Cheese is the solid part of sweet milk obtained by heating milk and coagulating it by means of rennet or an acid. Rennet is an infusion made from prepared inner membrane of the fourth stomach of the calf. The curd is salted and subjected to pressure. Cheese is made from skim milk, milk plus cream, or cream. Cheese is kept for a longer or shorter time, according to the kind, that fermentation or decomposition may take place. This is called ripening. Some cream cheeses are not allowed to ripen. Milk from Jersey and Guernsey cows yields the largest amount of cheese.
Cheese is very valuable food; being rich in proteid, it may be used as a substitute for meat. A pound of cheese is equal in proteid to two pounds of beef. Cheese in the raw state is difficult of digestion. This is somewhat overcome by cooking and adding a small amount of bicarbonate of soda. A small piece of rich cheese is often eaten to assist digestion.
The various brands of cheese take their names from the places where made. Many foreign ones are now well imitated in this country. The favorite kinds of skim-milk cheese are: Edam, Gruyère, and Parmesan. Parmesan is very hard and used principally for grating. The holes in Gruyère are due to aeration.
The favorite kinds of milk cheese are: Gloucester, Cheshire, Cheddar, and Gorgonzola; Milk and Cream cheese: Stilton and Double Gloucester; Cream cheese: Brie, Neufchâtel, and Camembert.
FRUITS
The varieties of fruits consumed are numerous, and their uses important. They are chiefly valuable for their sugar, acids, and salts, and are cooling, refreshing, and stimulating. They act as a tonic, and assist in purifying the blood. Many contain a jelly-like substance, called pectin, and several contain starch, which during the ripening process is converted into glucose. Bananas, dates, figs, prunes, and grapes, owing to their large amount of sugar, are the most nutritious. Melons, oranges, lemons, and grapes contain the largest amount of water. Apples, lemons, and oranges are valuable for their potash salts, and oranges and lemons especially valuable for their citric acid. It is of importance to those who are obliged to exclude much sugar from their dietary, to know that plums, peaches, apricots, and raspberries have less sugar than other fruits; apples, sweet cherries, grapes, and pears contain the largest amount. Apples are obtainable nearly all the year, and on account of their variety, cheapness, and abundance, are termed queen of fruits.
Thoroughly ripe fruits should be freely indulged in, and to many are more acceptable than desserts prepared in the kitchen. If possible, fruits should always appear on the breakfast-table. In cases where uncooked fruit cannot be freely eaten, many kinds may be cooked and prove valuable. Never eat unripe fruit, or that which is beginning to decay. Fruits should be wiped or rinsed before serving.
VEGETABLE ACIDS, AND WHERE FOUND
The principal vegetable acids are:
I. Acetic (HC2H3O2), found in wine and vinegar.