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Complete Book of Cheese, The

<h3> C</h3> Cabeçou, le Auvergne, France Small; goat; from Maurs. Cabrillon Auvergne, France So much like the Cabreçon they might be called sister nannies under the rind. Cachet d'Entrechaux, le, or Fromage Fort du Ventoux Provence Mountains, France Semihard; sheep; mixed with brandy, dry white wine and sundry seasonings. Well marinated and extremely strong. Season May to November. Caciocavallo Italy "Horse Cheese." The ubiquitous cheese of classical greats, imitated all around the world and back to Italy again. See Chapter 3.  Caciocavallo Siciliano Sicily, also in U.S.A. Essentially a pressed Provolone. Usually from cow's whole milk, but sometimes from goat's milk or a mixture of the two. Weight between 17½ and 26 pounds. Used for both table cheese and grating. Cacio Fiore, or Caciotta Italy Soft as butter; sheep; in four-pound square frames; sweetish; eaten fresh. Cacio Pecorino Romano see Pecorino. Cacio Romano see Chiavari. Caerphilly Wales and England—Devon, Dorset, Somerset & Wilshire Semihard; whole fresh milk; takes three weeks to ripen. Also sold "green," young and innocent, at the age of ten to eleven days when weighing about that many pounds. Since it has little keeping qualities it should be eaten quickly. Welsh miners eat a lot of it, think it specially suited to their needs, because it is easily digested and does not produce so much heat in the body as long-keeping cheeses. Caillebottes (Curds) France—Anjou, Poitou, Saintonge & Vendée Soft, creamy, sweetened fresh or sour milk clabbered with chardonnette, wild artichoke seed, over slow fire. Cut in lozenges and served cold not two hours after cooking. Smooth, mellow and aromatic. A high type of this unusual cheese is Jonchée (see). Other cheeses are made with vegetable rennet, some from similar thistle or cardoon juice, especially in Portugal. Caille de Poitiers see Petits pots. Caille de Habas Gascony, France Clabbered or clotted sheep milk.  Cajassou Périgord, France A notable goat cheese made in Cubjac. Calabrian Italy The Calabrians make good sheep cheese, such as this and Caciocavallo. Calcagno Sicily Hard; ewe's milk. Suitable for grating. Caledonian Cream Scotland More of a dessert than a true cheese. We read in Scotland's Inner Man: "A sort of fresh cream cheese, flavored with chopped orange marmalade, sugar brandy and lemon juice. It is whisked for about half an hour. Otherwise, if put into a freezer, it would be good ice-pudding." Calvados France Medium-hard; tangy. Perfect with Calvados applejack from the same province. Calvenzano Italy Similar to Gorgonzola, made in Bergamo. Cambrai see Boulette. Cambridge, or York England Soft; fresh; creamy; tangy. The curd is quickly made in one hour and dipped into molds without cutting to ripen for eating in thirty hours. Camembert see Chapter 3. "Camembert" Germany, U.S. & elsewhere A West German imitation that comes in a cute little heart-shaped box which nevertheless doesn't make it any more like the Camembert véritable of Normandy. Camosun U.S.A. Semisoft; open-textured, resembling Monterey. Drained curd is pressed in hoops, cheese is salted in brine for thirty hours, then coated with paraffin and cured for one to three months in humid room at 50° to 60° F. Canadian Club see Cheddar Club. Cancoillotte, Cancaillotte, Canquoillotte, Quincoillotte, Cancoiade, Fromagère, Tempête and "Purée" de fromage tres fort Franche-Comté, France Soft; sour milk; sharp and aromatic; with added eggs and butter and sometimes brandy or dry white wine. Sold in attractive small molds and pots. Other sharp seasonings besides the brandy or wine make this one of the strongest of French strong cheeses, similar to Fromage Fort. Canestrato Sicily, Italy Hard; mixed goat and sheep; yellow and strong. Takes one year to mature and is very popular both in Sicily where it is made to perfection and in Southern Colorado where it is imitated by and for Italian settlers. Cantal, Fromage de Cantal, Auvergne or Auvergne Bleu; also Fourme and La Tome. Auvergne, France Semihard; smooth; mellow; a kind of Cheddar, lightly colored lemon; yellow; strong, sharp taste but hardly any smell. Forty to a hundred-twenty pound cylinders. The rich milk from highland pastures is more or less skimmed and, being a very old variety, it is still made most primitively. Cured six weeks or six months, and when very old it's very hard and very sharp. A Cantal type is Laguiole or Guiole. Capitanata Italy Sheep. Caprian Capri, Italy Made from milk of goats that still overrun the original Goat Island, and tangy as a buck.  Caprino (Little Goat) Argentina Semihard; goat; sharp; table cheese. Caraway Loaf U.S.A. This is just one imitation of dozens of German caraway-seeded cheeses that roam the world. In Germany there is not only Kümmel loaf cheese but a loaf of caraway-seeded bread to go with it. Milwaukee has long made a good Kümmelkäse or hand cheese and it would take more than the fingers on both hands to enumerate all of the European originals, from Dutch Komynkaas through Danish King Christian IX and Norwegian Kuminost, Italian Freisa, Pomeranian Rinnen and Belgian Leyden, to Pennsylvania Pot. Cardiga, Queijo da Portugal Hard; sheep; oily; mild flavor. Named from cardo, cardoon in English, a kind of thistle used as a vegetable rennet in making several other cheeses, such as French Caillebottes curdled with chardonnette, wild artichoke seed. Only classical Greek sheep cheeses like Casera can compare with the superb ones from the Portuguese mountain districts. They are lusciously oily, but never rancidly so. Carlsbad Bohemia Semihard; sheep; white; slightly salted; expensive. Carré Affiné France Soft, delicate, in small square forms; similar to Petit Carré and Ancien Impérial (see). Carré de l'Est France Similar to Camembert, and imitated in the U.S.A. Cascaval Penir Turkey Cacciocavallo imitation consumed at home.  Caseralla Greece Semisoft; sheep; mellow; creamy. Casere Greece Hard; sheep; brittle; gray and greasy. But wonderful! Sour-sweet tongue tickle. This classical though greasy Grecian is imitated with goat milk instead of sheep in Southern California. Cashera Armenia and Greece Hard; goat or cow's milk; brittle; sharp; nutty. Similar to Casere and high in quality. Cashera Turkey Semihard; sheep. Casher Penner see Kasher. Cashkavallo Syria Mellow but sharp imitation of the ubiquitous Italian Cacciocavallo. Casigiolu, Panedda, Pera di vacca Sardinia Plastic-curd cheese, made by the Caciocavallo method. Caskcaval or Kaschcavallo see Feta. Caspian Caucasus Semihard. Sheep or cow, milked directly into cone-shaped cloth bag to speed the making. Tastes tangy, sharp and biting. Cassaro Italy Locally consumed, seldom exported. Castelmagno Italy Blue-mold, Gorgonzola type. Castelo Branco, White Castle Portugal Semisoft; goat or goat and sheep; fermented. Similar to Serra da Estrella (see).  Castillon, or Fromage de Gascony France Fresh cream cheese. Castle, Schlosskäse North Austria Limburger type. Catanzaro Italy Consumed locally, seldom exported. Cat's Head see Katzenkopf. Celery Norway Flavored mildly with celery seeds, instead of the usual caraway. Cendrée, la France—Orléanais, Blois & Aube Hard; sheep; round and flat. Other Cendrées are Champenois or Ricey, Brie, d'Aizy and Olivet Cendré d'Aizy Burgundy, France Available all year. See la Cendrée. Cendré de la Brie Ile-de-France, France Fall and winter Brie cured under the ashes, season September to May. Cendré Champenois or Cendré des Riceys Aube & Marne, France Made and eaten from September to June, and ripened under the ashes. Cendré Olivet see Olivet. Cenis see Mont Cenis. Certoso Stracchino Italy, near Milan A variety of Stracchino named after the Carthusian friars who have made it for donkey's years. It is milder and softer and creamier than the Taleggio because it's made of cow instead of goat milk, but it has less distinction for the same reason.  Ceva Italy Soft veteran of Roman times named from its town near Turin. Chabichou Poitou, France Soft; goat; fresh; sweet and tasty. A vintage cheese of the months from April to December, since such cheeses don't last long enough to be vintaged like wine by the year. Chaingy Orléans, France Season September to June. Cham Switzerland One of those eminent Emmentalers from Cham, the home town of Mister Pfister (see Pfister). Chamois milk Aristotle said that the most savorous cheese came from the chamois. This small goatlike antelope feeds on wild mountain herbs not available to lumbering cows, less agile sheep or domesticated mountain goats, so it gives, in small quantity but high quality, the richest, most flavorsome of milk. Champenois or Fromage des Riceys Aube & Marne, France Season from September to June. The same as Cendré Champenois and des Riceys. Champoléon de Queyras Hautes-Alpes, France. Hard; skim-milker. Chantelle U.S.A. Natural Port du Salut type described as "zesty" by some of the best purveyors of domestic cheeses. It has a sharp taste and little odor, perhaps to fill the demand for a "married man's Limburger." Chantilly see Hablé.  Chaource Champagne, France Soft, nice to nibble with the bottled product of this same high-living Champagne Province. A kind of Camembert. Chapelle France Soft. Charmey Fine Switzerland Gruyère type. Chaschol, or Chaschosis Canton of Grisons, Switzerland Hard; skim; small wheels, eighteen to twenty-two inches in diameter by three to four inches high, weight twenty-two to forty pounds. Chasteaux see Petits Fromages. Chateauroux see Fromage de Chèvre. Chaumont Champagne, France Season November to May. Chavignol see Crottin. Chechaluk Armenia Soft; pot; flaky; creamy. Cheddar see Chapter 3. Cheese bread Russia and U.S.A. For centuries Russia has excelled in making a salubrious cheese bread called Notruschki and the cheese that flavors it is Tworog. (See both.) Only recently Schrafft's in New York put out a yellow, soft and toothsome cheese bread that has become very popular for toasting. It takes heat to bring out its full cheesy savor. Good when overlaid with cheese butter of contrasting piquance, say one mixed with Sapsago.  Cheese butter Equal parts of creamed butter and finely grated or soft cheese and mixtures thereof. The imported but still cheap green Sapsago is not to be forgotten when mixing your own cheese butter. Cheese food U.S.A. "Any mixtures of various lots of cheese and other solids derived from milk with emulsifying agents, coloring matter, seasonings, condiments, relishes and water, heated or not, into a homogeneous mass." (A long and kind word for a homely, tasteless, heterogeneous mess.) From an advertisement Cheese hoppers see Hoppers. Cheese mites see Mites. Cheshire and Cheshire imitations see with Cheddar in Chapter 3. Cheshire-Stilton England In making this combination of Cheshire and Stilton, the blue mold peculiar to Stilton is introduced in the usual Cheshire process by keeping out each day a little of the curd and mixing it with that in which the mold is growing well. The result is the Cheshire in size and shape and general characteristics but with the blue veins of Stilton, making it really a Blue Cheddar. Another combination is Yorkshire-Stilton, and quite as distinguished. Chester England Another name for Cheshire, used in France where formerly some was imported to make the visiting Britishers feel at home.  Chevalier France Curds sweetened with sugar. Chevèlle U.S.A. A processed Wisconsin. Chèvre see Fromages. Chèvre de Chateauroux see Fromages. Chèvre petit see Petìts Fromages. Chèvre, Tome de see Tome. Chevretin Savoy, France Goat; small and square. Named after the mammy nanny, as so many are. Chevrets, Ponta & St. Rémy Bresse & Franche-Comté, France Dry and semi-dry; crumbly; goat; small squares; lightly salted. Season December to April. Such small goat cheeses are named in the plural in France. Chevretons du Beaujolais à la crème, les Lyonnais, France Small goat-milkers served with cream. This is a fair sample of the railroad names some French cheeses stagger under. Chevrotins Savoy, France Soft, dried goat milk; white; small; tangy and semi-tangy. Made and eaten from March to December. Chhana Asia All we know is that this is made of the whole milk of cows, soured, and it is not as unusual as the double "h" in its name. Chiavari Italy There are two different kinds named for the Chiavari region, and both are hard: I. Sour cow's milk, also known as Cacio Romano. II. Sweet whole milker, similar to Corsican Broccio. Chiavari, the historic little port between Genoa and Pisa, is more noted as the birthplace of the barbaric "chivaree" razzing of newlyweds with its raucous serenade of dishpans, sour-note bugling and such.  Chives cream cheese Of the world's many fine fresh cheeses further freshened with chives, there's Belgian Hervé and French Claqueret (with onion added). (See both.) For our taste it's best when the chives are added at home, as it's done in Germany, in person at the table or just before. Christalinna Canton Graubünden, Switzerland Hard; smooth; sharp; tangy. Christian IX Denmark A distinguished spiced cheese. Ciclo Italy Soft, small cream cheese. Cierp de Luchon France Made from November to May in the Comté de Foix, where it has the distinction of being the only local product worth listing with France's three hundred notables. Citeaux Burgundy, France Trappist Port-Salut. Clabber cheese England Simply cottage cheese left in a cool place until it grows soft and automatically changes its name from cottage to clabber. Clairvaux France Formerly made in a Benedictine monastery of that name.  Claqueret, le Lyonnais, France Fresh cream whipped with chives, chopped fine with onions. See Chives. Clérimbert see Alpin. Cleves France French imitation of the German imitation of a Holland-Dutch original. Cloves see Nagelkäse. Club, Potted Club, Snappy, Cold-pack and Comminuted cheese U.S.A. and Canada Probably McLaren's Imperial Club in pots was first to be called club, but others credit club to the U.S. In any case McLaren's was bought by an American company and is now all-American. Today there are many clubs that may sound swanky but taste very ordinary, if at all. They are made of finely ground aged, sharp Cheddar mixed with condiments, liquors, olives, pimientos, etc., and mostly carry come-on names to make the customers think they are getting something from Olde England or some aristocratic private club. All are described as "tangy." Originally butter went into the better clubs which were sold in small porcelain jars, but in these process days they are wrapped in smaller tin foil and wax-paper packets and called "snappy." Cocktail Cheeses Recommended from stock by Phil Alpert's "Cheeses of all Nations" stores: Argentine aged Gruyère Canadian d'Oka French Bleu  Brie Camembert Fontainebleu Pont l'Evêque Port du Salut Roblochon Roquefort Grecian Feta Hungarian Brinza Polish Warshawski Syr Rumanian Kaskaval Swiss Schweizerkäse American Cheddar in brandy Hopi Indian Coeur à la Crème Burgundy, France This becomes Fromage à la Crème II (see) when served with sugar, and it is also called a heart of cream after being molded into that romantic shape in a wicker or willow-twig basket. Coeurs d'Arras Artois, France These hearts of Arras are soft, smooth, mellow, caressingly rich with the cream of Arras. Coffee-flavored cheese Just as the Dutch captivated coffee lovers all over the world with their coffee-flavored candies, Haagische Hopjes, so the French with Jonchée cheese and Italians with Ricotta satisfy the universal craving by putting coffee in for flavor. Coimbra Portugal Goat or cow; semihard; firm; round; salty; sharp. Not only one of those college-educated cheeses but a postgraduate one, bearing the honored name of Portugal's ancient academic center. Colby U.S.A. Similar to Cheddar, but of softer body and more open texture. Contains more  moisture, and doesn't keep as well as Cheddar. College-educated Besides Coimbra several countries have cheeses brought out by their colleges. Even Brazil has one in Minas Geraes and Transylvania another called Kolos-Monostor, while our agricultural colleges in every big cheese state from California through Ames in Iowa, Madison in Wisconsin, all across the continent to Cornell in New York, vie with one another in turning out diploma-ed American Cheddars and such of high degree. It is largely to the agricultural colleges that we owe the steady improvement in both quality and number of foreign imitations since the University of Wisconsin broke the curds early in this century by importing Swiss professors to teach the high art of Emmentaler. Colwick see Slipcote. Combe-air France Small; similar to Italian Stracchino in everything but size. Commission Holland Hard; ball-shaped like Edam and resembling it except being darker in color and packed in a ball weighing about twice as much, around eight pounds. It is made in the province of North Holland and in Friesland. It is often preferred to Edam for size and nutty flavor. Compiègne France Soft Comté see Gruyère. Conches France Emmentaler type.  Condrieu, Rigotte de la Rhone Valley below Lyons, France Semihard; goat; small; smooth; creamy; mellow; tasty. A cheese of cheeses for epicures, only made from May to November when pasturage is rich. Confits au Marc de Bourgogne see Epoisses. Confits au Vin Blanc see Epoisses. Cooked, or Pennsylvania pot U.S.A. Named from cooking sour clabbered curd to the melting point. When cool it is allowed to stand three or four days until it is colored through. Then it is cooked again with salt, milk, and usually caraway. It is stirred until it's as thick as molasses and strings from a spoon. It is then put into pots or molds, whose shape it retains when turned out. All cooked cheese is apt to be tasteless unless some of the milk flavor cooked out is put back in, as wheat germ is now returned to white bread. Almost every country has a cooked cheese all its own, with or without caraway, such as the following: Belgium—Kochtounkäse Germany—Kochkäse, Topfen Luxembourg—Kochenkäse France—Fromage Ouit & Le P'Teux Sardinia—Pannedas, Freisa Coon see Chapter 4. Cornhusker U.S.A. A Nebraska product similar to Cheddar and Colby, but with softer body and more moisture.  Cornimont Vosges, France A splendid French version of Alsatian Münster spiked with caraway, in flattish cylinders with mahogany-red coating. It is similar to Géromé and the harvest cheese of Gérardmer in the same lush Vosges Valley. Corse, Roquefort de Corsica, France Corsican imitation of the real Roquefort, and not nearly so good, of course. Cossack Caucasus Cow or sheep. There are two varieties: I. Soft, cured in brine and still soft and mild after two months in the salt bath. II. Semihard and very sharp after aging in brine for a year or more. Cotherstone Yorkshire, England Also known as Yorkshire-Stilton, and Wensleydale No. I. (See both.) Cotrone, Cotronese see Pecorino. Cotta see Pasta. Cottage cheese Made in all countries where any sort of milk is obtainable. In America it's also called pot, Dutch, and smearcase. The English, who like playful names for homely dishes, call cottage cheese smearcase from the German Schmierkäse. It is also called Glumse in Deutschland, and, together with cream, formed the basis of all of our fine Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. Cottenham or Double Cottenham English Midlands Semihard; double cream; blue mold. Similar to Stilton but creamier and richer, and made in flatter and broader forms.  Cottslowe Cotswold, England A brand of cream cheese named for its home in Cotswold, Gloucester. Although soft, it tastes like hard Cheddar. Coulommiers Frais, or Petit-Moule Ile-de-France, France Fresh cream similar to Petit Suisse. (See.) Coulommiers, le, or Brie de Coulommiers France Also called Petit-moule, from its small form. This genuine Brie is a pocket edition, no larger than a Camembert, standing only one inch high and measuring five or six inches across. It is made near Paris and is a great favorite from the autumn and winter months, when it is made, on until May. The making starts in October, a month earlier than most Brie, and it is off the market by July, so it's seldom tasted by the avalanche of American summer tourists. Cow cheese Sounds redundant, and is used mostly in Germany, where an identifying word is added, such as Berliner Kuhkäse and Alt Kuhkäse: old cow cheese. Cream cheese International England, France and America go for it heavily. English cream begins with Devonshire, the world-famous, thick fresh cream that is sold cool in earthenware pots and makes fresh berries—especially the small wild strawberries of rural England—taste out of this world. It is also drained on straw mats and formed into fresh hardened cheeses in small molds. (See Devonshire cream.) Among regional specialties are the following, named from their place of origin or commercial brands: Cambridge Cottslowe Cornwall  Farm Vale Guilford Homer's "Italian" Lincoln New Forest Rush (from being made on rush or straw mats—see Rush) St. Ivel (distinguished for being made with acidophilus bacteria) Scotch Caledonian Slipcote (famous in the eighteenth century) Victoria York Crème Chantilly see Hablé. Crème de Gien see Fromage. Crème de Gruyère Franche-Comté France Soft Gruyère cream cheese, arrives in America in perfect condition in tin foil packets. Expensive but worth it. Crème des Vosges Alsace, France Soft cream. Season October to April. Crème Double see Double-Crème. Crème, Fromage à la see Fromage. Crème, Fromage Blanc à la see Fromage Blanc. Crème St Gervais see Pots de Crème St Gervais. Crèmet Nantais Lower Loire, France Soft fresh cream of Nantes.  Crèmets, les Anjou, France A fresh cream equal to English Devonshire, served more as a dessert than a dessert cheese. The cream is whipped stiff with egg whites, drained and eaten with more fresh cream, sprinkled with vanilla and sugar. Cremini Italy Soft, small cream cheese from Cremona, the violin town. And by the way, art-loving Italians make ornamental cheeses in the form of musical instruments, statues, still life groups and everything. Creole Louisiana, U.S.A. Soft, rich, unripened cottage cheese type, made by mixing cottage-type curd and rich cream. Crescenza, Carsenza, Stracchino Crescenza, Crescenza Lombardi Lombardy, Italy Uncooked; soft; creamy; mildly sweet; fast-ripening; yellowish; whole milk. Made from September to April. Creuse Creuse, France A two-in-one farm cheese of skimmed milk, resulting from two different ways of ripening, after the cheese has been removed from perforated earthen molds seven inches in diameter and five or six inches high, where it has drained for several days: I. It is salted and turned frequently until very dry and hard. II. It is ripened by placing in tightly closed mold, lined with straw. This softens, flavors, and turns it golden-yellow. (See Hay or Fromage de Foin.) Creusois, or Guéret Limousin, France Season, October to June. Croissant Demi-sel France Soft, double cream, semisalty. All year.  Crottin de Chavignol Berry, France Semihard; goat's milk; small; lightly salted; mellow. In season April to December. The name is not exactly complimentary. Crowdie, or Cruddy butter Scotland Named from the combination of fresh sweet milk curds pressed together with fresh butter. A popular breakfast food in Inverness and the Ross Shires. When kept for months it develops a high flavor. A similar curd and butter is made by Arabs and stored in vats, the same as in India, the land of ghee, where there's no refrigeration. Crying Kebbuck F. Marion MacNeill, in The Scots Kitchen says that this was the name of a cheese that used to be part of the Kimmers feast at a lying-in. Cuajada see Venezuela. Cubjac see Cajassou. Cuit see Fromage Cuit. Cumin, Münster au see Münster. Cup see Koppen. Curd see Granular curd, Sweet curd and York curd. Curds and butter Arabia Fresh sweet milk curd and fresh butter are pressed together as in making Crowdie or Cruddy butter in Scotland. The Arabs put this strong mixture away in vats to get it even stronger than East Indian ghee. Curé, Fromage de see Nantais. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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