HOME ECONOMICS AND EDUCATION 661 



per cent protein, 23.2 fat, 2.1 carbohydrates, 2.1 ash. Several sorts 

 are made in large quantities as regular commercial products and 

 sold under such names as Neufchatel, or, less commonly, cream 

 cheese. In many city markets the homemade product may also be 

 purchased. Cottage cheese is used as a palatable addition to the 

 diet, alone or seasoned in various ways, and is also used in the 

 preparation of a number of dishes. 



Cottage cheese flavored in different ways may be used for sand- 

 wiches. Caraway seeds, chopped stuffed olives of different sorts, 

 and chives, (a vegetable which may be easily grown in the kitchen 

 window as well as the kitchen garden) make good flavors. Instead 

 of the different kinds of stuffed olives, plain olives and pimentos 

 may be chopped separately and added, but this requires more work. 



The question is likely to arise why sour milk and its products 

 are considered safe food to be eaten raw, while stale sweet milk is 

 looked upon with some suspicion unless it has been cooked. The 

 reason is that for a long time after the milk is drawn all the bacteria 

 which enter into it increase in number, the increase being more or 

 less rapid, depending chiefly on the temperature at which the milk 

 is kept. Some of these bacteria may be kinds that produce disease. 

 Finally, however, when milk sours the harmless lactic-acid bacteria 

 and the lactic acid which they produce tend to destroy other micro- 

 organisms, including the disease-producing bacteria, so that the time 

 comes when the harmful bacteria decrease very rapidly and the 

 lactic-acid bacteria increase very rapidly. By the time tne milk is 

 sour it is practically free from bacteria, except those of the lactic- 

 acid type. 



Buttermilk is often used as a beverage, and has much the same 

 food value as skim milk. An ordinary glass would contain about 

 as much nourishment as 2 ounces of bread, a good-sized potato, or 

 a half pint of oysters. To many persons buttermilk is as palatable, 

 or even more palatable, than whole or skim milk, but others find 

 the sour taste very unpleasant. This sour taste is due mainly to 

 lactic acid, and does not make the buttermilk less digestible. On 

 the contrary, its casein forms a more flaky curd than that of ordi- 

 nary milk. Buttermilk is frequently fed to babies, especially in 

 Holland, and is sometimes prescribed when the protein of ordinary 

 milk proves indigestible. Its general use is increasing in this coun- 

 try. Buttermilk ice cream is considered a delicacy in some sections, 

 especially for invalids. 



Condensed buttermilk is manufactured to some extent, but 

 seems to be best known in Europe, and is certainly not common 

 even there. When cream is beaten or whipped the fine bubbles 

 formed do not break readily, so that it may be whipped until it is 

 stiff, almost like egg white. If the whipping is too long continued 

 the fat globules separate, and butter results. If cream is too thin it 

 does not whip well, and the same may be said of very thick cream. 

 Several explanations of this property of whipping have been offered, 

 but it seems fair to say that no entirely satisfactory explanation has 



