THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 187 



Eoquefort cheese is compared to our Stilton, but is much 

 inferior, although a good cheese. The little cheeses made 

 from cream and folded in paper, called Neufchatel cheeses, 

 are imported from France as a delicacy. They can be easily 

 imitated, being nothing more than cream thickened by heat, 

 and pressed in a small mould. They undergo a rapid change, 

 first becoming sour and then mellow, in which state they must 

 be eaten 



The green Swiss cheese, commonly called Schabzieger, is 

 produced in the canton of Glarus. The curd is pressed in 

 boxes, with holes to let the whey run out ; and when a consi- 

 derable quantity has been collected and putrefaction begins, 

 it is worked into a paste with a large proportion of a certain 

 dried herb reduced to powder. This herb, called in the 

 country dialect Zieyer kraut (curd-herb), is the Melilotus 

 offi cinalis, which is very common in most countries, and has a 

 peculiar aromatic flavour in the mountains of Switzerland. 

 The paste thus produced is pressed into moulds of the shape 

 of a common flower-pot, and the putrefaction being stopped 

 by the aromatic herb, it dries into a solid mass, which keeps 

 unchanged for any length of time. When used it is rasped 

 or scraped, and the powder, mixed with fresh butter, is spread 

 upon bread. It is either much relished or much disliked, like 

 all those substances which have a peculiar taste and smell. 



When a cheese which has been much salted and kept very 

 dry is washed several times in soft water, and then laid in a 

 cloth moistened with wine or vinegar, it gradually loses its 

 saltness, and from being hard and dry, becomes soft and 

 mellow, provided it be a rich cheese. This simple method of 

 improving cheese is worth knowing. It is generally practised 

 in Switzerland, where cheeses are kept stored for many years, 

 and if they were not very salt and dry they would soon be the 

 prey of worms and mites A. dry Stilton cheese may thus be 

 much improved. 



