CHEESE: Concentrated Food and Substitute for Meat

New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 300, 23 March 1945, Page 23

CHEESE: Concentrated Food and Substitute for Meat

Written for "The Listener" by DR.

MURIEL

BELL

Nutritionist to the Department of Health)

URING the war, dairyfarming D areas have been asked to switch from butter to cheese produc-tion-and again back to butter production, according to the needs of Britain. The need for cheese arose when it became necessary to get as much food value into as little shipping space as possible, and particularly protein food value. Cheese consists roughly of onethird protein, one-third fat, and onethird water. Meat is made up approximately of one-fifth protein, one-sixth fat, and two-thirds water. Until meat was dehydrated, cheese therefore represented the most concentrated protein food that we could send. The amount of cheese allowed to the general consumer under rationing in Britain has varied from 30z. to 8oz. a week. Over and above this, there have been priority allowances to workers in mines, or in other industries where workers’ canteens have been impracticable. As a result of wartime conditions, the cheese consumption in Britain is now 11.8lb. per year per head, compared with the pre-war figure of 8.8lb., an increase of 34%. A recent New Zealand Year-Book states that the average consumption of cheese is 4%4-51b. Thus Britain is using on the average 212 times as much as we use, on a per capita basis.

Even in pre-war times in Britain, at any restaurant bread and cheese was available for lunch. By contrast, in this pastoral country of ours, it is not usual to see anyone order it for lunch in a restaurant, the more’s the pity. The early pioneers brought their habits with them, but though cheese-making figured in the culinary repertoire of the pioneer housewife, we have lost the cheese-eating habit to a large extent. It is worth trying to cultivate the taste for it again in our population, by beginning with the child. The cheeses that are available here are few in number and variety-rather a disadvantage for the adult, but it means that most of them are quite suitable for the child, even in the pre-school era. It is preferable to try it first in the grated form- put into a sandwich or into a savoury custard, sprinkled over cooked vegetables, steamed fish or cream sauce. Some individuals will find that a cooked cheese-dish is not as digestible as cheese in the raw state, Having it dispersed through cereal or through vegetable adds to the ease with which it is digested. Some children like to eat a lump of cheese, and come to no harm. Cottage cheese is digestible by most children. Apart from its good protein valae, cheese is a cOrhmendable food because of its high lime content, its riboflavin, its staying power and its flavour.