The origin of cheese is probably more ancient than that of butter. It is a form of dried or condensed milk convenient for transportation. Milk is nine-tenths water, while cheese contains but a trifle over three-tenths water. Average cheese is about one-third each water, fat, and casein.

A pound of cheese costing sixteen cents contains about twice as much nutritive matter as a pound of meat which will vary in price. There will be less waste in the cheese than in an average piece of meat. Moreover, cheese has the advantage of keeping better than the meat under adverse conditions. Its disadvantages are that because of its concentration it is not easy of digestion. This may be overcome somewhat by diluting the cheese with milk, as is done in many of the rarebits, fondues, and souffles. The addition of a small quantity of bicarbonate of potash or soda" aids in making cheese soluble. There is danger that the cheese will be over cooked. When merely melted it is probably quite as digestible if used moderately, as many of our common ways of preparing meat. Judging from the types of people who depend upon cheese largely it might be used with us more generally than it is. The annual consumption of cheese in this country is only about three pounds per capita. We might well use cheese more freely in cooked dishes, for flavor as well as for nutriment.