CHAPTEE XXXIII 



CHEESE 



THE chief constituent of cheese is casein coagu- 

 lated by the action of rennet. But, prepared 

 from casein alone, cheese would be coarse and almost 

 tasteless, and when dry would become as hard as 

 stone. To give tenderness and flavor to the paste- 

 like mass, the cream is commonly retained in milk 

 used for making cheese. The casein furnishes the 

 main substance of the product, while the cream con- 

 tributes what might be called the seasoning. 



"Hence we have two principal varieties of cheese: 

 one, prepared with milk from which the cream has 

 been taken, contains only casein; the second, made 

 from unskimmed milk, contains both casein and 

 cream. The first kind, known as cottage cheese, 

 white cheese, or, more expressively, skim-milk 

 cheese, has little food value and is not made for its 

 own sake, but in order to put to some use the milk 

 that has already served to make butter. The second 

 kind, called cream cheese, is what commonly appears 

 on our tables in different varieties and varying ap- 

 pearance, according to the quality of the milk and 

 the mode of preparation. 



"To make cheese still more unctuous and to give 



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