Cheese

Hard, or pressed, cheese consists of the fat and the casein of milk in combination with about one-third of its weight of water. It is, therefore, a rich, concentrated food, although for that reason it is not so suitable for those engaged in sedentary occupations. Nor should it be eaten freely by those who consume meat, owing to its richness in the protein substance, casein. All the firm cheeses - Stilton, Gorgonzola, and Roquefort excepted - the last being made from sheep's milk - are of similar nutritive value, a penny buying about 200 units when they cost 9d. a pound. The three varieties of cheese named, which are permeated with blue mould, are less rich as foods, while they are unsuitable for all but the robust; and the wise will avoid them, for the blue fungi, never desirable, is occasionally poisonous. The most useful type of cheese to the average consumer is made of white soft curd, and is usually sold in this country from spring until autumn, although it is common in France at all seasons. This cheese is made from new milk; it is not so concentrated, containing half its weight of water and half the quantity of casein present in firm cheese, like Cheddar and Cheshire. It is, therefore, more digestible than hard cheese, and twice as nourishing as meat - providing, as it does at 9d. a pound, 180 units for a penny. Butter should not be eaten with cheese, as it usually is at a liberal table, for one-third of the cheese consists of butter, and the mixture is not only extravagant but undesirable. Dutch cheese - the flat or Gouda being of better flavour than the Edam or round variety - is made from milk of only moderate quality. Gruyere, which is made in France and Switzerland, resembles Cheddar in flavour; but there are two varieties, one of which is made from skimmed milk. This is tough and lacks mellowness and flavour. Parmesan, which is made in Italy, and is produced largely from skimmed milk, is usually placed on the table after grating for sprinkling on soup and other dishes. The refined French cheeses - Brie, Camembert, and Coulommiers - are all soft varieties, which are made from new milk, and all are piquant in flavour. They are, however, while delicious, expensive to buy, and less suitable than the English varieties to all who would live with economy.

Margarine

Margarine is the most economical fat sold to the public for spreading on bread. Hitherto it has been subject to two forms of objection: the first, by the better educated, who would gladly hail a butter substitute if the word "butter" were retained to describe it; and the second, by the ignorant and the prejudiced, who believe, or profess to believe, that margarine is an inferior or unwholesome food. The refusal of many among the working-classes to eat wholemeal bread is quite in accordance with their rejection of margarine, although on all grounds but flavour it is equal to the best, and superior to inferior, butter. The energy, or food value of the two fats is precisely the same, so that while a pennyworth of a sixpenny sample of margarine buys 600 units, the same sum spent in butter at 16d. a pound, buys only 225 units. As food, therefore, butter at this price is two and a half times as dear as margarine.

Margarine, is a product of (1) animal fat, and (2) purely vegetable oils, and may now be regarded as a sound, nourishing food, and the most economical of all fats. It is a recognised fact that fats with low melting points are absorbed by the system better than fats with high melting points. Margarine made of vegetable oils has a lower melting point than butter; and although I am not aware that any definite experiments have been made to test it, there is reason to believe that it is equally digestible. I have had the advantage of witnessing the process of manufacture of both forms of margarine, and I can testify to the absolute cleanliness which prevails in all the factories I have visited.

In making vegetable margarine 75 per cent. of coconut and palm-kernel oils are mixed with 25 per cent. of the oils of the cotton seed and the arachis seed - the popular earth, pea, or monkey nut. These oils are mixed, or emulsified, with skimmed milk, which, after pasteurisation, has been subjected to inoculation with a pure variety of lactic acid producing bacteria. The object is to convey that butter flavour to the margarine which is produced by churning similarly inoculated cream. This margarine, although such an excellent food, is not so perfect in flavour as that made from animal fat, or it would probably not be sold at 6d. (now7d.) a pound,but it is superior to inferior butter. When, however, its flavour has been improved, and when it will keep firmer during hot weather, it will run butter hard among butter consumers.

Margarine Made From Animal Fat

Margarine Made From Animal Fat is the product of those constituents of the fat of the bullock which have the lowest melting point, chiefly the olein - the stearin, which possesses the highest melting point, is employed in the manufacture of candles. Margarine does not turn rancid like badly made butter, as the material from which rancidity is derived does not exist in this form of fat. As, however, both forms of margarine are churned with milk in the process of manufacture, a small proportion of the casein remains in the fat, and as this decomposes the tendency to keep perfectly sweet is diminished.

Dripping

Dripping was a common substitute for butter before the introduction of margarine. It is the most useful portion of the fat of animals, inasmuch as it has a lower melting point than that which remains on the joint after the process of cooking. Dripping appeals more distinctly to some people than lard, margarine or inferior butter, when it is the produce of a good joint of meat, owing to its savoury character. As it is practically free from water it has a greater feeding value than butter, and is one of the cheapest sources of fat for the table when its cost approaches sixpence a pound. Unfortunately, however, for those who prefer it, it is not easily obtainable.