The cost of cheese.—The foreign cheeses are expensive, but American cheeses may be classed among the moderate priced foods and they compare favorably with other protein foods.
Cheese costs more than beans, and less than most cuts of meat. A good American cheese costs about twenty-five cents per pound. Taking account of composition as well as cost per pound, we find that a given amount of money buys about twice as much food value when spent for cheese as it would if spent for beef. See Fig. 45.
Fig. 45.—100-Calorie portions of cheese. A. Fowler, Photographer.
| No. | Kind | Weight of Portion, ounces |
| 1. | Swiss | 0.8 |
| 2. | Cream | 0.9 |
| 3. | American | 0.8 |
| 4. | Roquefort | 1.0 |
| 5. | Parmesan | 1.9 |
| 6. | Cottage | 3.2 |
Care of cheese in the pantry.—Cheese should be kept dry and covered, that its odor may not be noticeable. Soft cheese should be kept in the ice box. The receptacle for cheese should be thoroughly sterilized before each new purchase is put away.
GENERAL METHODS AND RECIPES
1. Uncooked cheese.—Serve a cream cheese with a salad of lettuce, and the imported cheeses with crackers and fruit for dessert. American cheese may be thinly sliced and used in sandwiches. A small piece of cheese with apple pie or pudding is an old-fashioned combination that is always agreeable, but sometimes difficult of digestion.
2. Cottage cheese.—Use sour milk that has set. Other ingredients: salt to taste, cayenne pepper or paprika, if liked. Quality and flavor are improved by the addition of a tablespoonful of butter or two tablespoonfuls of cream to a pint of the curd, but these are not necessary.
Warm the milk slowly, until the whey begins to separate from the curd. If this process is continued too long, and the