CHEESE, the curd or caseine of milk, with variable quantities of butter and common salt, pressed into molds and rip ened by keeping. The various kinds of cheese differ chiefly in the mode of man ufacture, the amount of fat which they contain, and in the flavor, which is due partly to the food, and partly to the breed of the animal. In this country, and in England, cheese is made from the milk of the cow, but on the continent of Europe it is made from goat's milk and ewe's milk, while in Arabia it is prepared from the milk of the camel and the mare. There are three kinds of cheese, viz., whole-milk, skim-milk, and cream-cheese. Whole-milk cheese is made from un skimmed milk and contains from 20 to 40 her cent. of fat or cream, and 30 to 50 per cent. of caseine. Skim-milk cheese is poor in fat, containing from 1 to 4 per cent. Cream-cheese contains from 60 to 70 per cent. Authorities differ as to the dietetic value of cheese, some affirming that it is very indigestible, while others assert that it assists digestion. Its digestibility, however, varies with its age, its texture, and its composition, and it is possible that it may produce different effects on different persons. Cream-cheese is more
digestible than any other kind of cheese, owing to its containing less caseine. Cheese is rarely adulterated. To suit the public taste it is frequently colored with annatto, or some other vegetable color, and so long as the coloring matter is not injurious, it cannot be considered an adulteration.
There were in the United States in 1919 about 2,100 cheese factories. The production was 26,256,549 pounds of cheese, made from whole milk; 276,674 pounds made from part skimmed milk ; and 528,067 pounds made from full skimmed milk. The production of special cheese included 2,629,450 pounds of Swiss cheese; 2,462,945 pounds of Buck and Miinster cheese; 748,086 pounds of Lim burger cheese; 1,895,083 pounds of cot tage, pot, and baker's cheese; 376,972 pounds of cream and Neuchatel cheese; and 279,230 pounds of Italian cheese.