Our viands

The ripening process for cheese is a somewhat lengthy affair, especially when the size is large, as in Cheddar. Most English dairy farms have a loft, or sometimes several, where the new cheeses are stored on racks, and frequently turned and scraped till they become fit for the market. The old way of sending cheese to table whole, scooping out the centre and leaving the rind to be dealt with by the cook, although perhaps extravagant, was commendable, for not only did the cheese retain its flavour better, but the necessity of eating close to the rind was avoided, and certainly the rind does not commend itself to many palates. We all know the story of the prudent young lover who, being desirous of choosing one of three sisters, selected as his bride the one who scraped her cheese. The one who cut off the rind was deemed extravagant, the one who ate it was a slut, whilst the third was supposed to be thrifty and 124 OUR VIANDS cleanly. If put to the same test nowadays, there would be few chosen on account of that economy, for the bits of cheese sent to table are mostly free from rind when pre- sented to the consumer. There are some foreign cheeses which are deservedly esteemed, the chief objection to them being the strong odour which requires their being sent to table under cover. Of these we need only mention, in addition to the Roquefort and Gorgonzola, which are now to be found in every cheese- monger's shop, the Gruy&re, always served on the Continent at dinner, and generally with the dessert. It is not, indeed, unusual in Italy, if you order fruit, to find a piece of this cheese sent up on the same dish, and it certainly does not eat badly, especially with dried fruits, which reminds us that in some parts of England it is customary to eat cheese with jam and marmalade, or with apple pie, and in other parts, thin slices of cheese are cut and floated on cups of tea. Gruyere is made partly, if not entirely, of ewe's milk, and the famous Parmesan cheese is, I believe, also composed partly of ewe's milk. This cheese, used almost always in the form of powder, is a constant accompaniment of soups, macaroni, and other Italian dishes, and is sold in the grated form by the sack in all grocers' shops in Italy, and is invariably sent to table in the same way as pepper and salt in other places, to be used as a condiment. Even the Lazzaroni find a small coin wherewith to purchase this much-esteemed relish, which among ourselves is coming more and more into use, and may be bought in bottles ready grated, although it is best bought in a piece and grated at home, in order to ensure its genuineness. There are many other foreign cheeses to be met with, DAIRY PRODUCE 125 but they are not in general use. There are, however, several kinds of cream cheeses, and what are known as soft cheeses, much esteemed, such as Bath cheeses, Bon-dons, Camembert, etc. The true cream cheese is made simply by putting cream in a cloth, and allowing all the moisture to run away from it, and then moulding it into shape, pressing and turning it daily till ripe ; but soft cheeses are made in various ways, one of which is given in verse attributed to the celebrated Dr. Jenner, of vaccination fame, as follows : —