Foods and Household Management Part 23

This is a Russian method. These preparations are excellent for invalids and exhausted people, for they can sometimes be a.s.similated because of the fine curds when sweet milk cannot.

=Condensed milk= is a practical method of preserving milk. The milk is evaporated under pressure at a high temperature in apparatus constructed for the purpose. Cane sugar or glucose is sometimes added. A new patent process condenses the milk at low temperature, preserving it for a short period, as compared with the condensed milk in tins, but it keeps well for several days, and bears transportation. Condensed milk may be used in cooking, when clean fresh milk is not available. The unsweetened kinds are most useful, but, like pasteurized milk, must be treated with care after the cans are opened.

=Cheese.=--Cheese is made from the curd of milk, and contains the most nutritive parts of the milk in highly concentrated form. In the process of manufacture, the milk is first curdled by rennet, and the whey strained out. The curds after preliminary treatment, varying according to the style of cheese to be made, are finally pressed together very slowly in a cheese press, which is screwed down more tightly as the cheese becomes dryer. The cheeses are then covered with cheesecloth and "ripened" slowly, the ripening process giving characteristic consistency and flavor. This ripening is due to the action of bacteria and molds. (See page 97.) Foreign varieties of cheese, made originally in some one locality, have marked colors, quality, and flavors, as Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, and the Swiss cheeses. Parmesan is an Italian cheese, excellent with macaroni and spaghetti.

_American cheeses_ vary in color, in strength of flavor, in creaminess, and in degree of hardness. Much the greater part is, however, of the general type known as "American cheddar" or "standard factory" cheese.

_Club cheese_ is an American cheese of good quality, put up in small jars.

It is a soft cheese, excellent to serve with crackers, but is too expensive for common use.

_Cottage cheese_ is a home product made from sour milk, and used at once.

=Composition and nutritive value.=--Cheese is high in protein, and usually in fat. (See Fig. 40.) Note the small amount of water, which makes cheese a very concentrated food. The protein content makes it a meat subst.i.tute, for those with whom cheese does not disagree. Being a dense as well as concentrated form of food, it should be eaten in small quant.i.ties, and in combination with other food materials in such a way that it will become finely divided, or it will not be easily digested. The ash content is high, the most valuable of the ash const.i.tuents of the milk being retained in the cheese.

=The cost of cheese.=--The foreign cheeses are expensive, but American cheeses may be cla.s.sed among the moderate priced foods and they compare favorably with other protein foods.

Cheese costs more than beans, and less than most cuts of meat. A good American cheese costs about twenty-five cents per pound. Taking account of composition as well as cost per pound, we find that a given amount of money buys about twice as much food value when spent for cheese as it would if spent for beef. See Fig. 45.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 45.--100-Calorie portions of cheese.

No. KIND WEIGHT OF PORTION, OUNCES

1. Swiss 0.8 2. Cream 0.9 3. American 0.8 4. Roquefort 1.0 5. Parmesan 1.9 6. Cottage 3.2

_A. Fowler, Photographer._]

=Care of cheese in the pantry.=--Cheese should be kept dry and covered, that its odor may not be noticeable. Soft cheese should be kept in the ice box. The receptacle for cheese should be thoroughly sterilized before each new purchase is put away.

GENERAL METHODS AND RECIPES

=1. Uncooked cheese.=--Serve a cream cheese with a salad of lettuce, and the imported cheeses with crackers and fruit for dessert.

American cheese may be thinly sliced and used in sandwiches. A small piece of cheese with apple pie or pudding is an old-fas.h.i.+oned combination that is always agreeable, but sometimes difficult of digestion.

=2. Cottage cheese.=

Use sour milk that has set. Other ingredients: salt to taste, cayenne pepper or paprika, if liked. Quality and flavor are improved by the addition of a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter or two tablespoonfuls of cream to a pint of the curd, but these are not necessary.

Warm the milk slowly, until the whey begins to separate from the curd. If this process is continued too long, and the milk becomes hot, the curd will be tough. Place a piece of cheesecloth over a bowl, pour in the curds and whey, and lift the cloth carefully, allowing the whey to run through. Squeeze out the remaining whey.

Add the seasoning and other ingredients to the curd, shape in b.a.l.l.s, and chill before serving. It is delicious served with lettuce and dressing as a salad, or with gingerbread for dessert at luncheon or supper.

=Principles of cooking cheese.=--The fat in the cheese is melted by heat. The protein is toughened by a high temperature, therefore a low temperature process should be used.

=3. Cheese cooked with other food materials.=--A creamy cheese should be selected for cooking. Cheese may be grated and sprinkled on the top of potato on the half sh.e.l.l, or any other mashed potato; or it may be sliced and placed with each layer in escalloped potato. Its use is common with macaroni; and a dish of macaroni with milk and cheese is a good meat subst.i.tute, and may be used as the main dish of a luncheon or simple dinner. Those to whom cheese is agreeable will find many places for its use. Its flavor harmonizes with celery and with tomato. The Italians serve grated Parmesan cheese with soup, and with spaghetti that has a tomato sauce.

=4. Cheese crackers.=--Select crackers of a firm quality that will not crumble or flake easily, and of a small size. Spread very thinly with soft b.u.t.ter, put the crackers in a pan, and sprinkle grated cheese upon each one. Set the pan in a moderate oven until the cheese is melted. A sprinkling of paprika may be used. Serve with lettuce, celery, or other green salad.

EXERCISES

1. Compare the composition of eggs, milk, and cheese.

2. How may an egg which has been kept too long in cold storage be detected?

3. What is the effect of the boiling temperature of water upon an egg?

4. Compare a hard- and a soft-cooked egg for digestibility.

5. What are the dangers from unclean milk?

6. How may the milk supply be safeguarded?

7. Why is cheese a meat subst.i.tute?

8. What caution should we exercise in using it?

9. What precaution must we take in cooking cheese?

CHAPTER X

THE FATS AND THE SUGARS

Fats are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but have much more carbon than the other kinds of foodstuffs. Notice in Fig. 46 that olive oil and lard are pure fats; the other fat foods containing water, protein, and ash. Fat is available in various forms, with differing flavors and a wide range of prices. To many people it is unpalatable in some of its cheapest forms; yet its use is important, and some kind should be included in the diet. Fluid and emulsified fats are the most easily digested, hence olive oil, cream, and egg yolk are highly desirable. Bacon and b.u.t.ter belong nearly in the same cla.s.s. A vigorous man at hard labor can digest fat of any kind without difficulty, and needs it because it gives so much fuel in proportion to its bulk.

Fat tends to r.e.t.a.r.d gastric digestion, and delicate persons must be careful about taking with it other foods which are hard to digest, or taking it in the form of fried foods, pastries, rich cakes, and sauces.

Persons with delicate appet.i.te, who lose weight because they do not get enough fuel, may be benefited by taking a little more fat in the diet, especially if they do not digest starch and sugar readily, but a very large amount (over 6 or 7 ounces a day) will not be perfectly digested.

=Fat as a food.=--_Beef fat_, as it occurs with lean, is a digestible fat.

If thoroughly browned in the cooking process, it is most palatable, and the taste for it should be cultivated. In gravy, it may be used with potato, instead of b.u.t.ter. Fat tried out from suet, may be used in place of b.u.t.ter as an ingredient in some puddings, and even in batter mixtures.

It may also be used with vegetables when the price of b.u.t.ter is prohibitive. See Fig. 47.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 46.--Composition of fat foods.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 47.--100-Calorie portions of fat foods.

WEIGHT OF PORTION No. KIND OUNCES

1. Cream (extra rich, 40% fat) 0.9 2. Olive oil 0.4 3. b.u.t.ter 0.5 4. Oleomargarine 0.5 5. Suet 0.5 6. Bacon 0.6

_A. Fowler, Photographer._]

_Bacon_ is a digestible and agreeable form of fat, but it is not so cheap as beef fat, though cheaper than b.u.t.ter.

_Fat pork_ is lower in price than bacon, and can be a.s.similated by vigorous people, especially those living out of doors.