Back Aa

Complete Book of Cheese, The

<h3> D</h3> Daisies, fresh A popular type and packaging of mild Cheddar, originally English. Known as an "all-around cheese," to eat raw, cook, let ripen, and use for seasoning. Dalmatian Austria Hard ewe's-milker. Dambo Denmark Semihard and nutty. Damen, or Glory of the Mountains (Gloires des Montagnes) Hungary Soft, uncured, mild ladies' cheese, as its name asserts. Popular Alpine snack in Viennese cafés with coffee gossip in the afternoon. Danish Blue Denmark Semihard, rich, blue-veined, piquant, delicate, excellent imitation of Roquefort. Sometimes called "Danish Roquefort," and because it is exported around the world it is Denmark's best-known cheese. Although it sells for 20% to 30% less than the international triumvirate of Blues, Roquefort, Stilton and Gorgonzola, it rivals them and definitely leads lesser Blues. Danish Export Denmark Skim milk and buttermilk. Round and flat, mild and mellow. A fine cheese, as many Danish exports are. Dansk Schweizerost Denmark Danish Swiss cheese, imitation Emmentaler, but with small holes. Nutty, sweet dessert or "picnic cheese," as Swiss is often called. Danzig Poland A pleasant cheese to accompany a glass of the great liqueur, Goldwasser, Eau de Vie de Danzig, from the same celebrated city.  Darling U.S.A. One of the finest Vermont Cheddars, handled for years by one of America's finest fancy food suppliers, S.S. Pierce of Boston. Dauphin Flanders, France Season, November to May. d'Aurigny, Fromage see Alderney. Daventry England A Stilton type, white, small, round, flat and very rich, with "blue" veins of a darker green. Decize Nivernaise, France In season all year. Soft, creamy, mellow, resembles Brie. de Foin, Fromage see Hay. de Fontine Spain Crumbly, sharp, nutty. de Gascony, Fromage see Castillon. de Gérardmer see Récollet. Delft Holland About the same as Leyden. (See.) Délicieux The brand name of a truly delicious Brie. Delikat U.S.A. A mellow breakfast spread, on the style of the German Frühstück original. (See.) de Lile, Boule French name for Belgian Oude Kaas. Demi-Étuve Half-size Étuve. (See.) Demi Petit Suisse The name for an extra small Petit Suisse to distinguish it from the Gros.  Demi-Sel Normandy, France Soft, whole, creamy, lightly salted, resembles Gournay but slightly saltier; also like U.S. cream cheese, but softer and creamier. Demi-Sel, Croissant see Croissant Demi-Sel. Derby, or Derbyshire England Hard; shape like Austrian Nagelkassa and the size of Cheshire though sometimes smaller. Dry, large, flat, round, flaky, sharp and tangy. A factory cheese said to be identical with Double Gloucester and similar to Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Leicester. The experts pronounce it "a somewhat inferior Cheshire, but deficient in its quality and the flavor of Cheddar." So it's unlikely to win in any cheese derby in spite of its name. Devonshire cream and cheese England Devonshire cream is world famous for its thickness and richness. Superb with wild strawberries; almost a cream cheese by itself. Devonshire cream is made into a luscious cheese ripened on straw, which gives it a special flavor, such as that of French Foin or Hay cheese. Dolce Verde Italy This creamy blue-vein variety is named Sweet Green, because cheesemongers are color-blind when it comes to the blue-greens and the green-blues. Domaci Beli Sir Yugoslavia "Sir" is not a title but the word for cheese. This is a typical ewe's-milker cured in a fresh sheep skin. Domestic Gruyère U.S.A. An imitation of a cheese impossible to imitate.  Domestic Swiss U.S.A Same as domestic Gruyère, maybe more so, since it is made in ponderous 150-to 200-pound wheels, chiefly in Wisconsin and Ohio. The trouble is there is no Alpine pasturage and Emmentaler Valley in our country. Domiati Egypt Whole or partly skimmed cow's or buffalo's milk. Soft; white; no openings; mild and salty when fresh and cleanly acid when cured. It's called "a pickled cheese" and is very popular in the Near East. Dorset, Double Dorset, Blue Dorset, or Blue Vinny England Blue mold type from Dorsetshire; crumbly, sharp; made in flat forms. "Its manufacture has been traced back 150 years in the family of F.E. Dare, who says that in all probability it was made longer ago than that." (See Blue Vinny.) Dotter Nürnberg, Germany An entirely original cheese perfected by G. Leuchs in Nürnberg. He enriched skim milk with yolk of eggs and made the cheese in the usual way. When well ripened it is splendid. Doubles The English name cheese made of whole milk "double," such as Double Cottenham, Double Dorset, Double Gloucester. "Singles" are cheeses from which some of the cream has been removed. Double-cream England Similar to Wensleydale. Double-crème France There are several of this name, made in the summer when milk is richest in cream. The full name is Fromage à la  Double-crème, and Pommel is one well known. They are made throughout France in season and are much in demand. Dresdener Bierkäse Germany A celebrated hand cheese made in Dresden. The typical soft, skim milker, strong with caraway and drunk dissolved in beer, as well as merely eaten. Drinking cheeses Not only Dresdener, but dozens of regional hand cheeses in Germanic countries are melted in steins of beer or glasses of wine to make distinctive cheesed drinks for strong stomachs and noses. This peps up the drinks in somewhat the same way as ale and beer are laced with pepper sauce in some parts. Dry Germany From the drinking cheese just above to dry cheese is quite a leap. "This cheese, known as Sperrkäse and Trockenkäse, is made in the small dairies of the eastern part of the Bavarian Alps and in the Tyrol. It is an extremely simple product, made for home consumption and only in the winter season, when the milk cannot be profitably used for other purposes. As soon as the milk is skimmed it is put into a large kettle which can be swung over a fire, where it is kept warm until it is thoroughly thickened from souring. It is then broken up and cooked quite firm. A small quantity of salt and sometimes some caraway seed are added, and the curd is put into forms of various sizes. It is then placed in a drying room, where it becomes very hard, when it is ready for eating." (From U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 608.)  Dubreala see Brina. Duel Austria Soft; skim milk; hand type; two by two by one-inch cube. Dunlop Scotland One of the national cheeses of Scotland, but now far behind Cheddar, which it resembles, although it is closer in texture and moister. Semihard; white; sharp; buttery; tangy and rich in flavor. It is one of the "toasting cheeses" resembling Lancashire, too, in form and weight. Made in Ayr, Lanark and Renfrew and sold in the markets of Kilmarnock, Kirkcudbright and Wigtown. Durak Turkey Mixed with butter; mellow and smoky. Costs three dollars a pound. Duralag, or Bgug-Panir Armenia Sheep; semisoft to brittle hard; square; sharp but mellow and tangy with herbs. Sometimes salty from lying in a brine bath from two days to two months. Durmar, Rarush see Rarush. Dutch Holland Cream cheese of skim milk, very perishable spread. Dutch cheese American vernacular for cottage or pot cheese. Dutch Cream Cheese England Made in England although called Dutch. Contains eggs, and is therefore richer than Dutch cream cheese in Holland itself. In America we call the original Holland-kind Dutch, cottage, pot, and farmer. Dutch Mill U.S.A. A specialty of Oakland, California. Dutch Red Balls English name for Edam. <h3> E</h3> Echourgnac, Trappe d' Périgord, France Trappist monastery Port-Salut made in Limousin. Edam see Chapter 3. Egg Finland Semihard. One of the few cheeses made by adding eggs to the curds. Others are Dutch Cream Cheese of England; German Dotter; French Fromage Cuit (cooked cheese), and Westphalian. Authorities agree that these should be labeled "egg cheese" so the buyers won't be fooled by their richness. The Finns age their eggs even as the Chinese ripen their hundred-year-old eggs, by burying them in grain, as all Scandinavians do, and the Scotch as well, in the oat bin. But none of them is left a century to ripen, as eggs are said to be in China. Elbinger, or Elbing West Prussia Hard; crumbly; sharp. Made of whole milk except in winter when it is skimmed. Also known as Werderkäse and Niederungskäse. Ekiwani Caucasus Hard; sheep; white; sharp; salty with some of the brine it's bathed in. Elisavetpolen, or Eriwani Caucasus Hard; sheep; sweetish-sharp and slightly salty when fresh from the brine bath. Also called Kasach (Cossack), Tali, Kurini and Karab in different locales. Elmo Table Italy Soft, mellow, tasty. Emiliano Italy Hard; flavor varies from mild to sharp. Parmesan type.  Emmentaler Switzerland There are so many, many types of this celebrated Swiss all around the world that we're not surprised to find Lapland reindeer milk cheese listed as similar to Emmentaler of the hardest variety. (See Chapter 3, also Vacherin Fondu.) "En enveloppe" French phrase of packaged cheese, "in the envelope." Similar to English packet and our process. Raw natural cheese the French refer to frankly as nu, "in the nude." Engadine Graubünden, Switzerland Semihard; mild; tangy-sweet. English Dairy England and U.S.A. Extra-hard, crumbly and sharp. Resembles Cheddar and has long been imitated in the States, chiefly as a cooking cheese. Entrechaux, le Cachat d' see Cachat. Epoisses, Fromage d' Côte d'Or, Upper Burgundy, France Soft, small cylinder with flattened end, about five inches across. The season is from November to July. Equally proud of their wine and cheese, the Burgundians marry white wine or marc to d'Epoisses in making confits with that name. Erbo Italy Similar to Gorgonzola. The Galvani cheesemakers of Italy who put out both Bel Paese and Taleggio also export Erbo to our shores. Erce Languedoc, France Soft, smooth and sharp. A winter cheese in season only from November to May. Eriwani see Elisavetpolen.  Ervy Champagne, France Soft; yellow rind; smooth; tangy; piquant; seven by two-and-a-half inches, weight four pounds. Resembles Camembert. A washed cheese, also known as Fromage de Troyes. In season November to May. Essex U.S.A. Imitation of an extinct or at least dormant English type. Estrella see Serra da Estrella. Étuve and Demi-Étuve Holland Semihard; smooth; mellow. In full size and demi (half) size. In season all year. Evarglice Yugoslavia Sharp, nutty flavor. Excelsior Normandy, France Season all year. <h3> F</h3> Factory Cheddar U.S.A. Very Old Factory Cheddar is the trade name for well-aged sharp Cheddar. New Factory is just that—mild, young and tractable—too tractable, in fact. Farm France Known as Ferme; Maigre (thin); Fromage à la Pie (nothing to do with apple pie); and Mou (weak). About the same as our cottage cheese. Farmer U.S.A. This is curd only and is nowadays mixed with pepper, lachs, nuts, fruits, almost anything. A very good base for your own fancy spread, or season a slab to fancy and bake it like a hoe cake, but in the oven. Farmhouse see Herrgårdsost.  Farm Vale England Cream cheese of Somerset wrapped in tin foil and boxed in wedges, eight to a box. Fat cheese see Frontage Gras and Maile Pener. Fenouil see Tome de Savoie. Ferme see Farm. Feta see Chapter 3. Feuille de Dreux Béarn, France November to May. "Filled cheese" England Before our processed and food cheese era some scoundrels in the cheese business over there added animal fats and margarine to skimmed milk to make it pass as whole milk in making cheese. Such adulteration killed the flavor and quality, and no doubt some of the customers. Luckily in America we put down this vicious counterfeiting with pure food laws. But such foreign fats are still stuffed into the skimmed milk of many foreign cheeses. To take the place of the natural butterfat the phony fats are whipped in violently and extra rennet is added to speed up coagulation. Fin de Siècle Normandy, France Although this is an "all year" cheese its name dates it back to the years at the close of the nineteenth century. Fiore di Alpe Italy Hard; sharp; tangy. Romantically named "Flowers of the Alps." Fiore Sardo Italy Ewe's milk. Hard. Table cheese when immature; a condiment when fully cured.  Flandre, Tuile de France A kind of Marolles. Fleur de Deauville France A type of Brie, in season December to May. Fleur des Alpes see Bel Paese and Millefiori. Floedeost Norway Like Gjedeost, but not so rich because it's made of cow's milk. Fløtost Norway Although the name translates Cream Cheese it is made of boiled whey. Similar to Mysost, but fatter. Flower England Soft and fragrant with petals of roses, violets, marigolds and such, delicately mixed in. Since the English are so fond of oriental teas scented with jasmine and other flowers, perhaps they imported the idea of mixing petals with their cheese, since there is no oriental cheese for them to import except bean curd. Fodder cheese A term for cheese made from fodder in seasons when there is no grass. Good fresh grass is the essence of all fine cheese, so silo or barn-fed cows can't give the kind of milk it takes. Foggiano Apulia, Italy A member of the big Pecorino family because it's made of sheep's milk. Foin, Fromage de see Hay. Fondu, Vacherin see Vacherin Fondu. Fontainebleau France Named after its own royal commune. Soft; fresh cream; smooth; mellow; summer variety. Fontina Val d'Acosta, Italy Soft; goat; creamy; with a nutty flavor and delightful aroma. Fontine, de Franche-Comté, France A favorite all-year product. Fontinelli Italy Semidry; flaky; nutty; sharp. Fontini Parma, Italy Hard; goat; similar to Swiss, but harder and sharper. From the same region as Parmesan. Food cheese U.S.A. An unattractive type of processed mixes, presumably with some cheese content to flavor it. Forez, also called d'Ambert France The process of making this is said to be very crude, and the ripening unusual. The cheeses are cylindrical, ten inches in diameter and six inches high. They are ripened by placing them on the floor of the cellar, covering with dirt, and allowing water to trickle over them. Many are spoiled by the unusual growths of mold and bacteria. The flavor of the best of these is said to resemble Roquefort. (From Bulletin No. 608 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to which we are indebted for descriptions of hundreds of varieties in this alphabet.) Formagelle Northwest Italy Soft, ripened specialty put up in half-pound packages. Formaggi di Pasta Filata Italy A group of Italian cheeses made by curdling milk with rennet, warming and fermenting the curd, heating it until it is plastic, drawing it into ropes and then kneading and shaping while hot. Provolone, Caciocavallo and Mozzarella are in this group.  Formaggini, and Formaggini di Lecco Italy Several small cheeses answer to this name, of which Lecco is typical. A Lombardy dessert cheese measuring 1¼ by two inches, weighing two ounces. It is eaten from the time it is fresh and sweet until it ripens to piquance. Sometimes made of cow and goat milk mixed, with the addition of oil and vinegar, as well as salt, pepper, sugar and cinnamon. Formaggio d'Oro Northwest Italy Hard, sharp, mountain-made. Formaggio Duro (Dry) and Formaggio Tenero see Nostrale. Fort see Fromage Fort. Fourme, Cantal, and la Tome Auvergne, France This is a big family in the rich cheese province of Auvergne, where many mountain varieties are baptized after their districts, such as Aubrac, Aurilla, Grand Murol, Rôche and Salers. (See Fourme d'Ambert and Cantal.) Fourme de Montebrison Auvergne, France This belongs to the Fourme clan and is in season from November to May. Fourme de Salers see Cantal, which it resembles so closely it is sometimes sold under that name. Fresa, or Pannedas Sardinia, Italy A soft, mild and sweet cooked cheese. Fribourg Italy and Switzerland Hard; cooked-curd, Swiss type very similar to Spalen. (See) Frissche Kaas, Fresh cheese Holland Dutch generic name for any soft, fresh spring cheese, although some is made in winter, beginning in November. Friesian see West Friesian.  Fromage à la Creme France I. Sour milk drained and mixed with cream. Eaten with sugar. That of Gien is a noted produce, and so is d'Isigny. II. Franche-Comté—fresh sheep milk melted with fresh thick cream, whipped egg whites and sugar. III. Morvan—homemade cottage cheese. When milk has soured solid it is hung in cheesecloth in a cool place to drain, then mixed with a little fresh milk and served with cream. IV. When Morvan or other type is put into a heart-shaped wicker basket for a mold, and marketed in that, it becomes Coeur à la Crème, heart of cream, to be eaten with sugar. Fromage à la Pie see Fromage Blanc just below, and Farm Fromage Bavarois à la Vanille France Dessert cheese sweetened and flavored with vanilla and named after Bavaria where it probably originated. Fromage Blanc France Soft cream or cottage cheese, called à la Pie, too, suggesting pie à la mode; also Farm from the place it's made. Usually eaten with salt and pepper, in summer only. It is the ascetic version of Fromage à la Crème, usually eaten with salt and pepper and without cream or sugar, except in the Province of Bresse where it is served with cream and called Fromage Blanc à la Crème. Every milky province has its own Blanc. In Champagne it's made of fresh ewe milk. In Upper Brittany it is named after Nantes and also called Fromage de  Curé. Other districts devoted to it are Alsace-Lorraine, Auvergne, Languedoc, and Ile-de-France. Fromage Bleu see Bleu d'Auvergne. Fromage Cuit (cooked cheese) Thionville, Lorraine, France Although a specialty of Lorraine, this cooked cheese is produced in many places. First it is made with fresh whole cow milk, then pressed and potted. After maturing a while it is de-potted, mixed with milk and egg yolk, re-cooked and re-potted. Fromage d'Aurigny see Alderney. Fromage de Bayonne Bayonne, France Made with ewe's milk. Fromage de Bôite Doubs, France Soft, mountain-made, in the fall only. Resembles Pont l'Evêque. Fromage de Bourgogne see Burgundy. Fromage de Chèvre de Chateauroux Berry, France A seasonal goat cheese. Fromage de Curé see Nantais. Fromage de Fontenay-le Comté Poitou, France Half goat and half cow milk. Fromage de Gascony see Castillon. Fromage de Pau see La Foncée. Fromage de St. Rémy see Chevrets.  Fromage de Serac Savoy, France Half and half, cow and goat, from Serac des Allues. Fromage de Troyes France Two cheeses have this name. (See Barberry and Ervy.) Fromage de Vache Another name for Autun. Fromage de Monsieur Fromage Normandy, France This Cheese of Mr. Cheese is as exceptional as its name. Its season runs from November to June. It comes wrapped in a green leaf, maybe from a grape vine, suggesting what to drink with it. It is semidry, mildly snappy with a piquant pungence all its own. The playful name suggests the celebrated dish, Poulette de Madame Poulet, Chick of Mrs. Chicken. Fromage Fort France Several cooked cheeses are named Fort (strong) chiefly in the department of Aisne. Well-drained curd is melted, poured into a cloth and pressed, then buried in dry ashes to remove any whey left. After being fermented eight to ten days it is grated, mixed with butter, salt, pepper, wine, juniper berries, butter and other things, before fermenting some more. Similar extra-strong cheeses are the one in Lorraine called Fondue and Fromagère of eastern France, classed as the strongest cheeses in all France. Fort No. I: That of Flanders, potted with juniper berries, as the gin of this section is flavored, plus pepper, salt and white wine. Fort No. II: That from Franche-Comté Small dry goat cheeses pounded and  potted with thyme, tarragon, leeks, pepper and brandy. (See Hazebrook.) Fort No. III: From Provence, also called Cachat d'Entrechaux. In production from May to November. Semihard, sheep milk, mixed with brandy, white wine, strong herbs and seasonings and well marinated. Fromage Gras (fat cheese) Savoy, France Soft, round, fat ball called tête de mort, "death's head." Winter Brie is also called Gras but there is no relation. This macabre name incited Victor Meusy to these lines: <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> Les gens à l'humeur morose Prennent la Tête-de-Mort. People of a morose disposition Take the Death's Head. </div> </div> Fromage Mou Any soft cheese. Fromage Piquant see Remoudon. Fromagère see Canquillote. Fromages de Chèvre Orléanais, France Small, dried goat-milkers. Frühstück Also known as breakfast and lunch cheese. Small rounds two-and-a-half to three inches in diameter. Limburger type. Cheeses on which many Germans and Americans break their fast. Ftinoporino Macedonia, Greece Sheep's-milker similar to Brinza. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

1 of 2

2 of 2

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.