Mascarpone, or Macherone
_Italy_
Soft; white; delicate fresh cream from Lombardy. Usually packed in
muslin or gauze bags, a quarter to a half pound.
McIntosh
_Alaska_
An early Klondike Cheddar named by its maker, Peter McIntosh, and
described as being as yellow as that "Alaskan gold, which brought at
times about ounce for ounce over mining-camp counters." _The Cheddar
Box_ by Dean Collins.
McLaren's
_U.S.A._
Pioneer club type of snappy Cheddar in a pot, originally made in
Canada, now by Kraft in the U.S.A.
Meadowbloom
_U.S.A._
Made by the Iowa State College at Ames.
Mecklenburg Skim
_Germany_
No more distinguished than most skim-milkers.
Meilbou
_France_
Made in the Champagne district.
Mein Käse
_U.S.A._
Sharp; aromatic; trade-marked package.
Melfa
_U.S.A._
Excellent for a processed cheese. White; flavorsome. Packed in half
moons.
Melun
_France_
Brown-red rind, yellow inside; high-smelling. There is also a Brie de
Melun.
Mentelto
_Italy_
Sharp; goat; from the Mentelto mountains
Merignac
_France_
Goat.
Merovingian
_Northeast France_
Semisoft; white; creamy; sharp; historic since the time of the
Merovingian kings.
Mersem
_France_
Lightly cooked.
Mesitra
_Crimea_
Eaten when fresh and unsalted; also when ripened. Soft, ewe's milk.
Mesost
_Sweden_
Whey; sweetish.
Metton
_Franche-Comté, France_
Season October to June.
Meuse
_France_
Soft; piquant; aromatic.
Midget Salami Provolone
_U.S.A._
This goes Baby Goudas and Edams one better by being a sort of sausage,
too.
Mignot
_Calvados, France_
_White, No. I:_ Soft; fresh; in small cubes or cylinders; in season
only in summer, April to September.
_Passe, No. II:_ Soft but ripened, and in the same forms, but only
seasonal in winter, October to March. Similar to Pont l'Evêque and
popular for more than a century. It goes specially well with Calvados
cider, fresh, hard or distilled.
Migras
Name given to spring Brie--midway between fat winter Gras and thin
summer Maigre.
Milano, Stracchino di Milano, Fresco, Quardo
_Italy_
Similar to Bel Paese. Yellow, with thin rind. 1-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches
thick, 3 to 6-1/2 pounds.
Milk Mud _see_ Schlickermilch.
Millefiori
_Milan, Italy_
A Thousand Flowers--as highly scented as its sentimental name. Yet no
cheeses are so freshly fragrant as these flowery Alpine ones.
Milltown Bar
_U.S.A._
Robust texture and flavor reminiscent of free-lunch and old-time bars.
Milk cheeses
Milks that make cheese around the world:
Ass
Buffalo
Camel
Chamois
Elephant
Goat
Human (_see_ Mother's milk)
Llama
Mare
Reindeer
Sea cow (Amazonian legend)
Sheep
Whale (legendary; see Whale Cheese)
Yak
Zebra
Zebu
U.S. pure food laws prohibit cheeses made of unusual or strange
animal's milk, such as camel, llama and zebra.
Milwaukee Kümmelkäse
and Hand Käse
_U.S.A._
Aromatic with caraway, brought from Germany by early emigrants and
successfully imitated.
Minas
_Brazil_
Name for the Brazilian state of Minas Geraes, where it is made.
Semihard; white; round two-pounder; often chalky. The two best brands
are one called Primavera, Spring, and another put out by the Swiss
professors who teach the art at the Agricultural University in the
State Capital, Bello Horizonte.
Minnesota Blue
_U.S.A._
A good national product known from coast to coast. Besides Blue,
Minnesota makes good all-American Brick and Cheddar, natural nationals
to be proud of.
Mintzitra
_in Macedonia; and_
Mitzithra
_in Greece_
Sheep; soft; succulent; and as pleasantly greasy as other sheep
cheeses from Greece. It's a by-product of the fabulous Feta.
Modena, Monte
_U.S.A._
Made in U.S.A. during World War II. Parmesan-type.
Mohawk Limburger
Spread
_U.S.A._
A brand that comes in one-pound jars.
Moliterno
_Italy_
Similar to Caciocavallo. _(See.)_
Monceau
_Champagne, France_
Semihard, similar to Maroilles.
Moncenisio
_Italy_
Similar to Gorgonzola.
Mondseer, Mondseer Schachtelkäse, Mondseer Schlosskäse
_Austria_
This little family with a lot of long names is closely related to the
Münster tribe, with very distant connections with the mildest branch
of the Limburgers.
The Schachtelkäse is named from the wooden boxes in which it is
shipped, while the Schlosskäse shows its class by being called Castle
Cheese, probably because it is richer than the others, being made of
whole milk.
Money made of cheese
_China_
In the Chase National Bank collection of moneys of the world there is
a specimen of "Cheese money" about which the curator, Farran Zerbee,
writes: "A specimen of the so-called 'cheese money' of Northern China,
1850-70, now in the Chase Bank collection, came to me personally some
thirty years ago from a woman missionary, who had been located in the
field where she said a cake form of condensed milk, and referred to as
'cheese,' was a medium of exchange among the natives. It, like other
commodities, particularly compressed tea, was prized as a trading
medium in China, in that it had value as nutriment and was
sufficiently appreciated by the population as to be exchangeable for
other articles of service."
Monk's Head _see_ Tête de Moine.
Monostorer
_Transylvania, Rumania_
Ewe's milk.
Monsieur
_France_
Soft; salted; rich in flavor.
Monsieur Fromage _see_ Fromage de Monsieur Fromage.
Montana
_Catalonia_
A mountain cheese.
Montasio
_Austria and Italy_
Usually skimmed goat and cow milk mixed. When finished, the rind is
often rubbed with olive oil or blackened with soot. It is eaten both
fresh, white and sweet, and aged, when it is yellow, granular and
sharp, with a characteristic flavor. Mostly used when three to twelve
months old, but kept much longer and grated for seasoning. Widely
imitated in America.
Montauban de Bretagne, Fromage de
_Brittany, France_
A celebrated cheese of Brittany.
Montavoner
_Austria_
Sour and sometimes sweet milk, made tasty with dried herbs of the
_Achittea_ family.
Mont Blanc
_France_
An Alpine cheese.
Mont Cenis
_Southeastern France_
Usually made of all three available milks, cow, goat and sheep; it is
semihard and blue-veined like the other Roquefort imitations, Gex and
Septmoncel. Primitive methods are still used in the making and
sometimes the ripening is done by _penicillium_ introduced in moldy
bread. Large rounds, eighteen by six to eight inches, weighing
twenty-five pounds.
Mont-des-Cats
_French Flanders_
Trappist monk-made Port-Salut.
Montdidier
_France_
A fresh cream.
Mont d'or, le, or Mont Dore
_Lyonnais, France_
Soft; whole milk; originally goat, now cow; made throughout the Rhone
Valley. Fat, golden-yellow and "relished by financiers" according to
Victor Meusy. Between Brie and Pont l'Evêque but more delicate than
either, though not effeminate. Alpin and Riola are similar. The best
is still turned out at Mont d'Or, with runners-up in St. Cyr and St.
Didier.
Montavoner
_Austria_
A sour-milker made fragrant with herbs added to the curd.
Monterey
_Mexico_
Hard; sharp; perhaps inspired by Montery Jack that's made in
California and along the Mexican border.
Monterey Jack _see_ Chapter 4.
Monthéry
_Seine-et-Oise, France_
Whole or partly skimmed milk; soft in quality and large in size,
weighing up to 5-1/2 pounds. Notable only for its patriotic tri-color
in ripening, with whitish mold that turns blue and has red spots.
Montpellier
_France_
Sheep.
Moravian
_Czechoslovakia_
Semihard and sharp.
Morbier
_Bresse, France_
In season from November to July.
Mostoffait
_France_
A little-known product of Champagne.
Mother's milk
In his book about French varieties, _Les Fromages_, Maurice des
Ombiaux sums up the many exotic milks made into cheese and recounts
the story of Paul Bert, who served a cheese "white as snow" that was
so delicately appetizing it was partaken of in "religious silence."
All the guests guessed, but none was right. So the host announced it
was made of _"lait de femme"_ and an astounded turophile exclaimed,
"Then all of us are cannibals."
Mountain
_Bavaria_
Soft; yellow; sharp.
Mountain, Azuldoch _see_ Azuldoch.
Mount Hope
_U.S.A._
Yellow; mellow; mild and porous California Cheddar.
Mouse or Mouse Trap
_U.S.A._
Common name for young, green, cracked, leathery or rubbery low-grade
store cheese fit only to bait traps. When it's aged and sharp,
however, the same cheese can be bait for caseophiles.
Mozzarella
_Italy_
Soft; water-buffalo milk; moistly fresh and unripened; bland, white
cooking cheese put up in balls or big bowl-like cups weighing about a
half pound and protected with wax paper. The genuine is made at
Cardito, Aversa, Salernitano and in the Mazzoni di Capua. Like
Ricotta, this is such a popular cheese all over America that it is
imitated widely, and often badly, with a bitter taste.
Mozzarella-Affumicata, also called Scamozza
_Italy_
Semisoft; smooth; white; bland; un-salted. Put up in pear shapes of
about one pound, with tan rind, from smoking.
Eaten chiefly sliced, but prized, both fresh and smoked, in true
Italian one-dish meals such as Lasagne and Pizza.
Mozzarinelli
_Italy_
A pet name for a diminutive edition of Mozzarella.
Mrsav _see_ Sir Posny.
Münster
_Germany_
German originally, now made from Colmar, Strassburg and Copenhagen to
Milwaukee in all sorts of imitations, both good and bad. Semihard;
whole milk; yellow inside, brick-red outside; flavor from mild to
strong, depending on age and amount of caraway or anise seed added.
Best in winter season, from November to April.
Münster is a world-wide classic that doubles for both German and
French. Géromé is a standard French type of it, with a little longer
season, beginning in April, and a somewhat different flavor from anise
seed. Often, instead of putting the seeds inside, a dish of caraway is
served with the cheese for those who like to flavor to taste.
In Alsace, Münster is made plain and also under the name of Münster au
Cumin because of the caraway.
American imitations are much milder and marketed much younger. They
are supposed to blend the taste of Brick and Limburger; maybe they do.
Mustard
_U.S.A._
A processed domestic, Gruyère type.
Myjithra
Imitated with goat's milk in Southern Colorado.
Mysost, Mytost
_Scandinavia_
Made in all Scandinavian countries and imitated in the U.S.A. A whey
cheese, buttery, mild and sweetish with a caramel color all through,
instead of the heavy chocolate or dark tobacco shade of Gjetost.
Frimost is a local name for it. The American imitations are
cylindrical and wrapped in tin foil.
N
Nagelkassa (Fresh), Fresh Clove Cheese, called Nageles in Holland
_Austria_
Skim milk; curd mixed with caraway and cloves called nails, _nagel_,
in Germany and Austria. The large flat rounds resemble English Derby.
Nantais, or Fromage du Curé, Cheese of the Curate
_Brittany, France_
A special variety dedicated to some curate of Nantes.
Nessel
_England_
Soft; whole milk; round and very thin.
Neufchâtel, or Petit Suisse
_Normandy, France_
Soft; whole milk; small loaf. See Ancien Impérial, Bondon, and Chapter
9.
New Forest
_England_
Cream cheese from the New Forest district.
Nieheimer
_Westphalia, Germany_
Sour milk; with salt and caraway seed added, sometimes beer or milk.
Covered lightly with straw and packed in kegs with hops to ripen. Both
beer and hops in one cheese is unique.
Niolo
_Corsica_
In season from October to May.
Noekkelost or Nögelost
_Norway_
Similar to spiced Leyden or Edam with caraway, and shaped like a
Gouda.
Nordlands-Ost "Kalas"
_U.S.A._
Trade name for an American imitation of a Scandinavian variety,
perhaps suggested by Swedish Nordost.
Nordost
_Sweden_
Semisoft; white; baked; salty and smoky.
North Wilts
_Wiltshire, England_
Cheddar type; smooth; hard rind; rich but delicate in flavor. Small
size, ten to twelve pounds; named for its locale.
Nostrale
_Northwest Italy_
An ancient-of-days variety of which there are two kinds:
I. _Formaggio Duro:_ hard, as its name says, made in the spring
when the cows are in the valley.
II. _Formaggio Tenero:_ soft and richer, summer-made with milk
from lush mountain-grazing.
Notruschki (cheese bread)
_Russia_
Made with Tworog cheese and widely popular.
Nova Scotia Smoked
_U.S.A._
The name must mean that the cheese was smoked in the Nova Scotia
manner, for it is smoked mostly in New York City, like sturgeon, to
give the luxurious flavor.
Nuworld
_U.S.A._
This semisoft newcomer arrived about 1954 and is advertised as a
brand-new variety. It is made in the Midwest and packed in small,
heavily waxed portions to preserve all of its fine, full aroma and
flavor.
A cheese all America can be proud of, whether it is an entirely new
species or not.
O
Oaxaca
_see_ Asadero.
Oka, or La Trappe
_Canada_
Medium soft; aromatic; the Port-Salut made by Trappist monks in Canada
after the secret method of the order that originated in France. _See_
Trappe.
Old English Club
_U.S.A._
Not old, not English, and representing no club we know of.
Old Heidelberg
_U.S.A._
Soft, piquant rival of Liederkranz.
Oléron Isle, Fromage d'Ile
_France_
A celebrated sheep cheese from this island of Oléron.
Olive Cream
_U.S.A._
Ground olives mixed to taste with cream cheese. Olives rival pimientos
for such mildly piquant blends that just suit the bland American
taste. A more exciting olive cream may be made with Greek Calatma
olives and Feta sheep cheese.
Olivet
_Orléans, France_
Soft sheep cheese sold in three forms:
I. Fresh; summer, white; cream cheese.
II. Olivet-Bleu--mold inoculated; half-ripened.
III. Olivet-Cendré, ripened in the ashes. Season, October to June.
Olmützer Quargel, also Olmützer Bierkäse
_Austria_
Soft; skim milk-soured; salty. The smallest of hand cheeses, only 1/2
of an inch thick by 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Packed in kegs to ripen
into beer cheese and keep the liquid contents of other kegs company. A
dozen of these little ones are packed together in a box ready to drop
into wine or beer drinks at home or at the bar.
Oloron, or Fromage de la Vallee d'ossour
_Béarn, France_
In season from October to May.
Onion with garlic links
_U.S.A_
Processed and put up like frankfurters, in links.
Oporto
_Portugal_
Hard; sharp; tangy. From the home town of port wine.
Orkney
_Scotland_
A country cheese of the Orkney Islands where it is buried in the oat
bin to ripen, and kept there between meals as well. Oatmeal and Scotch
country cheese are natural affinities. Southey, Johnson and Boswell
have all remarked the fine savor of such cheese with oatcakes.
Orléans
_France_
Named after the Orléans district Soft; creamy; tangy.
Ossetin, Tuschninsk, or Kasach
_Caucasus_
Comes in two forms:
I. Soft and mild sheep or cow cheese ripened in brine for two months.
II. Hard, after ripening a year and more in brine. The type made of
sheep milk is the better.
Ostiepek, Oschtjepek, Oschtjpeka
_Czechoslovakia_
Sheep in the Carpathian Mountains supply the herb-rich milk for this
type, similar to Italian Caciocavallo.
Oswego
_U.S.A._
New York State Cheddar of distinction.
Oude Kaas
_Belgium_
Popular in France as Boule de Lille.
Oust, Fromage de
_Roussillon, France_
Of the Camembert family.
Ovár
_Hungarian_
Semisoft to semihard, reddish-brown rind, reddish-yellow inside. Mild
but pleasantly piquant It has been called Hungarian Tilsit.
Oveji Sir
_Yugoslavian Alpine_
Hard, mountain-sheep cheese of quality Cellar-ripened three months.
Weight six to ten pounds.
Oxfordshire
_England_
An obsolescent type, now only of literary interest because of Jonathan
Swift's little story around it, in the eighteenth century:
"An odd land of fellow, who when the cheese came upon the table,
pretended to faint; so somebody said, Pray take away the cheese.'
"'No,' said I, 'pray take away the fool. Said I well?'
"To this Colonel Arwit rejoins: 'Faith, my lord, you served the
coxcomb right enough; and therefore I wish we had a bit of your
lordship's Oxfordshire cheese.'"
P
Pabstett
_U.S.A_
The Pabst beer people got this out during Prohibition, and although
beer and cheese are brothers under their ferment, and Prohibition has
long since been done away with, the relation of the processed paste
to a natural cheese is still as distant as near beer from regular
beer.
Packet cheese
_England_
This corresponds to our process cheese and is named from the package
or packet it comes in.
Paglia
_Switzerland_
Italian-influenced Canton of Ticino. Soft. A copy of Gorgonzola. A
Blue with a pleasant, aromatic flavor, and of further interest because
in Switzerland, the motherland of cheese, it is an imitation of a
foreign type.
Pago
_Dalmatia, Yugoslavia_
A sheep-milk specialty made on the island of Pago in Dalmatia, in
weights from 1/2 to eight pounds.
Paladru
_Savoy, France_
In season from November to May.
Palpuszta
_Hungary_
Fairly strong Limburger type.
Pannarone
_Italy_
Gorgonzola type with white curd but without blue veining.
Parenica
_Hungary_
Sheep. Caciocavallo type.
Parmesan, Parmigiano
_Italy_
The grand mogul of all graters. Called "The hardest cheese in the
world." It enlivens every course from onion soup to cheese straws with
the demitasse, and puts spirit into the sparse Lenten menu as _Pasta
al Pesto_, powdered Parmesan, garlic, olive oil and basil, pounded in
a mortar with a pestle.
Passauer Rahmkäse, Crème de Passau
_German_
Noted Bavarian cream cheese, known in France as Crème de Passau.
Pasta Cotta
_Italy_
The ball or _grana_ of curd used in making Parmesan.
Pasta Filata
_Italy_
A "drawn" curd, the opposite of the little balls or grains into which
Grana is chopped.(_See_ Formaggi di Pasta Filata.)
Pasteurized Process Cheese Food
_U.S.A._
This is the ultimate desecration of natural fermented cheese. Had
Pasteur but known what eventual harm his discovery would do to a world
of cheese, he might have stayed his hand.
Pastorella
_Italy_
Soft, rich table cheese.
Patagras
_Cuba_
Similar to Gouda.
Pecorino
_Italy_
Italian cheese made from ewe's milk. Salted in brine. Granular.
Pelardon de Rioms
_Languedoc, France_
A goat cheese in season from May to November.
Peneteleu
_Rumania_
One of the international Caciocavallo family.
Penicillium Glaucum and Penicillium Album
Tiny mushroom spores of _Penicillium Glaucum_ sprinkled in the curd
destined to become Roquefort, sprout and grow into "blue" veins that
impart the characteristic flavor. In twelve to fifteen days a second
spore develops on the surface, snow-white _Penicillium Album_.
Pennich
_Turkey_
Mellow sheep cheese packed in the skin of sheep or lamb.
Pennsylvania Hand Cheese
_U.S.A._
This German original has been made by the Pennsylvania Dutch ever
since they arrived from the old country. Also Pennsylvania pot, or
cooked.
Penroque
_Pennsylvania, U.S.A_
Cow milk imitation Roquefort, inoculated with _Penicillium Roqueforti_
and ripened in "caverns where nature has duplicated the ideal
condition of the cheese-curing caverns of France." So any failure of
Penroque to rival real Roquefort is more likely to be the fault of
mother cow than mother nature.
Pepato
_Italy_
Hard; stinging, with whole black peppers that make the lips burn. Fine
for fire-eaters.
An American imitation is made in Northern Michigan.
Persillé de Savoie
_Savoie, France_
In season from May to January, flavored with parsley in a manner
similar to that of sage in Vermont Cheddar.
Petafina, La
_Dauphiné, France_
Goat or cow milk mixed together, with yeast of dried cheese added,
plus salt and pepper, olive oil, brandy and absinthe.
Petit Carré
_France_
Fresh, unripened Ancien Impérial.
Petit Gruyère
_Denmark_
Imitation Gruyère, pasteurized, processed and made almost
unrecognizable and inedible. Six tin-foil wedges to a box; also
packaged with a couple of crackers for bars, one wedge for fifteen
cents, where free lunch is forbidden. This is a fair sample of one of
several foreign imitations that are actually worse than we can do at
home.
Petit Moule
_Ile-de-France, France_
A pet name for Coulommiers.
Petit Suisse
_France_
Fresh, unsalted cream cheese. The same as Neufchâtel and similar to
Coulommiers. It comes in two sizes:
Gros--a largest cylinder
Demi--a small one
Keats called this "the creamy curd," and another writer has praised
its "La Fontaine-like simplicity." Whether made in Normandy,
Switzerland, or Petropolis, Brazil, by early Swiss settlers, it is
ideal with honey.
Petit Vacher
_France_
"Little Cowboy," an appropriate name for a small cow's-milk cheese.
Petits Bourgognes
_Lower Burgundy, France_
Soft; sheep; white, small, tangy. Other notable Petits also beginning
with B are Banons and Bressans.
Petits Fromages de Chasteaux, les
_France_
Small, sheep cream cheeses from Lower Limousin.
Petits Fromages de Chèvre
_France_
Little cheeses from little goats grazing on the little mountains of
Provence.
Petits Pots de Caillé de Poitiers
_Poitou, France_
Clotted milk in small pots.
Pfister
_Cham, Switzerland_
Emmentaler type, although differing in its method of making with fresh
skim milk. It is named for Pfister Huber who was the first to
manufacture it, in Chain.
Philadelphia Cream
_U.S.A._
An excellent cream cheese that has been standard for seventy years.
Made in New York State in spite of its name.
Picnic
_U.S.A._
Handy-size picnic packing of mild American Cheddar. Swiss has long
been called picnic cheese in America, its home away from home.
Picodon de Dieule Fit
_Dauphiné, France_
In season from May to December.
Pie, Fromage à la
_France_
Another name for Fromage Blanc or Farm; soft, creamy cottage-cheese
type.
Pie Cheese
_U.S.A_
An apt American name for any round store cheese that can be cut in
wedges like a pie. Perfect with apple or mince or any other pie. And
by the way, in these days when natural cheese is getting harder to
find, any piece of American Cheddar cut in pie wedges before being
wrapped in cellophane is apt to be the real thing--if it has the rind
on. The wedge shape is used, however, _without any rind_, to make
processed pastes pass for "natural" even without that identifying
word, and with misleading labels such as old, sharp Cheddar and "aged
nine months." That's long enough to make a baby, but not a "natural"
out of a processed "Cheddar."
Pimiento
_U.S.A._
Because pimiento is the blandest of peppers, it just suits our bland
national taste, especially when mixed with Neufchâtel, cream, club or
cottage. The best is homemade, of course, with honest, snappy old
Cheddar mashed and mixed to taste, with the mild Spanish pepper that
equals the Spanish olive as a partner in such spreads.
Pimp _see_ Mainzer Hand Cheese.
Pineapple _see_ Chapter 4.
Piora
_Tessin, Switzerland_
Hard cheese with small eyes. Whole milk, either cow's or a mixture of
goat's and cow's.
Pippen
_U.S.A._
Borden brand of Cheddar. Also Pippen Roll.
Pithiviers au Foin
_France_
Orléans variety ripened on hay from October to May.
Poitiers
_France_
Goat's milker named from its Poitou district.
Pommel
_France_
All year. Double cream; unsalted.
Ponta Delgada
_Azores_
Semifirm; delicate; piquant
Pontgibaud
_France_
Similar to Roquefort Ripened at a very low temperature.
Pont l'Evêque
Characterized as a classic French _fromage_ "with Huge-like
Romanticism." (_See_ Chapter 3.) An imported brand is called "The
Inquisitive Cow."
Poona
_U.S.A._
Semisoft; mellow; New York Stater of distinctive flavor. Sold in
two-pound packs, to be kept four or five hours at room temperature
before serving.
Port-Salut, Port du Salut _see_ Chapter 3.
Port, Blue Links
_U.S.A._
"Blue" flavored with red port and put up in pseudo-sausage links.
Pot cheese
_U.S.A._
Cottage cheese with a dry curd, not creamed. An old English favorite
for fruited cheese cakes with perfumed plums, lemons, almonds and
macaroons. In Ireland it was used in connection with the
sheep-shearing ceremonies, although itself a common cow curd.
Pennsylvania pot cheese is cooked.
Potato
_Germany and U.S.A._
Made in Thuringia from sour cow milk with sheep or goat sometimes
added. "The potatoes are boiled and grated or mashed. One part of the
potato is thoroughly mixed or kneaded with two or three parts of die
curd. In the better cheese three parts of potatoes are mixed with two
of curd. During the mixing, salt and sometimes caraway seed are added.
The cheese is allowed to stand for from two to four days while a
fermentation takes place. After this the curd is sometimes covered
with beer or cream and is finally placed in tubs and allowed to ripen
for fourteen days. A variety of this cheese is made in the U.S. It is
probable, however, that it is not allowed to ripen for quite so long a
period as the potato cheese of Europe. In all other essentials it
appears to be the same."
From U.S. Department of Agriculture _Bulletin_ No. 608.
Potato Pepper
_Italy_
Italian Potato cheese is enlivened with black pepper, like Pepato,
only not so stony hard.
Pots de Crème St. Gervais
_St. Gervais-sur-mer, France_
The celebrated cream that rivals English Devonshire and is eaten both
as a sweet and as a fresh cheese.
Pouligny-St. Pierre
_Touraine, France_
A celebrated cylindrical cheese made in Indre. Season from May to
December.
Poustagnax, le
_France_
A fresh cow-milk cheese of Gascony.
Prato
_Brazil_
Semihard, very yellow imitation of the Argentine imitation of Holland
Dutch. Standard Brazilian dessert with guava or quince paste. Named
not from "dish" but the River Plate district of the Argentine from
whence it was borrowed long ago.
Prattigau
_Switzerland_
Aromatic and sharp, Limburger type, from skim milk. Named for its home
valley.
Prestost or Saaland Flarr
_Sweden_
Similar to Gouda, but unique--the curd being mixed with whiskey,
packed in a basket, salted and cellared, wrapped in a cloth changed
daily; and on the third day finally washed with whiskey.
Primavera, Spring
_Minas Geraes, Brazil_
Semihard white brand of Minas cheese high quality, with a spring-like
fragrance.
Primost
_Norway_
Soft; whey; unripened; light brown; mild flavor.
Primula
_Norway_
A blend of French Brie and Petit Gruyère, mild table cheese imitate in
Norway, sold in small packages. Danish Appetitost is similar, but with
caraway added.
Processed
_U.S.A._
From here around the world. Natural cheese melted and modified by
emulsification with a harmless agent and thus changed into a plastic
mass.
Promessi
_Italy_
Small soft-cream cheese.
Provatura
_Italy_
A water-buffalo variety. This type of milk makes a good beginning for
a fine cheese, no matter how it is made.
Providence
_France_
Port-Salut from the Trappist monastery at Briquebec.
Provole, Provolone, Provolocine, Provoloncinni, Provoletti, and
Provolino
_Italy_
All are types, shapes and sizes of Italy's most widely known and
appreciated cheese. It is almost as widely but badly imitated in the
U.S.A., where the final "e" and "i" are interchangeable.
Cured in string nets that stay on permanently to hang decoratively in
the home kitchen or dining room. Like straw Chianti bottles,
Provolones weigh from _bocconi_ (mouthful), about one pound, to two to
four pounds. There are three-to five-pound Provoletti, and upward with
huge Salamis and Giants. Small ones come ball, pear, apple, and all
sorts of decorative shapes, big ones become monumental sculptures that
are works of art to compare with butter and soap modeling.
P'teux, le, or Fromage Cuit
_Lorraine, France_
Cooked cheese worked with white wine instead of milk, and potted.
Puant Macere
_Flanders_
"The most candidly named cheese in existence." In season from November
to June.
Pultost or Knaost
_Norway_
Sour milk with some buttermilk, farm made in mountains.
Pusztador
_Hungary_
Semihard, Limburger-Romadur type. Full flavor, high scent.
Pyrenees, Fromage des
_France_
A fine mountain variety.
Q
Quartiolo
_Italy_
Term used to distinguish Parmesan-type cheese made between September
and November.
Quacheq
_Macedonia, Greece_
Sheep, eaten both fresh and ripened.
Quargel _see_ Olmützer.
Quartirolo
_Italy_
Soft, cow's milk.
Queijos--Cheeses of the Azores, Brazil and Portugal
_see_ under their local or regional names: Alemtejo, Azeitão, Cardiga,
Ilha, Prato and Serra da Estrella.
Queso Anejo
_Mexico_
White, dry, skim milk.
Queso de Bola
_Mexico_
Whole milk, similar to Edam.
Queso de Cavallo
_Venezuela_
Pear-shaped cheese.
Quesos Cheeses: Blanco, Cartera and Palma Metida _see_ Venezuela.
Queso de Cincho
_Venezuela_
Hard, round orange balls weighing four pounds and wrapped in palm leaves.
Queso de Crema
_Costa Rica_
Similar to soft Brick.
Queso de Hoja, Leaf Cheese
_Puerto Rico_
Named from its appearance when cut, like leaves piled on top of each other.
Queso de Mano
_Venezuela_
Aromatic, sharp, in four-ounce packages.
Queso del Pais, Queso de la Tierra
_Puerto Rico_
White; pressed; semisoft Consumed locally,
Queso de Prensa
_Puerto Rico_
The name means pressed cheese. It is eaten either fresh or after
ripening two or three months.
Queso de Puna
_Puerto Rico_
Like U.S. cottage or Dutch cheese, eaten fresh.
Queso de Tapara
_Venezuela_
Made in Carora, near Barqisimeto, called _tapara_ from the shape and
tough skin of that local gourd. "It is very good fresh, but by the
time it arrives in Carora it is often bad and dry." D.K.K. in _Bueno
Provecho._
Queso Fresco
_El Salvador_
Cottage-cheese type.
Queville _see_ Chapter 3.
Queyras _see_ Champoléon.
R
Rabaçal
_Coimbra, Portugal_
Semisoft; sheep or goat; thick, round, four to five inches in
diameter. Pleasantly oily, if made from sheep milk.
Rabbit Cheese
_U.S.A._
A playful name for Cheddar two to three years old.
Radener
_Germany_
Hard; skim, similar to Emmentaler; made in Mecklenburg. Sixteen by
four inches, weight 32 pounds.
Radolfzeller Cream
_Germany, Switzerland, Austria_
Similar to Münster.
Ragnit _see_ Tilsit.
Rahmkäse, Allgäuer
_German_
Cream.
Rainbow
_Mexico_
Mild; mellow.
Ramadoux
_Belgium_
Soft; sweet cream; formed in cubes. Similar to Hervé
Rammil or Rammel
_England_
André Simon calls this "the best cheese made in Dorsetshire." Also
called Rammilk, because made from whole or "raw milk." Practically
unobtainable today.
Rangiport
_France_
A good imitation of Port-Salut made in Seine-et-Oise.
Rarush Durmar
_Turkey_
Brittle; mellow; nutty.
Rächerkäse
The name for all smoked cheese in Germanic countries, where it is very
popular.
Raviggiolo
_Tuscany, Italy_
Ewe's milk. Uncooked; soft; sweet; creamy.
Rayon or Raper
_Switzerland_
A blind Emmentaler called Rayon is shipped young to Italy, where it is
hardened by aging and then sold as Raper, for grating and seasoning.
Reblochon or Roblochon
_Savoy_
Sheep; soft; whole milk; in season from October to June. Weight one to
two pounds. A cooked cheese imitated as Brizecon in the same section.
Récollet de Gérardmer
_Vosges, France_
A harvest variety similar to Géromé, made from October to April.
Red
_Russia_
_see_ Livlander.
Red Balls
_Dutch_
_see_ Edam.
Reggiano _see_ Grana.
Regianito
_Argentine_
Italian Reggiano type with a name of its own, for it is not a mere
imitation in this land of rich milk and extra fine cheeses.
Reichkäse
_German_
Patriotically hailed as cheese of the empire, when Germany had one.
Reindeer
_Lapland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway_
In all far northern lands a type of Swiss is made from reindeer milk
It is lightly salted, very hard; and the Lapland production is
curiously formed, like a dumbbell with angular instead of round ends.
Relish cream cheese
_U.S.A._
Mixed with any piquant relish and eaten fresh.
Remoudon, or Fromage Piquant
_Belgium_
The two names combine in re-ground piquant cheese, and that's what it
is. The season is winter, from November to June.
Requeijão
_Portugal and Brazil_
Recooked.
Resurrection _see_ Welsh.
Rhubarbe
_France_
A type of Roquefort which, in spite of its name, is no relation to our
pie plant.
Riceys _see_ Champenois.
Ricotta Romano
_Italy_
Soft and fresh. The best is made from sheep buttermilk. Creamy,
piquant, with subtle fragrance. Eaten with sugar and cinnamon,
sometimes with a dusting of powdered coffee.
Ricotta
_Italy and U.S.A._
Fresh, moist, unsalted cottage cheese for sandwiches, salads, lasagne,
blintzes and many Italian dishes. It is also mixed with Marsala and
rum and relished for dessert Ricotta may be had in every Little Italy,
some of it very well made and, unfortunately, some of it a poor
substitute whey cheese.
Ricotta Salata
Hard; grayish white. Although its flavor is milk it is too hard and
too salty for eating as is, and is mostly used for grating.
Riesengebirge
_Bohemia_
Semisoft; goat or cow; delicate flavor, lightly smoked in Bohemia's
northern mountains.
Rinnen
_Germany_
This traditional Pomeranian sour-milk, caraway-seeded variety is named
from the wooden trough in which it is laid to drain.
Riola
_Normandy, France_
Soft; sheep or goat; sharp; resembles Mont d'Or but takes longer to
ripen, two to three months.
Robbiole
Robbiola
Robbiolini
_ Lombardy_
_ Italian_
Very similar to Crescenza (_see_.) Alpine winter cheese of fine
quality. The form is circular and flat, weighing from eight ounces to
two pounds, while Robbiolini, the baby of the family tips the scale at
just under four ounces.
Roblochon, le
Same as Reblochon. A delicious form of it is made of half-dried
sheep's milk in Le Grand Bornand.
Rocamadur
_Limousin, France_
Tiny sheep milk cheese weighing two ounces. In season November to May.
Rocroi
_France_
From the Champagne district.
Rokadur
_Yugoslavia_
Imitation Roquefort.
Roll
_England_
Hard cylinder, eight by nine inches, weighing twenty pounds.
Rollot or Rigolot
_Picardy and Montdidier, France_
Soft; fermented; mold-inoculated; resembles Brie and Camembert, but
much smaller. In season October to May. This is Picardy's one and only
cheese.
Roma
_Italy_
Soft cream.
Romadour, Romadura, and other national spellings
_Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland_
A great Linburger. The eating season is from November to April. It is
not a summer cheese, especially in lands where refrigeration is
scarce. Fine brands are exported to America from several countries.
Romano, Romano Vacchino
_Italy_
Strong flavoring cheese like Parmesan and Pecorino.
Romanello
_U.S.A._
Similar to Romano Vacchino and Old Monterey Jack. Small grating
cheese, cured one year.
Roquefort
_France_
King of cheeses, with its "tingling Rabelaisian pungency." _See_