The French make cheese from sour milk without heating it. They pour
the milk into earthen molds which have holes in the bottom. A very
fine sieve may be used instead of the molds. The whey drips out and
the curd assumes a custard-like consistency and takes the shape of
the mold. When sufficiently stiff, the cheese is chilled, and is
eaten with sweet cream and sugar. It is a staple dessert in many
French families, especially in hot weather, and is delicious served
with acid fruit, such as currants, or with strawberries.
Junket.
If cottage cheese is made from sweet milk and rennet and served
without breaking and separating the curd and whey, the dish is
called junket. It is customary to season it a little, as with
grated nutmeg or with cinnamon and sugar.
Buttermilk Cheese.
At the Wisconsin Experiment Station[16] a method has been devised
for making a soft moist cheese out of buttermilk. When made on
a large scale, as it might be in creameries, there are various
precautions to be taken which are pointed out in the publication
cited. In making it in small quantities, these precautions are
unnecessary, and the method is even simpler than that of making
cottage cheese, because the quality does not depend so much on the
temperature.
To make the buttermilk cheese, heat buttermilk gradually to about
130° or 140° F. Allow it to cool and strain it. As the curd will
settle to the bottom, most of the whey may be poured off before the
draining is begun.
This cheese is, of course, almost wholly without fat and yet,
probably because the particles of curd are very finely divided,
it has a smooth consistency, which suggests the presence of fat.
It may be served seasoned with salt only or it may be mixed with
butter or cream and seasonings. It is suitable for combining with
olives and pimientos, as recommended on page 34, or for any use to
which the ordinary cream cheeses are put.
Buttermilk Cream.
This product also was devised by the Wisconsin Experiment
Station.[17] By controlling the temperature in heating the
buttermilk and not allowing it to go above 100° F., a compound
is made which after draining has the consistency of a very thick
cream. It is claimed by the station investigators that this “cream”
is suitable for eating on bread in place of butter.
The recipes on pages 34 and 35 suggest ways of making a salad
dressing out of buttermilk cream.
Devonshire Cream.
Devonshire cream somewhat resembles sweet cream in flavor and
consistency. It is very much liked in England, where it is commonly
eaten with fresh or preserved fruit, but is not so well known in
America.
To make Devonshire cream, allow a pan of whole milk to stand for
24 hours in a cool place or for 12 hours in a warmer place. Place
the pan on the cooler part of the stove and heat until the milk is
very hot, but not to the boiling point. If heated too much a thick
skin will form on the surface. The more slowly the milk is heated
the better. Having been heated, the milk should be kept in a cool
place for 24 hours and then skimmed. The thick cream obtained has a
characteristic flavor and texture.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmer’s Bul. 166.
[15] North Carolina Sta. Bul. 210.
[16] Wisconsin Sta. Bul. 195.
[17] Loc. cit.
CHEESE DISHES AND THEIR PREPARATION.
The list of cheese dishes in the culinary literature of this and
other countries is a long one, but most of them are variations of a
comparatively small number of general types. Those which have been
selected and studied experimentally represent the principal types and
in many cases have been adapted to American methods of preparations
and tastes. In some instances, this has resulted in new and perhaps
more rational combinations than those which served as models.
For convenience, the cheese dishes included in this bulletin have
been grouped under the following heads:
(1) Cheese dishes which may serve as meat substitutes.
(2) Cheese soups and vegetables cooked with cheese.
(3) Cheese salads, sandwiches, and similar dishes.
(4) Cheese pastry, cheese sweets, and similar dishes.
Variety may be obtained in the recipes by varying the flavorings.
Among the best flavorings for cheese dishes are onion, chives, and
the ordinary green sweet pepper. Since the cheese needs very little
cooking, however, and onion or the pepper needs a great deal, they
should always be previously cooked, either by stewing in a very
little water, or by cooking in butter. The seeds of the pepper,
of course, should be removed before cooking. Where chopped celery
is used, as it may be in most of these dishes, it, too, should be
cooked beforehand until tender. Other good flavors are mustard, curry
powder, onion juice, chopped olives, pimiento, and, according to
European recipes, nutmeg or mace.
In preparing the cheese it often has been found convenient to use a
very coarse grater having slits instead of the usual rounded holes.
Such a grater, in spite of its name, shaves the cheese instead of
grating it. When the cheese is soft this is an advantage, since the
grater does not become clogged.
CHEESE DISHES WHICH MAY BE USED IN THE SAME WAY AS MEAT.
Meat is wholesome and relished by most persons, yet it is not
essential to a well-balanced meal and there are many housekeepers
who for one reason or another are interested in lessening the amount
of meat which they provide or to substitute some other foods for it.
The problem with the average family is undoubtedly more often the
occasional substitution of other palatable dishes for the sake of
variety, for reasons of economy, or for some other reason than the
general replacement of meat dishes by other things.
Foods which are to be served in place of meat should be rich in
protein and fat and should also be savory. Cheese naturally suggests
itself as a substitute for meat, since it is rich in the same kinds
of nutrients which meat supplies, is a staple food with which
everyone is familiar, and is one which can be used in a great variety
of ways. In substituting cheese for meat, especial pains should
be taken to serve dishes which are relished by the members of the
family. A number of recipes for dishes which contain cheese are given
below. They are preceded by several recipes for cheese sauces which,
as will appear, are called for in the preparation of some of the more
substantial dishes.
Cheese Sauce No. 1.
1 cupful of milk.
2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
1 ounce of cheese (¼ cupful of grated cheese).
Salt and pepper.
Thicken the milk with the flour and just before serving add the
cheese, stirring until it is melted.
This sauce is suitable to use in preparing creamed eggs, or to pour
over toast, making a dish corresponding to ordinary milk toast,
except for the presence of cheese. It may be seasoned with a little
curry powder and poured over hard-boiled eggs.
Cheese Sauce No. 2.
Same as cheese sauce No. 1, except that the cheese is increased
from 1 to 2 ounces.
This sauce is suitable for using with macaroni or rice, or for
baking with crackers soaked in milk. (See p. 27.)
Cheese Sauce No. 3.
Same as cheese sauce No. 1, except that two cupfuls of grated
cheese or 8 ounces are used. This may be used upon toast as a
substitute for Welsh rabbit.
Cheese Sauce No. 4.
Same as cheese sauce No. 2, save that 2 tablespoonfuls of melted
butter are mixed with the flour before the latter is put into the
milk. This sauce is therefore very rich in fat and has only a mild
flavor of cheese.
Among the recipes for dishes which may be used like meat, the first
30 are such that, eaten in usual quantities, they will provide much
the same kind and amount of nutritive material as the ordinary
servings of meat dishes used at dinner. In several cases there is a
resemblance in appearance and flavor to common meat dishes, which
would doubtless be a point in their favor with many families.
While, chiefly owing to custom, it may not accord with the taste of
the family to serve cheese dishes at dinner in place of meat, it
is much more in accord with usual dietary habits in American homes
to serve such dishes at least occasionally for lunch, for supper,
or for breakfast; that is, for a less formal meal than dinner. The
last group of recipes in this section, beginning with “breakfast
cereals with cheese,” supply rather smaller proportions of nutritive
materials than those in the first group and so may be more suitable
for use at the less hearty meals. There is no hard and fast line to
be drawn between the two groups, however, and many of the recipes may
be used interchangeably.
In the recipes calling for large amounts of cheese the food value
is given, not in figures, but in comparison with beef of average
composition and average percentage of waste. This comparison is
necessarily rough owing to the varying composition of the foods
and the varying weights of such ingredients as a cupful of grated
cheese or bread crumbs. In making the comparisons, beef of average
composition has been considered to have 15.2 per cent of protein,
and a fuel value of 935 calories per pound; ordinary American cheese
has been considered to have 26 per cent of protein and a fuel value
of 1,965 calories per pound. After many weighings, 4 ounces was
decided to be the average weight of a cupful of cheese and 2½ ounces
the average weight of a cupful of bread crumbs. These weights have
been taken, therefore, in calculating the food value of dishes.
When cheese is very soft, however, it may be pressed into a cup and
measured like butter. Under these circumstances, the weight of a
cupful of cheese may be considered one-half a pound. The price of
cheese is taken as 22 cents a pound, of butter 25 cents a pound,
of eggs 25 cents a dozen, in this and all similar calculations in
this bulletin. Prices vary with time, place, and season. Those
mentioned above are such as were paid for materials at the time the
experiments here summarized were made and are not extreme values in
either direction. Like all such estimates, the calculations are only
relative, and the housekeeper who wishes to estimate the comparative
cost of the cheese dishes and other foods can readily do so by taking
into account the amount of materials used and the prices paid for
ingredients at any particular time.
Cheese Fondue No. 1.
1⅓ cupfuls of soft, stale bread crumbs.
6 ounces of cheese (1½ cupfuls of grated
cheese or 1⅓ cupfuls of cheese grated
fine or cut into small pieces.)
4 eggs.
1 cupful of hot water.
½ teaspoonful of salt.
Mix the water, bread crumbs, salt, and cheese; add the yolks
thoroughly beaten; into this mixture cut and fold the whites of
eggs beaten until stiff. Pour into a buttered baking dish and cook
30 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve at once.
The food value of this dish, made with the above quantities, is
almost exactly the same as that of a pound of beef of average
composition and a pound of potatoes combined. It contains about 80
grams of proteids and has a fuel value of about 1,300 calories.
Estimated cost, 18 cents, calculated as explained on p. 23.
Cheese Fondue No. 2.
1⅓ cupfuls of hot milk.
1⅓ cupfuls of soft, stale bread crumbs.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
4 eggs.
⅓ of a pound of cheese (1⅓ cupfuls of grated
cheese or 1 cupful of cheese cut into
small pieces).
½ teaspoonful of salt.
Prepare as in previous recipe.
The protein value of this dish is equal to that of 1⅛ pounds of
potato and beef, the fuel value, however, being much in excess of
these. Calculated cost (see p. 23), 22 cents.
In making either of these fondues, rice or other cereals may be
substituted for bread crumbs. One-fourth cupful of rice measured
before cooking, or one cupful of cooked rice or other cereals,
should be used.
A comparison of the recipes for the two fondues may indicate the
general principle on which the recipes in this bulletin have been
worked out. The second recipe is one commonly found in cookbooks.
In the first one, the butter has been omitted and water substituted
for milk and the amount of cheese is slightly increased. This makes
a somewhat cheaper dish and one which is less rich because its
percentage of fat is not so great. For this reason it is easier
to adjust to the ordinary bill of fare. A dish in which there is
combined cheese with its large percentage of fat, butter with its
85 per cent of fat, and eggs with their 10 per cent of fat, is
too rich to admit of being combined rationally with other fatty
dishes. It therefore limits the number of dishes that may be served
with it, making milk soup, for example, or dishes containing white
sauce or those containing much butter or oil seem out of place. The
omission of butter from the ordinary recipes and the substitution
of water or skimmed milk for whole milk may perhaps be the means of
making cheese dishes more wholesome and more generally acceptable.
Another advantage of omitting butter from cheese dishes and of
substituting water or skimmed milk for whole milk is that it makes
it possible to increase the amount of cheese without making the
dish too rich. This is of advantage to those who like the flavor of
cheese, and also, because it tends to increase the tissue-forming
value of the dish, particularly if skimmed milk is used rather than
water.
Boiled Fondue.
1½ cupfuls of bread crumbs.
1½ cupfuls of milk.
1½ cupfuls of cheese cut into small pieces.
1 egg.
2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
6 ounces of crackers.
Soak the bread in the milk. Melt the butter and add the cheese.
When the cheese has melted add the soaked crumbs, the eggs slightly
beaten, and the seasoning. Cook a short time and serve on toasted
crackers.
Since it consists of essentially the same ingredients, the food
value of this dish is obviously much the same as that of fondue
made in other ways.
Rice Fondue.
1 cupful of boiled rice.
2 tablespoonfuls of milk.
4 eggs.
1 cupful of grated cheese.
½ teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful of some commercial meat
sauce, or similar flavoring.
Heat the rice in the milk, add the other ingredients, and cook
slowly until the cheese is melted. Serve on crackers or toast.
The food value is not far from that of a pound of beef of average
composition, and the calculated cost (see p. 23) is 15 cents.
Corn and Cheese Soufflé.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 tablespoonful of chopped green pepper.
¼ cupful of flour.
2 cupfuls of milk.
1 cupful of chopped corn.
1 cupful of grated cheese.
3 eggs.
½ teaspoonful of salt.
Melt the butter and cook the pepper thoroughly in it. Make a sauce
out of the flour, milk, and cheese (see p. 23); add the corn,
cheese, yolks, and seasoning; cut and fold in the whites beaten
stiffly; turn into a buttered baking dish and bake in a moderate
oven 30 minutes.
Made with skimmed milk and without butter, this dish has a food
value slightly in excess of a pound of beef and a pound of
potatoes. Calculated cost (see p. 23), about 20 cents.
Welsh Rabbit.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 teaspoonful of cornstarch.
½ cupful of milk.
½ pound of cheese, cut into small pieces.
¼ teaspoonful each of salt and mustard.
A speck of cayenne pepper.
Cook the cornstarch in the butter; then add the milk gradually
and cook two minutes; add the cheese and stir until it is melted.
Season and serve on crackers or bread toasted on one side, the
rabbit being poured over the untoasted side. Food value is that of
about three-fourths of a pound of beef. Calculated cost (see p.
23), 13 cents.
Tomato Rabbit.
2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
¾ cupful of milk.
¾ cupful of stewed and strained tomatoes.
⅛ teaspoonful of soda.
1 pound of cheese.
2 eggs, slightly beaten.
Salt, mustard, cayenne pepper.
Cook the butter and the flour together, add the milk, and as soon
as the mixture thickens add tomatoes and soda. Then add cheese,
eggs, and seasoning. Serve on toasted whole wheat or Graham bread.
Green Corn, Tomato, and Cheese.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
2 cups of grated cheese.
¾ cup of canned or grated fresh corn.
1 ripe pimiento.
½ cup of tomato purée.
2 egg yolks.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
½ teaspoonful of paprika.
1 clove of garlic.
4 slices of bread.
Into the melted butter stir the cheese until it, too, is melted.
Then add the corn and pimiento, stir for a moment and add the egg
yolks beaten and mixed with the tomato juice and the salt and
paprika. Have ready the bread toasted on one side and very lightly
rubbed on its untoasted side with the garlic cut in two. Pour the
mixture over the untoasted side of the bread and serve at once. A
poached egg is sometimes placed on top of each portion, making a
very nutritious combination.
Macaroni and Cheese No. 1.
1 cupful of macaroni, broken into small pieces.
2 quarts of boiling salted water.
1 cupful of milk.
2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
¼ to ½ pound of cheese.
½ teaspoonful of salt.
Speck of cayenne pepper.
Cook the macaroni in the boiling salted water, drain in a strainer,
and pour cold water over it to prevent the pieces from adhering
to each other. Make a sauce out of the flour, milk, and cheese.
(See p. 23.) Put the sauce and macaroni in alternate layers in a
buttered baking dish, cover with buttered crumbs, and heat in oven
until crumbs are brown.
Macaroni and Cheese No. 2.
A good way to prepare macaroni and cheese is to make a rich cheese
sauce and heat the macaroni in it. (See p. 23.) The mixture is
usually covered with buttered crumbs and browned in the oven. The
advantage of this way of preparing the dish, however, is that it is
unnecessary to have a hot oven, as the sauce and macaroni may be
reheated on the top of the stove.
Macaroni with Cheese and Tomato Sauce.
Boiled macaroni may be heated in tomato sauce and sprinkled with
grated cheese just before serving.
Italian Macaroni and Cheese.
1 cupful of macaroni broken into small pieces.
2 quarts of boiling salted water.
½ onion.
2 cloves.
1½ cupfuls of tomato sauce.
½ cupful or more of grated cheese.
Cook the macaroni in the boiling salted water with the onion and
cloves. Drain, remove the onion and cloves, reheat in tomato sauce,
and serve with grated cheese.
Cheese and Macaroni Loaf.
½ cupful of macaroni broken into small pieces.
1 cupful of milk.
1 cupful of soft bread crumbs.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 tablespoonful of chopped green pepper.
1 teaspoonful each of chopped onion and parsley.
3 eggs.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
½ cupful of grated cheese.
Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water until tender, and rinse
in cold water. Cook the parsley, onion, and pepper in a little
water with the butter. Pour off the water or allow it to boil away.
Beat the egg white and yolk separately. Mix all the ingredients,
cutting and folding in the stiffly beaten whites at the last. Line
a quart baking dish with buttered paper; turn the mixture into it;
set the baking dish in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate
oven from one-half to three-fourths of an hour. Serve with tomato
sauce.
Baked Rice and Cheese No. 1.
1 cupful of uncooked rice and
4 cupfuls of milk;
or,
3 cupfuls of cooked rice and
1 cupful of milk.
2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
½ pound of cheese.
½ teaspoonful of salt.
If uncooked rice is used, it should be cooked in 3 cupfuls of milk.
Make a sauce with one cupful of milk, add the flour, cheese, and
salt. (See p. 23.) Into a buttered baking dish put alternate layers
of the cooked rice and the sauce. Cover with buttered crumbs and
bake until the crumbs are brown. The proteids in this dish, made
with rice cooked in milk, are equal to those of nearly 1¾ pounds
of average beef. If skimmed milk is used, the fuel value is equal
to nearly 3½ pounds of beef. Whole milk raises the fuel value
still higher. Estimated cost (see p. 23), 28 cents.
Baked Rice and Cheese No. 2.
¼ pound of cheese grated or cut into small pieces.
1 cupful of rice.
Milk as needed.
Cook the rice; put into a buttered baking dish alternate layers of
rice and cheese; pour over them enough milk to come halfway to the
top of the rice; cover with buttered crumbs and brown.
If the rice is cooked in milk either whole or skimmed, and one cup
of milk is used to pour over it, this dish has as much protein as
1¼ pounds of beef of average composition, and a much higher fuel
value.
Baked Crackers and Cheese No. 1.
9 or 10 butter crackers or Boston crackers.
¼ pound of cheese or 1 cupful of grated cheese.
1½ cupfuls of milk.
¼ teaspoonful of salt.
Flour.
Split the crackers, if the thick sort are selected, or with a sharp
knife cut them into pieces of uniform size. Pour the milk over
them and drain it off at once. With the milk, flour, cheese, and
salt, make a sauce. (See p. 23.) Into a buttered baking dish put
alternate layers of the soaked crackers and sauce. Cover with bread
crumbs and brown in the oven, or simply reheat without covering
with crumbs.
The above is a very satisfactory substitute for macaroni and
cheese, and can be prepared in less time.
Baked Crackers and Cheese No. 2.
9 or 10 butter crackers or soda crackers.
2 cupfuls of hot milk, whole or skimmed.
1 cupful of grated cheese.
¼ teaspoonful of salt.
This is more quickly prepared than the preceding recipe, but as the
milk is likely to curdle, it has not so good a consistency.
Soak the crackers in the milk; place them in a buttered baking
dish in alternate layers with the cheese; pour the remaining milk
over them and bake. This dish may be covered with buttered crumbs.
Variety may be secured, in either this recipe or the preceding one,
by putting a very small amount of mixed mustard on each cracker.
Cheese Rolls.
A large variety of rolls may be made by combining legumes, either
beans of various kinds, cowpeas, lentils, or peas, with cheese of
various kinds, and adding bread crumbs to make the mixture thick
enough to form into a roll. Beans are usually mashed, but peas or
small Lima beans may be combined whole with bread crumbs and grated
cheese, and enough of the liquor in which the vegetables have been
cooked may be added to get the right consistency. Or, instead of
beans or peas, chopped spinach, beet tops, or head lettuce may
be used. Homemade cottage cheese, and the soft cream cheese of
commerce, standard cheese, or English dairy may be used.
Boston Roast.
1 pound can of kidney beans or equivalent
quantity of cooked beans.
½ pound of grated cheese.
Bread crumbs.
Salt.
Mash the beans or put them through a meat grinder. Add the cheese
and sufficient bread crumbs to make the mixture stiff enough to be
formed into a roll. Bake in a moderate oven, basting occasionally
with butter and water. Serve with tomato sauce. This dish may be
flavored with onions, chopped and cooked in butter and water.
Pimiento and Cheese Roast.
2 cupfuls of cooked Lima beans.
¼ pound of cream cheese, commercial or homemade.
3 canned pimientos chopped.
Bread crumbs.
Put the first three ingredients through a meat chopper. Mix
thoroughly and add bread crumbs until it is stiff enough to form
into a roll. Brown in the oven, basting occasionally with butter
and water.
Nut and Cheese Roast.
1 cupful of grated cheese.
1 cupful of chopped English walnuts.
1 cupful of bread crumbs.
2 tablespoonfuls of chopped onion.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
Juice of half a lemon.
Salt and pepper.
Cook the onion in the butter and a little water until it is tender.
Mix the other ingredients and moisten with water, using the water
in which the onion has been cooked. Pour into a shallow baking dish
and brown in the oven.
Cheese and Spinach Roll.
2 quarts of spinach.
1 cupful of grated cheese.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
Salt.
Bread crumbs.
Cook the spinach in water for 10 minutes. Drain off the water, add
the butter, cook until tender, and chop. Add the grated cheese and
then bread crumbs enough to make a mixture sufficiently stiff to
form into a roll, or leave more moist and cook in a baking dish.
Vegetable and Cheese Rolls.
For the spinach of the above recipe there may be substituted beet
tops, Swiss chard, or the outer leaves of lettuce.
Cheese Used in the Stuffing of Meat.
The mixtures in the preceding two recipes may be used for stuffing
veal or beef. Eggs may be added if desired, and chopped onions
or parsley may be cooked with the greens. In Italy roasts thus
prepared are sprinkled with a little finely chopped garlic, and
covered with celery tops and thin slices of bacon or fat pork
before roasting.
Creamed Cheese and Eggs.