CHEESE.

Temuka Leader, Volume I, Issue 89, 23 October 1878, Page 3

CHEESE.

Some varieties of cheese have long been known to the epicure, but have only recently become articles of comparatively common consumption. Such is the Gruyere, which by right of size comes naturally foremost a great cheese, weighing one hundred pounds, rich and luscious, from Switzerland. It sometimes measures a yard in circumference. But upon this huge mass a delicate skill and at least a twelvemonth’s attention has been lavished, to bring it to the exact consistency of a species of firmer butter, disappearing, as it were, upon the tongue. The process is carried on in summer almost beside the glacier and avalanche, and one part of the system is said to be a repeated gentle simmering of the curd. It sells in London at about a shilling a pound.

Quite a contrast is presented by the Mont dW cheese—from France—a yellow .disk, say five inches across, like a cake of solid honey. The taste is delic'u n -, and it has a templing appearance ui on the table. Th se cli- eses are usually obtained by the dozen, costing tenpeuce each ; which is also the value of the Camembert, still less in diameter, but thicker. A cheese commanding a wider sale is the Roquefort (French), the price of which, 2s a'pound, indicates a superior quality. It is a cream cheese, coated with tinfoil, and weighing about 4 lbs. It is made from the milk of sheep, and when cut open is flecked with the peculiar decay so dear to the artist in eating. This mouldiness is the chief object of the maker, who assists its development by the use of a little barley bread. The cheese is matured in a series of natural caverns, the draught through which effects the ripening. Roquefort and Gorgonzola (Italian) much resemble Stilton ; the latter is also made from cream only, is very rich, and about the same price.—‘ Pall Mall Gazette,’