Stilton.—At Stilton, in Huntingdonshire, where the coaches of the great north road were wont to stop for luncheon, this cheese was first introduced to the public. Its sole connection with Stilton is its name, the cheese itself having been made in the neighbourhood of Melton Mowbray. Since then it has extended itself over most of the rich lowlands of Leicestershire and a portion of Nottinghamshire. In shape it is cylindrical, the outside covered with a whitish rind, very thick and rough. The flavour of a good Stilton is exquisite, though, perhaps rather cloying as compared with the finer sorts of “plain” cheese. It is unfit to be eaten—indeed, is of a nauseous insipidity—until pretty well covered with blue veins. This will occur in about 2 years, and should be allowed to come on gradually and naturally, by merely keeping the cheese moist enough not to check the decay. Many artifices, however, are resorted to in order to hasten its maturity, as by placing it in a damp but warm cellar; sinking it, wrapped in brown paper, in a hotbed, &c. The practice of pouring port wine into Stilton is condemned by some as at once wasting good wine and spoiling good cheese. Stilton will be found most acceptable both at luncheon and dinner. In size it averages 12 lb., and its price is from 1s. 6d. per lb. There is, however, no cheese so unequal in quality, whether from accidents to which it is liable during manufacture, or from whatever other cause, and the utmost care must be taken in its purchase.
Subjoined is an account of the best known foreign cheeses, from the same source.
Camembert.—This cheese, which is made in Brittany, is a kind of cross between the “real” and “cream” cheese. It reminds one much of the best privately made cream cheese of our own country, with a rich and peculiar flavour superadded. It is of a soft and creamy texture, of a yellowish white, flat and very shallow, with a dark brown rind, very thick and soft. It may be confidently recommended as a real delicacy, rather for the dinner than the luncheon-table. The price of Camembert cheeses, which are o£ small size, is about 9-10d. each.
Cream Cheeses.—In this production the palm must be yielded by the English to the foreign market. Our own cheeses of the kind, including the best of private manufacture, are made to be eaten at once, and will not bear keeping, by which process the Continental cheese, more skilfully put together, is much improved.
The principal foreign cream cheeses are Stracchino (Milan), which is a long way the best; Brie (Meaux), Marolles, and Pont l’Evêque, all very good of their kind, and Neufchatel, which last is, of all, the most commonly met with on this side of the Channel. Neufchatel, frequently called “Bondon,” from being made of the shape and size of the bondon (Ang. “bung”) of a cask, is made at Neufchatel, in Normandy. It is simply a white cream cheese, and when fresh, extremely insipid—in fact, hardly equal to our own Yorkshire and Bath cheeses. By keeping, however, until it becomes “ripe,” it acquires a flavour by no means to be despised, though hardly on a level with some of the cream cheeses already mentioned.
Crême de Brie has been alluded to as once the crême de la crême of cheeses, and even now “running a good second” to Roquefort. La Brie is situated near to Paris, in the Department of Seine et Marne, with proximity, together with the difficulty of distant transport and the fondness of the Parisians for the thing itself, causes the most dainty to be almost entirely eaten in Paris. Imitations of it are many, and, as a rule, as worthless as is the genuine article valuable, for of all the French cheeses it is the most expensive by reason of its not keeping sound beyond a few days, and the large quantities in which it is partaken of at a meal. Brie is a soft, creamy cheese, made in rounds of large size but of little thickness.
Dutch (Holland and Belgium).—This cheese is perhaps better known in kitchens than in the upper regions. It has, however, many good points, and is of by no means disagreeable flavour, though, owing to the process of making, a little too salt for delicate taste. It is also in general very safe, and very equal in quality. Being extremely mild, it is hardly suited to the dinner table, but affords an excellent luncheon. For domestic use it is eminently serviceable, and will be found (which is a great merit) generally acceptable in the kitchen. It is of a spherical oval shape, softish in texture, and coloured red. Its cheapness is also a recommendation, as it costs but 8d. or 9d. a lb. An imitation of this cheese is made in the district of Calvados, Normandy.
Gorgonzola (North of Italy).—This is an excellent cheese, and one that bears a close resemblance to Stilton. It has, however, so strongly marked and distinct a character of its own, that it would be injurious to institute a comparison between it and any other cheese. In texture and marking it is not altogether unlike Stilton, but is of deeper yellow, and the veins of a greener hue. It is equally good for luncheon and dinner, having great delicacy combined with fulness of flavour. Price about 1s. 5d. a lb.
Gruyère.—Gruyère is made in the Canton of Fribourg, and in the Vosges, the Jura, and Ain. The best cheeses of this kind are selected for exportation. Gruyère is a flat cheese of some 3 in. in depth, of a pale yellow colour, and plain surface, marked sparsely with large holes, which contain moisture. The rule laid down on the “plain” cheeses of England as to uniformity of colour in the surface of cheese holds good abroad as well as at home, but uniformity of surface in foreign plain cheeses need not be so closely looked for. In fact, the holes that abound in some of these cheeses constitute neither blemish nor unsoundness. The odour of Gruyère is strongish, but the taste mild and delicate. If anything, it is a little cloying. It is a fair cheese, but cannot be called more than fair, for dinner; but will serve very well for luncheon, though perhaps likely to pall on the taste if eaten constantly at this meal. The wholesale price is 11d. a lb.