INTRODUCTION.

CHEESE AND ITS ECONOMICAL USES IN THE DIET.

Cheese is believed to be the oldest of the dairy products and the first form in which milk was preserved for future use. One may conjecture that it owes its origin to the accidental storing and ripening of sour milk curd. Although it has been a staple food with many races for uncounted years, there is a widespread belief that it is suitable for use chiefly in small quantities as an accessory to the diet, and that in large quantities it is likely to produce physiological disturbances. We are inclined, therefore, to think of those who make cheese one of the chief articles of their diet as being driven to this course by necessity rather than being led to it by choice.

Because of these opinions extensive studies have been carried on as a part of the Department Work in Home Economics, of the food value, thoroughness of digestibility, ease of digestion, physiological effect, and special character of cheese as food as well as of methods which are followed in preparing it for the table. The conclusion drawn from this extended study is, in brief, that cheese properly prepared and used is not generally a cause of physiological disturbances, and that it may easily be introduced into the bill of fare in such quantities as to serve as the chief source of nitrogenous food and may be made a substitute for other nitrogenous foods when such substitution is desired.[1]The results of these studies have been brought together in this bulletin with a view to making them helpful to all interested in the subject, but particularly to housekeepers.

From the standpoint of the housekeeper, cheese is of importance because of its high nutritive value, particularly its high percentage of protein or muscle-forming materials, because of the ease with which it can be kept and prepared for the table, and because of its appetizing flavor and of the great variety of ways in which it can be served.

From the point of view of agriculture cheese is an important commodity. The latest census figures available show that considerably over 300,000,000 pounds are made yearly in the United States, the value of the product being nearly $29,000,000, and the amount of money invested being over $6,000,000. The figures quoted are from the census report which first separated the details of the cheeseindustry from those of the butter and condensed-milk industries. From earlier statistics available, however, it is fair to judge in a general way of the development of any one of these industries from the figures given for the three industries combined. In general, these figures show that there was a great leap forward in the three industries in the decade between the years 1880 and 1890, and that since that time there has been a continuous, steady, healthy growth in the business of cheese making.

As might be expected, the amount of the product and the amount of money invested have increased more rapidly than the number of men employed, indicating that, as in most manufacturing industries, labor-saving devices and other improvements have reduced the proportion of physical labor required.

As regards the kind of cheese made in the United States, the figures show that of the amount produced in 1905 approximately three-fourths was what is known to the trade as standard factory cheese, or what is usually known to the retail purchaser as American cheese. A very small per cent—1.1 per cent—was skim-milk cheese, the remainder being American modifications of certain important foreign brands, Neufchâtel, Camembert, and others.

From the standpoint of the retail dealer, cheese is important because it is a convenient article to handle. Its percentage of nutrients being high and its percentage of water low, it is not bulky. It is comparatively easy, too, to preserve in good condition. The difficulty of cutting exact amounts called for by customers may be considered the chief inconvenience. Efforts have been made to obviate this difficulty by making small cheeses. Experiments have been reported from the Oregon Experiment Station[2]on the canning of cheese in pound lots; and from the Wisconsin Experiment Station[3]in making cheese prints like those in which butter is commonly sold. In some of the factories cheeses weighing about 5 pounds and having the same shape as the larger cheeses are made. These are convenient for use in families where a large amount of cheese is eaten, and furthermore cheese in such form dries out and spoils less quickly and easily than cheese cut in wedge-shaped slices, as it usually is when sold by the pound. A convenient way of keeping and using such cheese is given on page11.

The sale of cheese in pots is another way of overcoming the difficulty of cutting exact amounts. Cheese thus prepared is, as a rule, softened by the addition of butter fat or other fat, with the idea of making it of such consistency that it can be used like soft cheeses.

There is something to be said also of the value of cheese to that not inconsiderable number of individuals who must occasionally caterfor themselves—those men and women in business life, for example, who find it convenient neither to carry lunches nor to go to restaurants. For these, cheese offers a convenient way of supplying the necessary protein, for it can usually be obtained in good condition in any neighborhood. Combined with crackers, some of the ready-cooked cereals, or bread, and with fruit, it makes a fairly well-balanced meal.

FOOTNOTES:[1]U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook 1910, p. 359.[2]Oregon Sta. Bul. 78.[3]Wisconsin Sta. Rpt. 1901, p. 132; U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers’ Bul. 156.

[1]U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook 1910, p. 359.

[2]Oregon Sta. Bul. 78.

[3]Wisconsin Sta. Rpt. 1901, p. 132; U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers’ Bul. 156.

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