Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-07-01
ROMANCE IN CHEESE-MAkING.
Little known Facts About Some of
the Famous Cheeses.

From the New York sun.
We have cow in this country for every
four of the inhabitants. This liberal allow
ance makes US the largest producer Of
dairy products in the world, in spite of
the fact that We do not seem to have the
average Europeans appreciation of the
food value of milk and its products We
produce more than any other country in
the world simply because We have very
much larger population than any other
important dairying country, but in some
OF the older European lands two or three
times much milk and cheese are con-
sumed per capita as in the United States.
We import large quantities of foreign
che eses- 1t is probable that many of our
citizens who are fond of imported cheeSeS
with wOrld-famOuS names are not ac-
qUainted with even the broad. general
facts concerning their manufacture. Some
of these facts, collected here, may show
that even the prOsaic subject Of dairying
has interesting features. II has also its
secrets. that are very carefully preserved.
limitations Of a number of famous cheeses
made in various countries, but are
very imperfect as well spurious The
broad facts of the manufacture are known.
but there are essential details that are
not understood by outsiders who try to
reproduce them.
Few people who have not been to Swift
Zerland understand that one OF the great
est resources OF the country Is the Alpine
pastures, where hundreds Of thousands of
driven every summer after the
grass is well started. Far up among the
mountains the herders live. tending their
herds and producing tons and tons OF
cheese There are nearly 2.11l,1 O1 acres
in these Alpine pastures All winter the
cows are fed hay in the valleys with
no change in their diet till the sun warns
the grassy slopes into life. Then they be-
gin TO climb the mountains. AS first they
Craze in the pastures Of the "voralpen,"
for the high meadows Of the ''mittelalpen."
in the cooler and higher attitudes, are not
ready for them till the season has consid-
erably advanced Gradually they are
driven to the higher pastures. where they
Craze all summer; they do not leave these
heights watered by the melting SHOWS
from the glaciers. till frost cOmpels them
to seek lower attitudes; then they descend
as slowly as they had climbed the slopes
in the spring, and finally find their way
into the stables among the valleys, where
the farmers were cutting hay for them
while they were feeding the uplands
While on the pastures they tended
only by the herdsmen hired by the cow
owners in some hamlet to take care of the
animals and make cheese from the milk
they yield At each of the stages on the
slow journey up the mountains there is a
hut in which the sem or herdsman lives
1t contains the cheese making apparatus;
most Of the milk is made into cheese
though butter is also considerable pro-
duct. As soon the Sem steps out OF his
door in the morning he blows his Alpine
horn. usually made of birch bark. and his
little herd. obedient to the accustomed
call. come up to the hut to be MIXED. The
Sem leads a solitary but a very Industrious
life. for his time is fully occupied in milk
Ing. keeping the cows on the range and
making the cheese and butter. About
once in two weeks supplies are sent up
from the village and the butter and cheese
are taken down the mountain to be divided