Cbap. 97."} VARIOUS KINDS OF CHEESE. 85 



CHAP. 97. (42.) VARIOUS KINDS OF CHEESE. 



The kinds of cheese that are most esteemed at Eome, where 

 the various good things of all nations are to be judged of by 

 comparison, are those which come from the provinces of Ne- 

 mausus, 26 and more especially the villages there of Lesura 

 and Gabalis; 27 but its excellence is only very short-lived, and 

 it must be eaten while it is fresh. The pastures of the Alps 

 recommend themselves by two sorts of cheese ; the Dalmatic 

 Alps send us the Docleatian 28 cheese, and the Centronian 29 

 Alps the Vatusican. The kinds produced in the Apennines are 

 more numerous; from Liguria we have the cheese of Ceba, 

 which is mostly made from the milk of sheep ; from TJmbria 

 we have that of iEsina, and from the frontiers of Etruna and 

 Liguria those of Luna, remarkable for their vast size, d single 

 cheese weighing as much as a thousand pounds. Nearer the 

 City, again, we have the cheese of Yestinum, the best of this 

 kind being that which comes from the territory of Cedi- 

 tium. 31 Goats also produce a cheese which has been of late 

 held in the highest esteem, its flavour being heightened by 

 smoking it. The cheese of this kind which is made at Rome 

 is considered preferable to any other ; for that which is made 

 in Gaul has a strong taste, like that of medicine. -Of. the 

 cheeses that are made beyond sea, that of Bithyma 32 is usually 

 considered the first in quality. That salt exists m pasture- 

 lands is pretty evident, from the fact that all cheese as it 

 grows old contracts a saltish flavour, even where it does not 

 appear to any great extent; 33 while at the same time it is 

 equally well known that cheese soaked in a mixture of thyme 

 and vinegar will regain its original fresh flavour. It is said 

 that Zoroaster lived thirty years in the wilderness upon cheese, 

 prepared in such a peculiar manner, that he was insensible to 

 the advances of old age. 



26 Nismes, in France. Hardouin speaks of goats'-milk cheeses made in 

 its neighbourhood, and known as frontages de Bam. 



27 Probably the modern Losere and Gevaudan. See B. iv. c. IJ. 



28 For the Docleatse, see B. hi. c. 26. 



™ For the Centrones, see B. hi. c. 24. He perhaps refers to the modem 

 frontage de Passi. „ , . 



so The modern Marquisat de Cive, which still produces excellent cneese. 



si See B. xiv. c. 8. 



32 And more especially at Salona in Bithynia. 



33 « Etiam ubi non videtur major." This is probably corrupt. 



