk.
  1 teaspoonful of butter.
  1¼ cupfuls of flour.
  ⅛ teaspoonful of salt.
  1 egg.
  2 tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese
    or dry American cheese.

  Heat the butter and milk to boiling point, add the flour and the
  salt and stir thoroughly. Remove from the fire, add the egg and
  cheese and stir until well mixed. When cold, drop in small pieces
  in deep fat and brown. This makes a good addition to any clear soup
  or to consommé.


Cheese Wafers.

  Spread grated cheese on thin crackers, heat in the oven until the
  cheese is melted. Serve with soup or salad.


Cheese Relish.

  Spread bread which has been toasted or fried in deep fat with
  grated cheese, or with grated cheese mixed with a little mustard,
  then heat in the oven until the cheese is melted. This may be
  served with salad, or as a relish to give flavor to some dish such
  as boiled rice or hominy, which has no very marked flavor.


Cheese Straws.

  Roll out plain or puff paste until one-fourth of an inch thick.
  Spread one-half of it with grated cheese. Fold over the other half
  and roll out again. Repeat the process three or four times. Cut
  into strips and bake. Serve with soup or salad.


Salad Biscuit.

  ½ pound of cheese.
  2 cupfuls of flour.
  4 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
  1½ teaspoonfuls of salt.
  1 cupful of water.

  Mix as for cheese biscuits No. 1 or No. 2, depending on whether the
  cheese is hard or soft. (See p. 36.)


Cheese Gingerbread No. 1.

  1 cupful of molasses.
  4 ounces of cheese.
  1 teaspoonful of soda.
  ½ cupful of water.
  2 cupfuls of flour.
  2 teaspoonfuls of ginger.
  ½ teaspoonful salt.

  Heat the molasses and the cheese in a double boiler until the
  cheese is melted. Add the soda and stir vigorously. Mix and sift
  dry ingredients and add them to the molasses and cheese alternately
  with the water. Bake 15 minutes in small buttered tins.


Cheese Gingerbread No. 2.

  ½ cupful of molasses.
  ½ cupful of sugar.
  4 ounces of cheese.
  2 cupfuls of flour.
  1 teaspoonful of soda.
  2 teaspoonfuls of ginger.
  ½ teaspoonful of salt.
  ¾ cupful of water.

  Rub the cheese and the sugar together. Add the molasses. Mix
  and sift the dry ingredients and add them to the cheese mixture
  alternately with the water.


Cheese Custard.

  1 cupful of grated cheese.
  ½ cupful of cream or rich milk.
  Yolks of 2 eggs.
  A speck of salt and of paprika.

  Mix the cream and the cheese and heat until the cheese is melted.
  Remove from the fire and add the yolks of the eggs. Bake in paper
  cases or buttered ramekins. Serve with jelly or preserves.


Cheese Cakes.

  1 quart of milk.
  Rennet.
  1 ounce of sugar.
  Yolks of 2 eggs.
  A speck of nutmeg.
  1½ ounces of butter.
  1 ounce of dried currants or small raisins.

  Warm the milk and add the rennet, using the amount prescribed on
  the package. Let the milk stand until the curd forms, then break up
  the curd and strain off the whey. Add the other ingredients to the
  curd; line patty tins with pastry, fill them with the mixture, and
  bake.


Brown Betty with Cheese.

  Arrange in a deep earthenware baking dish, alternate layers of
  bread crumbs and thinly sliced apples. Season with cinnamon, also a
  little clove if desired and brown sugar. Scatter some finely shaved
  mild full-cream cheese over each layer of apple. When the dish is
  full, scatter bread crumbs over the top and bake 30 to 45 minutes,
  placing the dish in a pan of water so that the pudding will not
  burn.

  If preferred, this may be sweetened with molasses mixed with an
  equal amount of hot water and poured over the top, a half cupful of
  molasses being sufficient for a quart pudding dish full.

  Cheese may be used in place of butter in a similar way in other
  apple puddings. Apple pie made with a layer of finely shaved cheese
  over the seasoned apple and baked in the usual way is liked by many
  who are fond of cheese served with apple pie.



CONCLUSION.


In the foregoing pages information has been summarized regarding the
food value of cheese, an important agricultural product, and ways of
preparing it for the table. It has been pointed out that, judged by
the kind of nutrients it supplies—chiefly nitrogenous material and
fat—and the proportion in which they are present, it resembles such
foodstuffs as meat, fish, and eggs, which means that like them its
rational use in the diet is in combination with other staple foods,
to form well-balanced meals.

Experiments have shown that when eaten either raw or carefully
cooked, cheese is as thoroughly digested as other staple foods and is
not likely to produce physiological disturbance.

An ounce of cheese roughly is equivalent to 1 egg, to a glass of
milk, or to 2 ounces of meat.

Although uncooked cheese resembles meat in composition, cheese dishes
prepared after ordinary recipes, with milk and shortening, are likely
to contain more fat than meat dishes prepared in the usual ways.
When, therefore, such cheese dishes are served with other staple
foods the combination is likely to contain more fat than the usual
meal. If little fat is ordinarily used, this may be an advantage. If
a great deal of fat is ordinarily used, it may be desirable to lessen
the amount in the cheese dishes. This can readily be done by omitting
the shortening and using skim milk or water in the preparation of
such dishes, a change which also lessens their cost.

The fact that cheese, like meat, contains neither starch nor
cellulose suggests that, like meat, it should be combined with bread,
potatoes, and other starchy foods, with vegetables and with sweets.
The concentrated character of cheese and many cheese dishes suggests
the use of succulent fruits and vegetables with them. The high
percentage of fat in cheese suggests the use of correspondingly small
amounts of fat in the accompanying dishes, while the soft texture of
cheese dishes as compared with meat makes it reasonable to serve the
harder and crustier breads with them.

When cheese is not used as the chief nitrogenous food of a meal it
may be introduced into bills of fare in many incidental ways, and
thus add materially to that portion of the diet needed for building
and repairing body tissue.

Though cheese is so generally used in some way in most families,
yet the making of menus with cheese as a central dish is less well
understood than more usual food combinations, since there is less
experience to serve as a guide. More thought is therefore usually
required to arrange such cheese meals in order that they may be
palatable and at the same time reasonable in nutritive value.

In order that the diet may remain well balanced, cheese, if used in
quantity, should replace foods of similar composition rather than
supplement them. The builder who has a choice of materials must have
a knowledge of their relative properties if he wishes to use stone
instead of brick, or wood in place of iron. It is the same with the
housekeeper who wishes to use her available food supply intelligently
and whose choice of foods is influenced by their relative cost at a
given time or season. The woman who has a knowledge of the relative
food value of different articles of diet, and their real food
qualities as distinguished from their market value, who understands
good methods of cooking and serving foods, and who plans her meals
and other housework so that unnecessary labor and expense may be
avoided, is taking account of the things which make for economical
living as well as for good living.

Some persons seem to believe that cheese or fish or other food is
the ideal food for some particular circumstance and that there is
a special food or diet suited to each kind of work and to every
circumstance of our daily life, and that it would be a great
advantage if we could regulate our daily fare with the accuracy a
chemist uses in making an experiment. Work, recreation, the amount
of clothing we wear, and other details of our daily life are not
so regulated, and it is the belief of those who have studied the
subject that the best interests of persons living under normal
conditions are served if the ideal be rather the regulation of the
diet along general lines in accordance with good sense, the teachings
of experience, economy, and the available knowledge gained from
a scientific study of the subject, due care being taken that the
different staple foodstuffs are so combined that all the needs of
the body are provided, excessive waste is prevented, and that both
undernourishment and excess or overeating are avoided.

Dishes which are liked and the methods followed in preparing them
will vary in different countries and at different times, yet this
does not of necessity mean that the nutritive value of the diet
varies correspondingly. In the same way it is possible for us to
vary the selection of our foods and the character of our diet at
will, according to the demands of our taste and our purse, without
correspondingly changing its value for supplying the needs of the
body. This means that the housekeeper, in suitable ways, can use
cheese, meat, fish, eggs, and other foods of similar composition as
substitutes for one another, being governed by their relative market
value at different times and seasons, by the tastes of her family,
and similar considerations. If she uses the different foodstuffs with
reference to their nutritive value and is skillful in preparing foods
in appetizing ways and in serving them in attractive combinations,
the daily fare may be both adequate and pleasing, whether she selects
cheese or meat or fish or eggs or other foods to supply nitrogenous
material and fat. Here, as in all that pertains to housekeeping, true
economy is dependent upon a knowledge of materials and skill in using
them.



  Transcriber’s Notes

  pg 8 Removed repeated word the from: If cream is removed the the
         cheese
  pg 12 Changed brought about chiefly by the action of enzyms to:
          enzymes
  pg 15 Changed 90 per cent of the nitrogeous to: nitrogenous
  pg 20 Changed the curd assumes a custardlike to: custard-like
  pg 24 Added period after No in: Cheese Fondue No 1.
  pg 24 Added period after: 1 tablespoonful of butter
  pg 25 Changed Corn and Cheese Souffle. to: Soufflé.
  pg 31 Added period after: Salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg



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