Goya
Goya cheese, manufactured in the Province of Corrientes in Argentina, resembles medium-cured Asiago. Either whole or partly skimmed milk is heated to a temperature between 75° and 85° F., and enough rennet is added to coagulate it in 15 to 30 minutes. The curd is cut and put in sacks to drain, after which it is pressed in molds and then salted.
Grana
Grana refers to a group of Italian cheeses with the following special characteristics: Granular body and texture (hence the name Grana); sharp flavor (they are widely known for intensity and exquisiteness of flavor); hardness (they are among the most suitable for grating); very small eyes; good keeping quality, even in hot climates; and excellent shipping properties (they require no careful packaging).
Grana-type cheeses are said to have been made in the Po Valley as long ago as 1200 A.D., at which time that was the most important cheese-making center in Europe. According to Italian authorities, there are two main types of Grana cheeses: (1) Grana Lombardo, which is made largely in the Province of Lombardy (north of the Po); and (2) Grana Reggiano, which is made largely in Reggio, in the Province of Emilia (south of the Po). There are numerous subvarieties of each type, named usually for the place of manufacture. Lodigiano (named for Lodi) is similar to Lombardo; Emiliano (for Emilia) and Parmigiano (for Parma) are similar to Reggiano, and there are others. The subvarieties differ principally in details of manufacture (acidity of the milk, cutting the curd, cooking temperature, curing period, etc.), and in shape and size.
Considerable quantities of both types of Grana cheeses are exported from Italy, usually under the name Parmesan (the common name outside of Italy, and sometimes in Italy, for these cheeses). Both types are imported into the United States as Parmesan, and Grana Reggiano is also imported as Reggiano Parmesan. Both types are made in the United States and may be known by either name (Parmesan or Reggiano).
A more complete description of each of these cheeses is given under its specific name.
Granular or Stirred-Curd
Granular or Stirred-curd cheese, which is made in considerable quantities in the United States, is similar to Cheddar and Colby. It may be made from either raw or pasteurized milk. The raw-milk cheese must be cured for at least 60 days unless it is to be used in manufacturing.
This cheese is made in the same way as Cheddar, except that (as in making Colby) the curd is not matted and milled. However, water is not added to the curd while it is being stirred to cool it, as is done in making Colby.
After the curd has been cut, stirred, and heated (as in the Cheddar process), some of the whey is drained off and the curd is stirred and drained alternately, or stirred continually, until it is dry enough to salt. After salting, with continual stirring, the curd finally is placed in hoops and pressed like Cheddar.
Analysis: Moisture, not more than 39 percent (usually 37 percent); fat in the solids, not less than 50 percent; and salt, 1.5 to 1.8 percent.
Grated
Grated cheese is prepared by grinding hard, dry, low-fat, well-aged natural cheese to a powder. Italian cheeses of the Parmesan type are usually used; also such cheeses as Asiago old, dry Jack, Romano, Sapsago (Schabziger), and Sbrinz. The cheese should be cured for at least 6 months before it is grated. After it is grated, it may be dried further on trays in a current of hot, dry air; then it is packed in moisture-and-air-proof containers.
Some manufacturers prepare a so-called "grated" cheese by adding nonfat dry milk solids and cheese color to dry (usually low-fat) American-type cheese, grinding the mixture, and then drying it. This product, however, usually lacks full flavor.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture developed a method for dehydrating natural American Cheddar cheese of normal fat content without loss of fat. The cheese is first grated and partly dried immediately in moving air at room temperature. This seals up the fat in numerous casehardened particles of curd; then the cheese is dried in a tunnel or chamber drier with a gradual increase in temperature and circulation of air. The dried cheese can be powdered for use as grated cheese.
Gray
Gray cheese, which is so named because the interior of the cured cheese is grayish in color, is made in the Tyrol from sour skim milk. When the milk has curdled, the curd is firmed by moderate heating. It is then dipped into cheesecloth; the flocculent material at the bottom of the kettle is mixed carefully and thoroughly with the rest of the curd, in order to insure a uniform product. The curd is then put under pressure for about 10 minutes, after which it is broken up by hand or in a mill, and salt and pepper are added. To insure proper ripening, a little grated well-ripened gray cheese or bread crumbs with the characteristic mold growth are mixed with the curd, and it is put into forms of various shapes and sizes which are perforated to facilitate drainage. The cheese is pressed in the forms for about 24 hours, and then taken to the drying room where the temperature is maintained at 70° F. The length of the drying period is determined by the appearance of the cheese. As soon as it has dried sufficiently, it is taken to the curing cellar. The cured cheese has a pleasant taste.
Gruyére
Gruyére cheese (Greyérzerkäse), also known as Groyer and in some localities as Vachelin, has been made for more than 200 years. It is named for the village of Gruyére, in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, which is near the French border. The manufacture of Gruyere cheese is an important industry in France (especially in the Departments of Daubs and Jura) and in nearby areas in Switzerland.
Gruyére cheeses are about 20 inches in diameter, from 4 to 4¾ inches thick, and weigh between 55 and 110 pounds. Gruyere is made from cow's whole milk in much the same way as Swiss; however, Gruyére is smaller, has smaller eyes and a sharper flavor, and usually is cured in a more humid curing room. There often is an aroma of ammonia in the curing room, indicating some surface ripening. The cheese is cured for not less than 90 days.
Analysis: Moisture, 33 to not more than 39 percent; fat, 29 to 33 percent (usually 50 but not less than 45 percent in the solids); protein, 26 to 29 percent; and salt, 2 percent.
Güssing
Güssing is an Austrian cheese that resembles very much the Brick cheese made in the United States; it is made in practically the same way, except that skim milk is used. The cheeses weigh between 4 and 8 pounds.
Hand
Hand cheese, a small, sour-milk, surface-ripened cheese, is so named because originally it was molded in final shape by hand, and still is in some parts of Europe. It is very popular among Germanic peoples and is made in several countries. There are many local names for Hand cheese, among which are the following: In Germany—Mainzer Handkäse or Harzkäse, Alte Kuhkäse, or Berliner Kuhkäse, Ihlefeld, Satz, and Thuringia Caraway cheese; in Austria—Olmützer Quargeln and Olmützer Bierkäse; and in Russia—Livlander. Some of these are described under their particular names.
The method of making Hand cheese differs in different localities. Following is a general description: Buttermilk or lactic starter is added to skim milk, which is then coagulated at room temperature. The curd is broken up or cut, stirred, and heated slowly to a temperature of about 120° F. It is held at this temperature for about 3 hours, and stirred for the first hour. At the end of the heating period, the curd is put in cloths or in forms, while the whey drains either with or without pressure. Then the curd is either mixed thoroughly or ground in a curd mill, and salted. Sometimes caraway seed is added. The cheeses then are molded by hand, or pressed in small forms, into the desired shape. They are dried in a warm room and then placed on shelves in a cool, moist cellar to cure. The cheeses are kept clean while curing. When surface ripening has begun, they are wrapped and packed in boxes. They are cured for 6 to 8 weeks at a temperature no higher than 50°. At higher temperatures they cure too rapidly. Well-ripened Hand cheese has a very sharp, pungent flavor and aroma; the consumer sometimes must become accustomed to it before he finds it agreeable.
In the United States, cheese of this type is made by farm families of German descent in Pennsylvania and in a few factories in New York, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois. The curd is prepared in much the same way as Cottage-cheese curd, either with or without rennet. The drained curd is salted and either molded by hand or pressed in forms into cakes 2 to 3 inches in diameter and less than an inch thick. The cheeses then are cured in a cool, moist room. Action of bacteria, yeasts, and molds causes surface ripening, and a smear usually appears. Regulation of the temperature and humidity in the curing room is essential to control surface ripening; it is controlled also by frequent rubbing or washing of the cheese.
Queso de mano (Hand cheese) is a sour-milk, cooked-curd, small, round cheese made in small quantities in Venezuela and some other Latin-American countries for local consumption. Usually it is made from cow's milk, but it is said to be made also from goat's milk. The cheeses are 6 or 7 inches in diameter.
Harzkäse
Harzlase is a type of Hand cheese made in Germany. It usually is about 2 inches in diameter, from ½ to ¾ inch thick, and weighs about 4 ounces.
Analysis: Moisture, 50 to 56 percent; fat, 1 to 2 percent; protein, 22 to 37 percent; and salt, 4 percent.
Hauskäse
Hauskäse is the German name for a Limburger-type cheese made in the shape of a disk with a diameter of about 10 inches.
Hay
Hay cheese, also called Fromage de Foin, is a skim-milk cheese made in the Department of Seine-Inférieure, France. It derives its name from the fact that it is ripened on freshly cut hay, which imparts a characteristic aroma to the cheese. In some respects it resembles a poor grade of Livarot. It is about 10 inches in diameter and 2 or 3 inches thick.
The milk is set with rennet at a temperature of 80° to 85° F. In about an hour the curd is cut and the whey is removed. The curd is pressed to remove more whey after which it is pressed by hand into molds. After draining for about 2 days, it is put in the drying room for about 3 weeks. Then it is taken to the curing cellar and buried in hay, where it remains for 6 weeks to 3 months. The cheese is then ready for sale. Most of it is consumed locally.
Herkimer
Herkimer, which is a Cheddar-type cheese, was made in rather large quantities in Herkimer County, N.Y., at one time but now is made only to a limited extent, if at all. There is considerable acid development and the cheese is cured for a long time. As no color is added to the milk the cheese may be nearly white. It has a fairly dry and crumbly texture and a sharp flavor.
Herrgårdsost
Herrgårdsost (Manor cheese) is very popular in Sweden, where it has been made since the 1890's. It has a medium firm, pliable body, a mild, sweet, nutty flavor, and a pleasing aroma. The cured cheese contains eyes similar to those in Gruyére, that is, they are smaller than those in Swiss cheese. The cheeses usually are about 15 inches in diameter, 4 to 6 inches thick, and weigh from 26 to 33 pounds.
Herrgårdsost is made from partly skimmed cow's milk, usually pasteurized. Lactic starter is added to the milk, and propionic bacteria are added if the milk does not contain enough to cause normal eye formation. The curd is heated to a temperature of not more than 111° F. At some factories, the curd is removed from the whey and pressed in hoops in the conventional manner. At other factories, the milk is set in a long vat with rounded ends, and after the curd is heated some of the whey is drawn off. Perforated metal gates are inserted at each end of the vat and pulled toward the center, thus enclosing the curd in a rectangular area. A press lid is lowered onto the curd, and the curd is pressed under the remaining whey with a hydraulic press. Strong pressure is applied for 20 to 30 minutes. Then the whey is drained off, and the flat, rectangular block of curd is cut vertically into smaller blocks, one for each cheese. The curd for each cheese is placed in a round, metal, cloth-lined hoop, and the hoops are placed one above another in tiers and pressed in a hydraulic press.
The cheeses are salted in brine; from 10 to 14 days later they are dipped in paraffin or cheese wax. They are cured for 3 to 4 months—the first month at a temperature of 63° to 68° F. and then at 50° to 59°. Between 8½ and 9 pounds of cheese is obtained from 100 pounds of partly skimmed milk.
Analysis: Moisture, 39.5 percent; fat, 29 percent (45 percent or slightly more in the solids); protein, 27 percent; and salt, 1.5 percent.
Hervé
Hervé is a Limburger-type cheese made in Belgium. The cheeses are about 6 inches square and 3 inches thick.
Analysis: Moisture, 37.5 percent; fat, 23.9 percent; and protein, 20.9 percent.
Holstein Health
Holstein Health cheese, known locally as Holstein Gesundheitskäse, is a German cooked cheese made from sour, skim milk. The curdled milk is heated, the whey drained off, and the curd pressed heavily. It is then mixed well and put into a kettle. Cream and salt are added, and it is stirred while being heated over a fire to a melting temperature, after which it is put into molds which hold about half a pound.
Holstein Skim-milk
Holstein Skim-milk cheese (German, Holsteiner Magerkäse), or so-called Buttenkäse, is made principally in the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein and nearby areas. Usually the skim milk contains about 0.75 percent of fat, and the cheese contains not more than 15 percent of fat in the solids. When practically all the fat is removed from the milk, the cheese is called Leather cheese. In some instances as much as 6 percent of fresh buttermilk is added to the skim milk.
The milk may be pasteurized, lactic starter and cheese color are added, and rennet is added at a temperature of 80° to 86° F. About 30 minutes later the curd is cut into rather large pieces and then left for about 5 minutes to become firmer. Stirring and cutting then are continued for another 30 minutes, until the pieces of curd are about ¼ inch in diameter, and, if considerable fat was left in the milk, the curd is warmed to 96°. Then the whey is dipped or drained off, and the curd is collected, stirred, and pressed somewhat to remove more whey. It is kneaded carefully, and 2½ to 3 pounds of salt is added per 1,000 pounds of milk. Caraway seed may be added also. The curd is placed in cylindrical cloth-lined forms, 10½ to 12 inches in diameter and depth. The cheeses are pressed for about 12 hours, with gradually increasing pressure until the final pressure is 10 to 12 times the weight of the cheese. They are turned and redressed once or twice. Then they are removed from the press and are placed in a rather dry room for 2 or 3 weeks, after which they are cured in a moist room at a temperature of 50° to 57°. They are cleaned and turned daily while drying and about twice a week while curing. The cheese is fully cured in 5 to 6 months. Between 7 and 10 pounds of cheese (depending on the fat content of the milk) is obtained per 100 pounds of milk. Cheeses weigh from 12 to 14 pounds.
Hop
Hop (or Hopfen) is a German cheese that is cured between layers of hops, which accounts for its name. It is very much like Nieheimer, which is also packed with hops for curing. In fact, although they are not identical, Nieheimer is known as Hop cheese in some localities. Likewise, in some localities Hop cheese is called Krauterkäse, although elsewhere Krauterkäse is a local name for Sapsago (Schabziger) cheese.
After the curd is prepared and salted, spices such as caraway seed usually are mixed in, and it is ripened for 3 or 4 days. Then the ripened curd is mixed with fresh curd, and the mixture is molded into small cheeses. These are placed in a well-ventilated room to dry, and when they are quite dry they are packed in casks to ripen between layers of hops. Cheeses are about 2½ inches in diameter and an inch thick, and weigh 3 to 4 ounces.
Hvid Gjetost
Hvid Gjetost is a goat's-milk cheese made in Norway, for local consumption. The milk is set at 70° F. or higher. The curd is broken up and cooked in the usual manner, after which it is pressed in forms 9 or 10 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 4 inches deep.
Ilha
Ilha, a Portuguese word meaning island, is the name of a rather firm, cow's milk cheese made in the Azores and exported to Portugal. The cheese is 10 to 12 inches in diameter and about 4 inches thick.
Analysis: Moisture, 28 to 37 percent; fat, 27 to 32 percent; protein, 24 to 31 percent; and salt, 1.5 percent.
Incanestrato
Incanestrato (basketed) cheese is so named because the curd often is pressed in wicker molds (baskets). The imprint of the wicker remains on the cheese.
As made in Sicily, it is a plastic-curd (pasta filata) cheese made from ewe's milk or a mixture of ewe's and cow's milk. When made from ewe's milk only, it is called Pecorino Incanestrato. The milk is curdled, preferably with kid rennet, in about 45 minutes. The curd is stirred thoroughly, and sometimes water is added. After the curd settles, it is separated from the whey; it may be pressed by hand and may be allowed to ferment for 2 or 3 days. Then it is heated in whey, pressed and salted. Various spices may be added. Pepper may be added, and then it is called Pepato. The cheese is cured for about a year.
Majocchino, a similar cheese, is made from cow's, goat's, or ewe's milk in the Province of Messina, Sicily. It contains olive oil.
In the United States, Incanestrato and also Pepato are made from cow's milk, usually by the Romano process.
Isigny
Isigny cheese, which is said to be of American origin, is named for a town in France. It is the same shape as Camembert—about 5 inches in diameter and 1 to 2 inches thick—and is made like Camembert except that the cheese is washed and rubbed occasionally while it is curing to check the growth of molds on the surface. The ripened cheese has a firmer body than Camembert and has a flavor and aroma like mild Limburger. The composition varies considerably.
Island of Orléans
Island of Orléans cheese (Le Fromage Raffiné de l'Ile d'Orléans) is a soft cheese with a strong, characteristic flavor. It has been made since 1679 by farmers on the Island of Orleans, which is in the St. Lawrence River a few miles below Quebec. Undoubtedly the method was introduced by early settlers from France, and the cheese resembles other soft, piquant French cheeses.
Whole milk is set with rennet directly after the cows are milked. After the milk coagulates, the curd is cut; then the whey is drained off and the curd is transferred to forms on rush mats. The forms of curd are turned frequently. When firm, the cheeses are removed from the forms, and they are wrapped in cloth for curing. They are ripened partly by molds and yeasts that grow on the surface. They are fully cured in about 3 weeks and deteriorate rapidly after curing is completed. They are round and fiat, and each cheese weighs about 5 ounces. About 12 pounds of cheese is obtained from 100 pounds of milk.
Analysis: Moisture, 50 percent or slightly more; and fat, 25 percent.
Italian
Italian cheese refers not only to varieties now made in Italy, but also to those that originated in Italy and that now are made in other countries as well. Parmesan, Romano, and Provolone are among the best known, and they are made in considerble quantities in the United States. Parmesan, one of the group known in Italy as Grana, includes Lodigiano or Lombardo, Reggiano-Parmigiano or Emiliano, and the less-known varieties, Veneto or Venezza and Bresciano or Bagozzo.
The plastic-curd (pasta filata) cheeses include the hard Caciocavallo, Provolone, Provoletti, Panedda, Pera di vacca, Casigiolu, and Moliterno, and the soft Provole or Provatura, Scamorze, Mozzarella, Manteca, and Trecce.
Swiss-type cheeses made in Italy include Sbrinz or Spalen, Fribourg, Battelmatt, Montasio, Fontina, Bitto, and Urseren. Other hard cheeses are Romano, Sardo, Incanestrato, Asiago, Pepato, Bra, and Cotronese.
The Italian blue-green veined cheeses are Gorgonzola and similar cheeses, including Gex, Pannarone, Sassenage, Septmoncel, and Moncenisio.
The principal soft cheeses are Bel Paese, Crescenza, Cacio fiore, Raviggiolo, Robbiole, Robbiolini, Reblochon, Mascarpone, Formagelle, Formaggio crema, Mont d'Or, Montpellier, Milano or Quartirolo, and Bernarde. Fresh Ricotta, which is made from coagulated whey protein, usually with 5 to 10 percent of whole or skim milk added, is another soft cheese.
Formaggio and cacio mean cheese. Stracchino, which refers to a condition of milk for making cheese, has come to mean soft, rich, ripened cheese in northern Italy.
Pecorino, used with the name of a cheese, indicates that it was made from ewe's milk (as Pecorino Romano); Caprino, that it was made from goat's milk; and Vacchino, that it was made from cow's milk.
The names of some Italian cheeses indicate the season in which they are made. Maggengo refers to cheese made between April and September, chiefly Milano and Grana; Quartirolo, to Milano (or Milano-type) cheese made from September to November; Terzolo, to cheese made in winter, chiefly Milano and Grana; and Invernengo, to cheese made in winter, chiefly Grana.
Jochberg
Jochberg cheese is made in the Tyrol from a mixture of cow's and goat's milk. The cheese is about 20 inches in diameter, 4 inches thick, and weighs about 45 pounds.
Josephine
Josephine cheese, which is made in Silesia from cow's whole milk, is a soft cheese that is cured in small cylindrical packages.
Kajmak
Kajmak (a Turkish word meaning "cream") is a cream cheese made from ewe's milk in Serbia, where it is a very popular food. It is also known as Serbian butter. The making process is primitive. Milk is boiled and then poured into large shallow pans, which are usually made of wood. About 12 hours later the cream is collected, usually salted, and it is put into wooden containers. It is usually sold while fresh when the flavor is mild; however, as it ages it develops more flavor and it may develop as much flavor as Roquefort. Different lots vary greatly in composition.
Analysis (average of 10 samples): Moisture, 31.55 percent; fat, 55.79 percent; protein, 6.25 percent; ash, 4.50 percent; and salt (in the ash), 3.07 percent.
Kareish
Kareish is one of the so-called pickled cheeses made in Egypt. Skim milk is coagulated by souring, the whey is drained, dry salt is added, and the curd is packed in earthenware vessels in a salt-brine solution. It is made like Domiati, except that salt is added to the curd, not to the milk.
Karut
Karut is a very dry, hard, skim-milk cheese made in Afghanistan and northwestern India.
Kaskaval
Kaskaval is made from partly-skimmed ewe's milk in Siebenbürgen, Rumania, by a method that is very similar to that used in making Katschkawalj. The ripened curd is placed in a tub and worked until it is elastic, as in making Provolone, and then it is put into oval forms 5 to 8 inches in diameter and about 3 inches deep. Holes are punched in the cheese to let whey out and to admit salt. The cheese is salted in brine for a few hours and later rubbed with salt. It may be marketed within a month. It is cured for 2 to 3 months. The cheeses weigh 4½ to 6½ pounds.
Analysis: Moisture, 50.5 percent; fat, 14.1 percent; protein, 28.1 percent; and ash, 4.8 percent.
Peneteleu (Cascaval de Peneteleu) is a drier cheese made in Rumania from ewe's milk by a similar method.
Analysis: Moisture, 27.41 percent; fat, 20.13 percent; protein, 45.63 percent; ash, 5.11 percent; and salt (in the ash), 1.91 percent.
A variation, containing more moisture and less fat, is called PeneteleuBurduf cheese.
Kasseri
Kasseri is a hard cheese made in Greece, usually from ewe's milk.
Katschkawalj
Katschkawalj is a plastic-curd, Caciocavallo-type cheese made from ewe's milk in Serbia, Rumania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia. The milk is curdled with lab (a rennet-starter preparation), and the curd is drained, spread out on a table, enclosed in cloth, and ripened until it becomes elastic when heated. Then it is placed in metal canisters, cooked in water, and worked like bread dough until it is very elastic. It is cut into pieces weighing about 6 pounds, and each is worked to a spherical shape, placed in a metal or wood form, cooled, washed with whey, dried, salted by repeatedly rubbing in salt, and cured.
A similar cheese called Zomma, which is said to contain at least 30 percent of fat, is made in Turkey.
Analysis (average of 10 samples): Moisture, 35.72 percent; fat, 31.00 percent; protein, 24.24 percent; ash, 6.28 percent; and salt (in the ash), 4.01 percent.
Kefalotyi
Kefalotyi is a hard, grating-type cheese made in Greece and Syria from either goat's or ewe's milk. It is about 10 inches thick and is said to resemble a Greek hat, or Kefalo, which undoubtedly accounts for its name.
Cheese of this type is made also from goat's milk in the Ozark region in Arkansas.
Kjarsgaard
Kjarsgaard is a hard, skim-milk cheese made in Denmark from cow's milk.
Kloster
Kloster cheese (or Klosterkäse) is a soft, ripened, Romadur-type cheese made in Germany from cow's whole milk. It is about 3½ inches long, 1¼ inches square and weighs about ¼ pound.
Kopanisti
Kopanisti, which is made in Greece, is a blue-mold cheese with a sharp, peppery flavor. Fresh, whole milk is coagulated with rennet as in making Feta, except that the coagulation period is longer and therefore the curd is firmer. The curd is cut, then dipped into cheesecloth, and the whey is drained off. Then the curd is kneaded by hand and formed into round balls about the size of a small orange. These are placed on a grating in a trough or an earthenware container to dry. They soon are covered with a blue-green mold. The balls of curd are salted, then kneaded until the mold and salt are mixed thoroughly in the mass of curd, which is then packed tightly in earthenware containers, and covered with a dry cloth. The cloth is changed daily. The cheese is ready to eat after ripening for 1 to 2 months.
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