Cheese is the first plate of dessert to be partaken of. "A dinner without cheese is like a handsome lady with but one eye." - Brillat-Savarin.

"Cheese takes away all the taste that might be left from preceding dishes, and by that means prepares the palate for the appreciation of the good things, the delicate flavors of the dessert and wines."

Cochineal

Cochineal, or carmine. Buy the cochineal in powder, prepared for cooking purposes, mix some (say the size of half a split pea) with a few drops of cold water and mix that again with what you wish to color. The quantity of cochineal is according to the quantity of mixture and also according to how deep the color is desired.

Chervil

This comes from Italy, and is used in salad and as a spice.

Colander

Besides the ordinary colander, it is necessary to have a fine one. We mean, by a fine colander, one with holes half the size of the ordinary ones, that is, just between the colander and strainer. A colander should not have holes on the sides; it is handier and more clean with holes at the bottom only.