“Cheese offers a valuable source of nutriment for the body because its food value ranks high. In addition to protein and fat, cheese contains ash and vitamins.

The food value in one pound of cheese is equivalent to that in two pounds of beef, in 24 eggs, or in four pounds of fish.” — from an 1800s cookbook.

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

CAYENNE CHEESE STRAWS
Rub one-half pound of butter into one-half pound of flour. Add one-half pound of grated cheese, one-third teaspoon of cayenne, and one-third teaspoon of salt. Mix these ingredients well together. Moisten with sufficient water to make the whole into a paste, roll out, and cut into fingers about four inches in length. Bake them in a moderate oven a very light color, and serve very hot.

CHEESE SOUFFLE
Put one cup of stale bread crumbs with a gill of milk over the fire for just a moment. Take from the fire, add the yolks of three eggs, six tablespoons of grated cheese, a half teaspoon of salt and a dash of red pepper. Stir in the well-beaten whites of the eggs, then put into individual baking dishes. Bake in a quick oven about eight minutes and send at once to the table.

CHEESE BALLS
Mix the whites of three eggs, one cup grated cheese, one tablespoon flour, and a pinch of salt and red pepper. Form into balls, roll in cracker crumbs, and fry in deep fat. This makes fifteen small balls.

ROAST CHEESE
Grate three ounces of fat Cheshire cheese. Mix it with the yolks of two eggs, four ounces of grated bread, and three ounces of butter. Beat the whole well in a mortar, with a dessertspoon of mustard and a little salt and pepper. Toast some bread, cut it into proper pieces, lay the paste thick upon them, and lay them into a Dutch oven covered with a dish till they are hot through. Remove the dish to let the paste brown a little, and serve it up as hot as possible, immediately after dinner.

BOILED CHEESE
Put four tablespoons of beer into a small saucepan, shred into it one-fourth pound of good fresh cheese and stir briskly over the fire until it is all dissolved and on the point of boiling. Take it off instantly, for if the cheese is allowed to boil, it will become tough. Have ready slices of toasted bread, spread the cheese on it, and serve as quickly as possible.

CHEESE WAFERS
If made daintily, cheese wafers may be served with salad or with tea. If a very thin broth is served at the beginning of a meal, cheese wafers may accompany it, but never serve with a heavy soup.

Mix and sift one cup of flour, one-fourth teaspoon salt, and one-half teaspoon paprika. Rub in one-fourth teaspoon butter or lard with the fingertips. Add one-half cup grated cheese and mix to a stiff paste with one-fourth cup cold water. Roll out very thin, cut with a small round cutter, place on a greased baking sheet, and bake in a moderate oven five or six minutes.

CHEESE CUSTARD
Butter a baking-dish, and put in a layer of bread with the crust removed, cut in pieces one inch square. Sprinkle thin-sliced cheese over the bread and dust with salt and paprika or a few grains of cayenne. Add other layers of bread and cheese, seasoning as before, using in all half a small loaf of bread, one cup of cheese, and one-half teaspoon salt. Beat two eggs slightly, add one pint of milk, and pour the mixture over the bread and cheese. Bake about half an hour in a moderate oven.

DEVILED CHEESE
Chop up some hot pickles and add some cayenne pepper and mustard. Melt some cheese in a stew-pan with a little butter. Mix in the pickles, and serve on toast.

CHEESE PUDDING
Into two quarts of boiling water containing two tablespoons of salt, stir one pound of yellow Indian meal and three-fourths pound of grated cheese. Boil it for twenty minutes, stirring it occasionally to prevent burning. Then put it in a buttered baking pan, sprinkle over the top one-fourth pound of grated cheese, and brown in a quick oven. Serve hot. If any remains, slice it cold and fry it brown.

WELSH RAREBIT
To prepare Welsh rabbit, or rarebit—both names being used to designate this popular and appetizing dish, take one-half pound of best cheese, (not over nine months old), and cut into small pieces.

Put it over a slow fire in a porcelain-lined kettle. When it begins to melt, pour in three tablespoons of rich milk or cream, and a little good mustard. Stir from the time the cheese begins to melt to prevent scorching.

Have ready a quite hot dish. Cover the bottom with toast buttered on both sides, upon which you pour the melted cheese, spreading it evenly. If you prefer, you may use as a condiment a little mustard, pepper, or any favorite sauce. This dish must be eaten as soon as it’s taken from the fire.

POLISH PIEROGI (a pocketful of cheese)
Make noodle dough with two eggs and two cups of flour. Roll out very thin and cut into two-inch squares. Cream a cup of cottage cheese with a tablespoon of melted butter. Flavor with cinnamon and toss in a handful of seedless currents. Fill the pastry squares with this and pinch the edges tight together to make little pockets.

Drop them into a pot of fast-boiling water, lightly salted, and boil steadily for thirty minutes, lowering the heat so the pockets won’t burst open. Drain and serve on a piping hot platter with melted butter and a sprinkling of bread crumbs.

CHEESE BONBONS
A combination of cheese and nuts, besides being very tasty, is highly nutritious, since both the cheese and the nuts used in making them are high in food value.

Work one package Neufchatel or cream cheese smooth with two tablespoons finely chopped pimiento, one-half teaspoon salt, and a few grains of paprika. If the mixture is too dry, add a little cream. Shape this into small balls, press each ball flat, and then place half an English walnut on top of each. If the pimiento is not desired, it may be omitted.

POUNDED CHEESE
Cut a pound of good mellow cheese into thin slices. Add to it three ounces of fresh butter and rub them well together in a mortar till quite smooth. When the cheese is dry, and for those whose digestion is feeble, this is the best way of eating it. Spread on bread makes it an excellent supper. The flavor of this dish may be increased by pounding it with curry powder, ground spice, black cayenne, and a little made mustard, or it may be moistened with a glass of sherry. If pressed down hard in a jar and covered with clarified butter, it will keep for several days in cool weather.

CHEESE FRITTERS
Put a gill of milk in a stew-pan, with two ounces of butter. When boiling, stir in two spoons of flour. Keep stirring over the fire until the bottom of the stew-pan is dry, then add four eggs by degrees, half a pound of Gruyère cheese, and half a pound of grated Parmesan cheese. Mix well, season with pepper, salt, and cayenne rather highly. Mold the paste into little balls with the forefinger against the side of the stew-pan containing it. Drop them into hot lard, fry of a nice light brown, arrange in a pyramid upon a napkin, and serve very hot.

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