Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-03-07
Cheese as Food.

The very lew price OF good cheese
and its production in excess of demand
have led the manufactu rers into a seri-
GUS consideration OF the methods by
which the home consumption can be
increased and this, of course, brings
up the question Of the value of cheese
as food. Is it true, as is claimed by q
leading stock journal, that cheese con-
tains at least fifty per cent more nutri-
ment in given weight than beef? As
the two retail at nearly the same price,
this is an exceedingly interesting ques-
ton.
Let us first look at the matter from
the point of production. 1t has been
lately shown that fattening steer and
a mich COW can eat yearly nearly the
same amount of food for given weight
and time, and that the products of
gain in beef on the one hand and milk
on the other, are of almost identical
food value. In the light of such facts,
does it seem reasonable that the cheese
producer can go to the extra labor of
milking and manufacturing the cheese
and still undersell the beef producer
by thirty.three and one-third per cent?
In time of great depression like the
present, beef as we'll as cheese must be
sold at very nearly the cost of produc-
ton; and as both are largely exported,
we must consider the effect of this on
the price to be nearly the same with
each. If, under such circumstances,
the cheese-maker can give us fifty per
cent. more food for our money than the
beef raiser, it is a most interesting
question for all agriculturists to know
how he can do it.
Bischof, Henneberg, Stohmann,
Grouven aud others have found the
composition of pure lean flesh to be
about twenty per cent. of heterogeneous
matters and from four to ten per cent.
of fat: but as E. Smith remarks, in his
work on food, this is not fair way to
arrive at the food value of any part of
the beef. For in every case certain
amount Of pure fat is attached, which is
used as food and increases the value.
The only proper way to arrive at the
food value of beef is to accept the re-
suits obtained by Lawes and Gilbert in
determining the percentage of fat and
flesh used as food when the whole car
cass is considered. These gentlemen
found that in every 100 pounds of fat
beef there were fifteen pounds of nitro
genous constituents and thirty-fve
pounds of fat. Now, average new-milk
cheese contains per 100 pounds about
twenty three pounds of heterogeneous
constituents to thirty.one pounds of
fat; that is, four pounds less of fat
and eight pounds more of heterogeneous
matters. 1t is known that in the body
by far the greater part of heterogeneous
elements of the food are transformed
into fat and consumed for the produc-
ton of heat /; and in this transforma-
ton two parts of the former are re-
quired to produce one of the latter !;
consequently, the eight pounds of nj
trogenous matter in the hundred pounds
Of cheese in excess of that found in q
like quantity of beef, are fully counter
balanced by the four pounds of fat
which the latter contains in excess of
the former. Cheese and beef of this
composition should, therefore, be of
about equal food value, if equally di-
gestible-which is not the case.
1t is true that some kinds of cheese
make better showing than this, es-
pecially those that have an extra guam
tity Of cream incorporated but when
we consider that a considerable part of
cheese is not digested, as was proved
by E. Smith, it will not do to give the
best cheese greater food value than
beef.
We are not endeavoring by this state
ment of facts, to prevent the increased
consumption of cheese-our business
is, first of all, to furnish facts, and
allow all things to stand ON their true
merits. We believe, however, that the
home consumption of cheese can be
greatly increased with advantage to
consumer as we'll as producer-not be.
cause as food it is cheaper than beef,
but because it increases the variety and
makes an agreeable relish. But before
consumption will be greatly increased,
the execrable stuff kept at too many
country stores must be replaced by an
article of real value. Much of the
lower grades of cheese is absolutely
unfit to be eaten. Not only is it with
out value as food, but it does harm by
disordering the digestive function.
When the cheese manufacturers see to
it that our country stores keep nothing
but the best quality Of cheese and sell
it at reasonable margin, they will find
the popular appreciation of this article
of diet to increase very rapidly and,
what is of more importance to them,
the amount consumed will increase in
the same proportion. - Rural NeW
Yorker.