Part 29

Camembert.--This cheese, which is made in Brittany, is a kind of cross between the “real” and “cream” cheese. It reminds one much of the best privately made cream cheese of our own country, with a rich and peculiar flavour superadded. It is of a soft and creamy texture, of a yellowish white, flat and very shallow, with a dark brown rind, very thick and soft. It may be confidently recommended as a real delicacy, rather for the dinner than the luncheon-table. The price of Camembert cheeses, which are o£ small size, is about 9-10_d._ each.

Cream Cheeses.--In this production the palm must be yielded by the English to the foreign market. Our own cheeses of the kind, including the best of private manufacture, are made to be eaten at once, and will not bear keeping, by which process the Continental cheese, more skilfully put together, is much improved.

The principal foreign cream cheeses are Stracchino (Milan), which is a long way the best; Brie (Meaux), Marolles, and Pont l’Evêque, all very good of their kind, and Neufchatel, which last is, of all, the most commonly met with on this side of the Channel. Neufchatel, frequently called “Bondon,” from being made of the shape and size of the _bondon_ (Ang. “bung”) of a cask, is made at Neufchatel, in Normandy. It is simply a white cream cheese, and when fresh, extremely insipid--in fact, hardly equal to our own Yorkshire and Bath cheeses. By keeping, however, until it becomes “ripe,” it acquires a flavour by no means to be despised, though hardly on a level with some of the cream cheeses already mentioned.

Crême de Brie has been alluded to as once the _crême de la crême_ of cheeses, and even now “running a good second” to Roquefort. La Brie is situated near to Paris, in the Department of Seine et Marne, with proximity, together with the difficulty of distant transport and the fondness of the Parisians for the thing itself, causes the most dainty to be almost entirely eaten in Paris. Imitations of it are many, and, as a rule, as worthless as is the genuine article valuable, for of all the French cheeses it is the most expensive by reason of its not keeping sound beyond a few days, and the large quantities in which it is partaken of at a meal. Brie is a soft, creamy cheese, made in rounds of large size but of little thickness.

Dutch (Holland and Belgium).--This cheese is perhaps better known in kitchens than in the upper regions. It has, however, many good points, and is of by no means disagreeable flavour, though, owing to the process of making, a little too salt for delicate taste. It is also in general very safe, and very equal in quality. Being extremely mild, it is hardly suited to the dinner table, but affords an excellent luncheon. For domestic use it is eminently serviceable, and will be found (which is a great merit) generally acceptable in the kitchen. It is of a spherical oval shape, softish in texture, and coloured red. Its cheapness is also a recommendation, as it costs but 8_d._ or 9_d._ a lb. An imitation of this cheese is made in the district of Calvados, Normandy.

Gorgonzola (North of Italy).--This is an excellent cheese, and one that bears a close resemblance to Stilton. It has, however, so strongly marked and distinct a character of its own, that it would be injurious to institute a comparison between it and any other cheese. In texture and marking it is not altogether unlike Stilton, but is of deeper yellow, and the veins of a greener hue. It is equally good for luncheon and dinner, having great delicacy combined with fulness of flavour. Price about 1_s._ 5_d._ a lb.

Gruyère.--Gruyère is made in the Canton of Fribourg, and in the Vosges, the Jura, and Ain. The best cheeses of this kind are selected for exportation. Gruyère is a flat cheese of some 3 in. in depth, of a pale yellow colour, and plain surface, marked sparsely with large holes, which contain moisture. The rule laid down on the “plain” cheeses of England as to uniformity of colour in the surface of cheese holds good abroad as well as at home, but uniformity of surface in foreign plain cheeses need not be so closely looked for. In fact, the holes that abound in some of these cheeses constitute neither blemish nor unsoundness. The odour of Gruyère is strongish, but the taste mild and delicate. If anything, it is a little cloying. It is a fair cheese, but cannot be called more than fair, for dinner; but will serve very well for luncheon, though perhaps likely to pall on the taste if eaten constantly at this meal. The wholesale price is 11_d._ a lb.

Parmesan (from the district in the North of Italy between Lodi and Cremona) is a finer cheese than Gruyère. The cows from whose milk it is made are kept in the house nearly all the year round, and fed in summer on cut grass, in winter on hay. The process of making both Gruyère and Parmesan is the same, but the quality of the milk considerably differs. Parmesan is of great size, sometimes reaching 180 lb. and is perhaps, of all cheese imported from abroad, the most useful “all round.” It is the only cheese that can be used grated for soup or macaroni. It is the custom of a good many people to supply grated Parmesan as a dinner cheese, but grated cheese, as compared with whole, suffers a certain deterioration of flavour. However this may be, avoid, if the cheese is served whole, the cutting of either this or Gruyère into thin slices, as the manner of some is. Let the cheese have fair play, and its full flavour, which it will not, unless it be cut, like any other cheese, of a reasonable thickness. Parmesan is of a yellowish-green hue, of firm and hard surface, marked by small holes. The time for ripening it properly is about 3 years. When not wanted for use, it should be kept covered with a cloth slightly steeped in sweet oil. The wholesale price is 1_s._ 5_d._ a lb.

Port du Salut.--This cheese is hardly as well-known in England as are the Roquefort and other French cheeses. It is, when fresh, a soft, pasty, mild, most palatable cheese, generally made in round cakes of 5-8 lb. in weight, and stamped with a cross and words showing its place of manufacture.

Roquefort, made in the department of Aveyron, in the south of France, is not only the most highly priced and most highly prized of the cheeses of that country, but a most formidable rival to any of the best cheeses made on the continent, and even to our own more celebrated “fancy” cheeses. It has been likened by some to Stilton; but, beyond a certain similarity of surface texture, the two have not much in common. They are, moreover, made of very different matter, Roquefort being composed of sheep and goats’ milk intermixed. Its peculiar excellence is said to be due to the natural qualities of the cellars wherein it is placed for ripening, and partly also from the manner of milking the sheep in making it. It should be kept until considerable progress of decay has been made. It is of very delicate though rather pungent flavour, and, if it lacks something of the softness and mellowness of the Stilton, will be found equally agreeable with it, at least at the dinner table. For luncheon Stilton has the preference. Its wholesale price per lb. is 1_s._ 5_d._

Schabzieger.--This cheese is of spherical shape, of size somewhat larger than a cricket ball, with a dark thick rind. Its colour is yellow, with green veins. It is of a strong odour, and, unlike Gruyère, of an equally strong and rank taste. There is no doubt of its power to fulfil one purpose of cheese, the annihilation of the taste of anything you may have previously eaten, and for this it will be found to do good and useful service. It is a deservedly popular delicacy. The price of each cheese is about 8_d._ See also p. 1002.

SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

John Darton: ‘The Dairyman: a Practical Guide to Cow-keeping, and the Making of Butter and Cheese.’ London. 1872. 1_s._

Willis P. Hazard: ‘Butter and Butter-making, with the Best Methods for Producing and Marketing it.’ Philadelphia. 1877.

H. M. Jenkins: ‘Hints on Butter-making.’ London. 1886. 6_d._

J. P. Sheldon: ‘Dairy Farming.’ London. 1_l._ 11_s._ 6_d._

Canon Bagot: ‘Easy Lessons in Dairying.’ London, 1883. 6_d._

The _Field._ London. Weekly. 6_d._

_THE CELLAR._

A great mistake is sometimes made in ventilating cellars. The object of ventilation is to keep the cellar cool and dry; but this object often fails of being accomplished by a common mistake, and instead the cellar is made both warm and damp. A cool place should never be ventilated, unless the air admitted is cooler than the air within, or is at least as cool as that, or a very little warmer. The warmer the air, the more moisture it holds in suspension. Necessarily, the cooler the air, the more this moisture is condensed and precipitated. When a cool cellar is aired on a warm day, the entering air being in motion appears cool, but as it fills the cellar the cooler air with which it becomes mixed chills it, the moisture is condensed, and dew is deposited on the cold walls, and may often be seen running down them in streams. Then the cellar is damp, and soon becomes mouldy. To avoid this, the windows should only be opened at night, and late--the last thing before retiring. There is no need to fear that the night air is unhealthful--it is as pure as the air of midday, and is really drier. The cool air enters the apartment during the night, and circulates through it. The windows should be closed before sunrise in the morning, and kept closed and shaded through the day. If the air of the cellar is damp, it may be thoroughly dried by placing in it a peck of fresh lime in an open box. A peck of lime will absorb about 7 lb. or more than 3 qt. of water, and in this way a cellar may soon be dried, even in the hottest weather.

_Barrel Stand._--A simple and effective barrel stand may be made in the manner described below. It consists of a stout frame on 4 legs 9-12 in. high, made of quartering which may vary from 2 in. sq. for small casks to 3 in. sq. for larger ones. The proportions given in the annexed illustration (Fig. 67) are suited to a 9 gal. cask. This should be 22 in. long, 15 in. wide, 9 in. high, and made of 2½ in. stuff, of which it will consume about 9½ ft. run. It will be seen that the sides _a_, _b_ are joined to the legs _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_ by mortice and tenon joints, while the ends _g_, _h_ are dovetailed into the sides _a_, _b_. The joints are secured by pins of oak or red deal driven into holes bored by a gimlet. The stand thus made is only adapted to carry casks stood on end. For holding them steadily on their side, and at the same time giving them a tilt forward to allow all the clear contents lying above the sediment to be drawn out without disturbing the barrel, use is made of 2 pieces of board hollowed out to receive the barrel. For the sized cask mentioned (9 gal.), 15 in. will suffice in length and 1 in. in thickness for each piece. Both are prepared for letting down into the frame by cutting out a piece 2½ in. sq. from each of the 2 bottom corners as at _a_, and can then be screwed to the cross piece _b_ of the frame. Previously the cradle is formed by describing on the piece of wood an arc of a circle corresponding to the size of the cask at the point where it is to be supported. Supposing the diameter of the cask to be 15½ in., the radius of the circle to be described will be 7¾ in., as shown. This gives the correct arc, but as the cask will lie sloping and not flat, the foremost edge of the arc must be shaved away till the cask will rest on the entire breadth of the edges of the cradle _c_. For the front cradle the board may be 6½ in. wide, and for the back 8½ in.

_Cleaning Casks._--(1) The acid smell very often found in casks may be attributed to absorption in the pores of the wood of acetic and lactic acids--a very small quantity of either of them having power to communicate their principle to any fermenting liquid with which they may be brought in contact, and increasing very fast at the expense of the alcohol in the liquid, while at the same time causing unsoundness to a greater or less extent, according as the temperature of the atmosphere may be high or low. Bearing this in mind, it is of the utmost importance that all free acid which the cask may contain should be carefully neutralised before filling with a liquid so liable to change as fermenting wort. Casks before filling, after being well washed with boiling water, should be allowed to cool, and then examined by some responsible person as to their cleanliness, acidity, and probable mustiness; the cask is well smelt, and usually a light is passed through the tap-hole, so that the examiner may view the interior. Any cask that may smell sour (especially in summer weather, or when required for stock or pale ales) should be rejected, and be well treated with lime. This should be put into the casks _dry_, small lumps of the lime being broken, so that they can be easily inserted in the bung-holes, and when sufficient has been put in (say, about 4 lb. to a barrel), then about 4 gal. of _boiling_ water must be added, the casks bunged up, and kept so for a few hours, occasionally rolling about. The lime should then be well washed out, and the casks steamed, and allowed to cool, when they will be in a fit condition for containing the most delicate liquid without any injury. The hard brown substance, which on being scraped with a nail leaves a white mark, so often found in casks, is a deposit that forms from the constituents of the liquid contained in them, and is often carbonate of lime, or yeast dried, or both. When this is formed, the only effectual method of cleansing is to take out the head, and put it into the cooper’s hands to be well scraped, until every particle of the fur is removed. Cask-washing machines never remove fur or thick dry deposit properly; they are very convenient in a general way for the usual run of casks, but any exceptionally bad must be unheaded, and cleaned by hand. For stock ales it is a good plan to rinse with solution of bisulphite of lime just before filling trade casks. (2) With regard to the coating spoken of in (1), it not only preserves the wood but keeps it clean and sweet, and does no harm at all to the beer. It takes some considerable time before the wood is coated with such a protecting enamel. It occurs alike in rounds, puncheons, and stone squares. Formerly it was customary to have all vessels that were furred over thoroughly dressed by the cooper, but now intelligent coopers advise brewers to keep it on. (3) Blow sulphur fumes into foul casks by fumigating bellows, such as gardeners use when fumigating conservatories. The sulphurous acid formed by burning brimstone is a powerful purifier, and will not leave an unpleasant taste, being easily washed away. (4) Cider casks.--Half fill each cask with boiling water, and add ¼ lb. of pearlash, then bung it up, and turn over occasionally for 2 days, then empty, and wash with boiling water. (5) Scald out with boiling water; if the heads are out, put them over a straw fire for a few minutes, so as to slightly char the inside. If you have a steam boiler, partially fill with water, and admit steam through the bung-hole by a pipe down into the water, and so boil. (6) Vinegar casks.--Old vinegar barrels become impregnated to such an extent with acetous substances that it is next to impossible to render them fit for the storage of any other liquid. Fill the barrels with milk of lime, and let this remain in them for several months, then rinse out well with plenty of warm water, and steam them inside for ½ hour.

_Cleaning Bottles._--(1) The commonest plan is by means of water and small shot. But lead shot, where so used, often leaves lead carbonate on the internal surface, and this is apt to be dissolved in the wine and other liquids afterwards introduced, with poisonous results; and particles of the shot are sometimes inadvertently left in the bottle. Fordos states that clippings of iron wire are a better means of rinsing. They are easily had, and the cleaning is rapid and complete. The iron is attacked by the oxygen of the air, but the ferruginous compound does not attach to the side of the bottle, and is easily removed in washing. Besides, a little oxidised iron is not injurious to health. Fordos found that the small traces of iron left had no apparent effect on the colour of red wines; it had on white wines, but very little; but he thinks it might be better to use clippings of tin for the latter. (2) Take a handful of common quicklime, such as bricklayers use, and a handful of common washing soda; boil them in a large kitchen iron saucepan (which will only be cleaned, not damaged, by the process). When cold, the fluid will be lye; put this into the vessel you want to clean with some small pebbles; make it warm if you can, and shake up or let it soak according to the nature of the vessel. (3) Gypsum, free from silicate, marble, or bruised bones, is preferable to shot or sand. Sulphuric acid and bichromate mixed, are best to free porcelain and glass from organic matter.

_Drying Bottles._--After washing, bottles and decanters should be thoroughly dried inside. Let them first drain completely, then warm them slightly and blow in fresh air by means of a pair of bellows; this will absorb the moisture and leave the interior quite dry.

_Corks and Corking._--Cheap bad corks are always dear; the best corks are soft, velvety, and free from large pores; if squeezed, they become more elastic and fit more closely. If good corks are used, of sufficiently large size to be extracted without the corkscrew, they may be employed many times in succession, especially if they are soaked in boiling water after, which restores them to their original shape, and renews their elasticity.

The most common mode of fastening down corks, is with the ginger-beer knot, which is thus made:--First the loop is formed as at _a_ Fig. 68, then that part of the string which passes across the loop is placed on the top of the cork, and the loop itself is passed down around the neck of the bottle, and by pulling the ends of the cord it is made tight beneath the rim; the ends of the string are finally brought up, and tied either in a double knot, or in a bow on the top of the cork.

For effervescing drinks, such as champagne, which require to be kept a longer time and are more valuable, a securer knot is desirable, which may be made thus:--A loop as at _b_ is first formed, and the lower end is then turned upwards and carried behind the loop, as shown at _c_; it is then pulled through the loop as at _d_, and in this state is put over the neck of the bottle; the part _a_ being on one side, and the two parts of the loop on the other; on pulling the two ends, the whole becomes tight round the neck, and the ends, which should be quite opposite, are to be brought up over the cork, twice twisted, as at e, and then tied in a single knot.

Insects are often troublesome in devouring corks. This evil may be prevented by the following remedies. (1) Smear petroleum over the corks and bottle-necks, (2) Dip the cork and neck into a paste of quicklime which has just been slaked, and let it concrete on the bottle.

=Aerated Drinks.=--These may be divided into two classes, alkaline and saccharine. The alkaline, usually called mineral waters, are such as soda, seltzer, potass, &c.; while the saccharine are those which contain a portion of sugar, such as ginger beer, lemonade, and the various drinks made from the syrups. The alkaline mixtures after settling in the tanks, are usually passed through a lawn sieve, and then pumped through the machine, which impregnates them with carbonic acid gas. Saccharine drinks do not undergo this process, but a given quantity is put into each bottle or siphon, and the aerated water is forced into the bottle on it.

Either hard or soft water may be used for aerated drinks, so long as it is pure; when any doubt exists, it is always best to have it filtered. When a choice of water can be had, use hard or spring water for saccharine drinks.

The following recipes may be varied considerably. Some of the best beverages have been produced by mixing several of the essences together, and altering the colour. In all these drinks it is the essence that is used, as the fresh fruit will not do for bottle goods; while for the fountain drinks, the fresh fruit, being consumed as soon as mixed, forms a creamy beverage much in demand.

In all cases, in warm weather, it is advisable to have the factory as cool as possible, and more particularly the water. It is a good system and is employed in many factories, to have the pump of the machine surrounded with ice, the refrigerator being external; any kind of ice may be used.

In regard to the machinery, fountains, &c., used in the manufacture and dispensing of aerated beverages the reader is referred to the catalogues of the various manufacturers of the same.

Saccharine drinks are never pumped through a machine, but a given quantity of the syrup is put into each bottle by means of a syrup measure-tap, or better still, a syrup pump attached to the filling machine, and the aerated water is bottled on it.

Following are the principal saccharine aerated beverages:--

_Champagne Cider._--This is lemonade syrup flavoured with pear essence, and coloured with the sugar colouring.

_Gingerade._--(1) Mix 5 oz. essence of cayenne, 5 oz. essence of ginger, and 5 oz. water; (2) dissolve 3 lb. citric acid in ½ gal. hot water; (3) dissolve 4 oz. magnesia and 20 lb. fine loaf sugar in 3¼ gal. pure water. Filter the first compound and add 7 oz., also 14 oz. of the second, to the third; there will be no cloudiness; bottle at a pressure of 70 to 80 lb., using 1 oz. syrup to a bottle.

_Ginger Ale._--This is ginger-beer syrup coloured slightly with sugar or saffron colouring. An addition of pineapple will also greatly improve the flavour. Bottle as for lemonade. Add albumen compound, q.s.

_Ginger Beer._--This is lemonade syrup flavoured with essence of ginger and capsicine. The soluble essence of ginger is added to the syrup by dropping the quantity required on to pieces of sugar, when the syrup is lukewarm; the palate will be the best guide for quantity, as the essences vary much in strength. The albumen compound is to be added at the same time as the essence; bottle as for lemonade, using ¾ oz. to a bottle.

(_a_) A strong ginger beer is made by boiling with every gallon of water, 2 lb. loaf sugar, and 1 oz. bruised ginger, 1 oz. cream of tartar, and one small lemon, sliced. To the cooled mixture some yeast is added, and the whole is set aside for fermentation. When the tumultuous fermentation is over, the liquid is bottled. Ginger beer thus made is, when properly fermented, of considerable alcoholic strength, equal at least to the strongest Scotch ale.

(_b_) Keeps for many months. Take white sugar, 20 lb.; lime juice, 18 (fluid) oz.; honey, 1 lb.; bruised ginger, 22 oz.; water, 18 gal. Of course the quantities can be modified. Boil the ginger in 3 gal. water for ½ hour, the sugar, the lime juice, and the honey with the remainder of the water, and strain through a cloth. When cold, add the white of one egg and ½ oz. (fluid) essence of lemon. After standing four days, bottle.

(_c_) Boil a sliced lemon with 1 oz. ground ginger in ½ pint water for ½ hour; stand to settle, and pour off clear part into a vessel containing 5 qt. cold water; add 1 lb. lump sugar and 1 oz. cream of tartar; ferment with 2 oz. German or other yeast spread on toast or plain bread; stand to ferment in warm place; cover from dust; bottle soon as fermented; drink in three days.