The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-11-08
Worlds Greatest
Cheese Exporter
Is United States

The war has made the United States
the greatest exporter Of cheese, selling
not only to countries that formerly
bought of France, Holland, Belgium,
Switzerland and Italy but to those
countries from which we formerly
bought. There is. practically no i'm
ported cheese in New York today.
The small quantities that may be
found are in the hands of retailers,
who have been helped in saving it by
the extremely high prices asked. Big
wholesale houses have no imported
cheese at all and do not quote prices
on it. Only one lot has reached this
country from abroad since April. That
came from the Argentine and was not
enough to make a tremendous differ
ence in the supply available in the
! New York market.
For some years before the war
started American manufacturers were
making limitations Of various popular
varieties of cheese imported from
FIrance, Switzerland, Holland Italy,
and other countries that had special
lied in poplar forms that had gained
worldwide reputations. In some cases
the limitations had been tolerably sue
cessful, and in others the results were
far from satisfactory. Under the law
most of these foreign" cheeses were
labelled as being of the "Camembert
type, &C.; in some cases the re-
quirement was merely that the label
should bear the word domestic pre-
ceding the name of the cheese.
H. B. Rathbone, of the Phenix
Cheese company, one of the largest
dealers in and manufacturers OF
cheese in the United States and a
large importer until the war started
it in the exporting business, knows a
great deal about cheese.
America is producing more cheese
today than ever before" said Mr.
Rathbone. THE consumption is hold
ing up in spite of steadily rising
prices. Before the war the familiar
Swiss cheese imp from Switzer-
land sold at 81 cents per pound whole
! sale. There is none of the imported
available now, and the domestic Is
1 selling Wholesale for 81 cents. 1t may
be truthfuJly said that the domestic
variety is in every way equal to the
4 imported, and when the war ends the
4 Swiss cheesemakers will find thai
i they have not only lost their Ameri
q can market but a competitor has beer
q developed who will compete for the
1 trade of the world. For many year!
American manufacturers had difficulty
| in getting the holes in the cheese tt
be the proper size and properly dis
1 tributed. But this difficulty has beer
4 overcome, and even an expert coulc
not tell the difference.
4 I'VE are also making a, Camenlber
Z cheese that is the equal of that for
& merly imported from France. Indeed
4 there are many who believe the do
4 nestle product is more desirable, tht
4 French Camemoert brought to thi
4 country not being as good as tina
! found in France.
i THE United States also makes al
4 Edam cheese as fine as any that eve
! came from Holland. We also make
Il Gouda cheese that needs no apobog.
& when compared with the Holland va
riety, and we have sent tons Of it t
3 Belgium. We have also sent chess
& to Africa, India and to every countr7
{ in South America.
THE various kinds of cheese mad
i of the milk Of goats, ewes, asses AM
other domestic animals besides tn
1 COW have not been extensively mad
in this country, though America
b cheese manufacturers are producing
d substitutes that are fairly satisfac
7 tory.
There are some exceptions to til
g general rule that the United State
1 now makes a satisfactory substitut
or a duplicate that is as good as o
4 better than the genuine. Two of thes
& are Brie and Roquefort. Chemist
I have vainly tried to duplicate tn
: work Of the famous cheesemakers.
4 think that in the case Of Brie tn
trouble has been lack Of knowledge
and it Is possible that bringing owe
j. skilled French cheeSemakers will en-
able American factories to produce
Brie that will be up to the require
ments.
81 am not so sanguine regardin
Roquefort. That cheese is made C
curd made from ewes milk mike
6 with bread crumbs and ripened in tn
& limestone caves of France. There ar