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Show ' Doctor in the Kitchen by Laurence M. Hursh, M.D. Consultant, National Dairy Council I 1 1 CHEESE When someone mentions cheese, what pops into your mind? Sandwiches? Hollandaise sauce? Souffle? Hors d'oeuvres? Cheeseburgers? Parmesan sauce? Stuffed frankfurters? Cheese dip? Macaroni and cheese? Au gratin casseroles? Cheesecake? You can go on from there. Many Varieties Cheese is as nearly a universal food as the variety of milks from which it is made cows', goats', mares', caribous', reindeer's, camels'. cam-els'. Distinctive cheeses from many parts of the world bear well-known well-known names Cheshire, Cheddar, Ched-dar, Wensleydale, and Stilton from England; Brie, Camembert, and Roquefort from France; Provolone, Gorgonzola, and Parmesan Par-mesan from Italy; Gruyere and Emmentaler from Switzerland; Edam and Gouda from Holland; Limburger from Belgium; whey and goats' milk from Scandana-via: Scandana-via: and white Brick from the United States. Skills Of Immigrants Happily, however, immigrant cheesemakers have brought their know-how and their bacterial cultures cul-tures to this country. Every variety vari-ety of cheese can be made, and many are made in the United States so skillfully that experts have difficulty in distinguishing the imported from the domestic. Cheese is a gourmet item, but it is also a fine basic food, providing provid-ing excellent protein, vitamins, and minerals. It is a useful alternate alter-nate for meats, and a garnish for many tempting dishes. Cheese is a low-residue food. It is almost fully digested and utilized. It has been regarded, mistakenly, as constipating or "binding." Actually, no single dietary di-etary factor can be regarded as constipating, although the diet as a whole may be, if there is insufficient in-sufficient roughage. Distinctively American cheeses are the Cheddar-like "American," the white hard Brick, and the pineapple cheese, so named from its shape. Cottage cheese is of unknown un-known origin. Cuts Of Milk In ancient times, cheese was made by storing milk in "bottles" of animal skin, where the warm climate soon produced curds. The word "cheese" comes from the Hebrew for "curdle." The Old Testament refers to "cuts ' of milk," which were, of course, cheese. Cheese is still made that way in the Near East. Cheese, so valuable in the normal nor-mal diet, may be particularly useful use-ful for those with gout who are limited in meats; and for those who require bland diets, low in roughage. Cheese is so good to eat that these recommendations are superfluous, but they are nice extra dividends anyway. |