Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/536

502] mace, over it; spread a little fresh butter, about the size of a walnut, over these aromatics; then form another layer, repeat the same mode of seasoning the cheese, and proceed in a similar manner to the top of the vessel. When this cheese has been kept for some days, in a dry, airy place, without being exposed to the sun, it is said to excel in taste the best sort made in Holland; and to possess the additional advantage, that it improves with age, and generates no vermin.—We have had no opportunity of ascertaining the truth of this boasted superiority, and candidly submit the process to the decision of our economical readers.

Preservation of Cheese. Among the various productions of the vegetable kingdom, there are perhaps none better calculated for this purpose, than the following: 1. The leaves of the Yellow Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum luteum, L.; 2. The Tutsan, or Park-leaves, Hypericum androsæmum, L.; and 3. The tender branches of the common birch tree, Betula alba, L.—The two first of which, in particular, have from experience been found to possess considerable antiseptic properties. They ought, however, to be employed only when moderately dry, in which state they should be placed upon, or at the fides of the cheese, in an airy situation. The twigs of the birch are especially useful, in preventing the ravages of mites.

Hard and spoiled Cheese may be restored in the following manner: Take four ounces of pearl-ash, pour sweet white wine over it, till the mixture ceases to effervesce. Filtre the solution, dip into it clean linen cloths, cover the cheese with them, and put the whole into a cool place, or dry cellar. Repeat this process every day, at the same time turning the cheese; and, if necessary, continue it for several weeks; thus, the hardest and most insipid cheese has frequently recovered its former flavour.

Although we have devoted much room, and attention, to this important subject, considered in an economical view, we shall be very concise on the physical properties of cheese. This substance, being the coarsest and most viscid part of the milk, is digested with difficulty; and therefore calculated only for the more vigorous stomach of the healthy and laborious. Hence, persons of a delicate organization, as well as the studious and sedentary, ought carefully to abstain from its use: for, when eaten new, for instance cream-cheese, it is apt to disagree, produce rancid eructations, and impair the digestive organs: when old, it has a remarkable tendency to putrify, and taint the breath, even of the healthful. After dinner, a very small quantity of sound, old cheese, may do no injury; but it neither assists the digestion of food, nor produces any additional nutriment, when the vessels already abound with alimentary matter.—Lastly, we advise those who know the value of health, and are enabled to procure more salutary food, never to make a meal upon bread and cheese alone.  CHEESE RENNET, or, Galium verum, L. is a native plant growing on the sides of fields and roads. It has a firm, erect, square stem; short branches, terminating in spikes of small yellow blossoms, appearing in July and August.

The flowers of this plant coagulate boiling milk; and it is, we  prehend