Chap. 97.] 
VARIOUS KINDS OF CHEESE. 
85 
CHAP. 97. (42.) YARIOUS 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,^^ and more especially the villages there of Lesura 
and Gabalis;^^ 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^® cheese, and the Centronian^'* 
Alps the Yatusican. 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 ^sina, and from the frontiers of Etruria and 
Liguria those of Luna, remarkable for their vast size, a 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.^^ 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 Eome 
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 Eithynia^^ is usuallj" 
considered the first in quality. That salt exists in 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 ; 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 Ham. 
2' Probably the modern Losere and Gevaudan. See B. iv. c. 19, 
28 For the Docleatae, see B. iii. c. 26. 
29 For the Centrones, see B. iii. c. 24. He perhaps refers to the modem 
fromage de Fassi. 
2^ The modern Marquisat de Give, which still produces excellent cheese. 
31 See B. xiv. c. 8. 
32 And more especially at Salona in Bithynia. 
33 " Etiam ubi non videtur major.** This is probably corrupt. 
