10 July, 191 7. J Tlir t'lms,- liidii>:try in Victoiia. 439 



a large percentage of the milk into cheese. The oullook for the cheese 

 market at present is better than for butt<^r. Tliere is a sure market* 

 a1 good prices. The price is likely to be higher next sea-sou than in the 

 past, as Canada is 2;ett.iiig Is. and over per lb. for this season's spring 

 make. It is considered that the War Office will not pay less than lOd. 

 next season, and lOd. per lb. means lOd. per gallon for milk, equal to 

 Is. lOd. j>er lb. tor butterfat, less (say) 2d. per lb. for working expenses, 

 leaving a net return of Is. 8d. per lb. for butterfat. 



Another poiiil in favour of cheese is that it forms one of the mcst 

 iniportant items of the diet of the soldiers. If there is difficulty with 

 regard to shortage of freight, chees--e will have the preference over 

 butter. 



Cheese as a Food. 



Cheese is believed to be one of the oldest dairy products known to- 

 man. It was evidently in tlie form of cheese that n;ilk was first pre- 

 served for later use as food. Like many other of our foods, cheese is 

 very complex iu its composition, and while we are familiar with its 

 general character, and know something about the amount of protein and 

 fat it contains, we know very little about the make-up of these materials 

 ■Ah they occur in a well-ripened cheese. The cheese-maker has to deal 

 with a complex material, milk, which is jjeculaarly susceptible to con- 

 tamination. To this is added rennet, also conijylex in ils nature, and 

 then by means of salt and by controlling temperatures during making 

 and ripening periods, the matured product is formed. Naturally when 

 there is a variation iu the controlling factors, that is, in the amount of 

 salt or iu temperature, there will be differences in the nature of the 

 j)roduct, and these differences not only affect the texture, but more 

 ccpecially the flavour and aro.na. Thus it will be seen why from three 

 s.ich common substances aa inilk, salt, and rennet it is possible to make 

 such an innuir.erable varietv of cheese as is found on the market to-day ; 

 furthermore, why it is absolutely necessary that the cheese-maker should 

 have full control of the conditions under which the ripening takes place 

 if he is to get a uniform product. 



Clieese is of two classes — those which are mild in flavour, and those 

 which are seasoned or ripened in such a way that they are highly 

 flavoured. The latter, like almost all highly-flavoured foods, are com- 

 monly used to season dishes made of ingredients without much dis- 

 tinctive flavour, or are used in small quantities at a time to give 

 palatability to a dish or meal. The mild-flavoured cheese are those 

 which are usually selected for eating in quantity, and are those which 

 may be most suitable when cheese is used as a substitute for meat. 



From an economic stand-point, cheese is important, Ijecause of its 

 high nutritive value, particularly its high percentage of protein or 

 muscle-forming ingi-edients, on account of the ease with which it can be 

 kept and prepared for the table, and because of its appetising flavour. 

 To show its high nutritive value it is only necessary to point out that 

 I lb. of good Cheddar cheese contains nearly all the protein and fat in 

 1 gallon of milk. Approximately it is composed of one-third water, one- 

 third fat, one-fourth protein, and, in addition, small quantities of 

 mineral matter or bone-forming material, salt, &c. Beef contains 50 

 per cent, water or more, and the leaner it is the higher will be the 

 water content. Thus l>eef has a much lower nutritive value than cheese, 

 and the same statement holds good with practically all forms of meat. 



