The Complete Book of Cheese Part 29

a la Main _see_ Vacherin.

a la Pie _see_ Fromage.

a la Rachette _see_ Bagnes.

Albini _Northern Italy_

Semihard; made of both goat and cow milk; white, mellow, pleasant-tasting table cheese.

Albula _Switzerland_

Rich with the flavor of cuds of green herbs chewed into creamy milk that makes tasty curds. Made in the fertile Swiss Valley of Albula whose proud name it bears.

Alderney _Channel Islands_

The French, who are fond of this special product of the very special breed of cattle named after the Channel Island of Alderney, translate it phonetically--Fromage d'Aurigny.

Alemtejo _Portugal_

Called in full Queijo de Alemtejo, cheese of Alemtejo, in the same way that so many French cheeses carry along the _fromage_ t.i.tle. Soft; sheep and sometimes goat or cow; in cylinders of three sizes, weighing respectively about two ounces, one pound, and four pounds. The smaller sizes are the ones most often made with mixed goat and sheep milk. The method of curdling without the usual animal rennet is interesting and unusual. The milk is warmed and curdled with vegetable rennet made from the flowers of a local thistle, or cardoon, which is used in two other Portuguese cheeses--Queijo da Cardiga and Queijo da Serra da Estrella--and probably in many others not known beyond their locale.

In France la Caillebotte is distinguished for being clabbered with _chardonnette_, wild artichoke seed. In Portugal, where there isn't so much separating of the sheep from the goats, it takes several weeks for Alemtejos to ripen, depending on the lactic content and difference in sizes.

Alfalfa _see_ Sage.

Alise Saint-Reine _France_

Soft; summer-made.

Allgauer Bergkase, Allgauer Rundkase, or Allgauer Emmentaler _Bavaria_

Hard; Emmentaler type. The small district of Allgau names a mountain of cheeses almost as fabulous as our "Rock-candy Mountain." There are two princ.i.p.al kinds, vintage Allgauer Bergkase and soft Allgauer Rahmkase, described below. This celebrated cheese section runs through rich pasture lands right down and into the Swiss Valley of the Emme that gives the name Emmentaler to one of the world's greatest. So it is no wonder that Allgauer Bergkase can compete with the best Swiss.

Before the Russian revolution, in fact, all vintage cheeses of Allgau were bought up by wealthy Russian n.o.blemen and kept in their home caves in separate compartments for each year, as far back as the early 1900's. As with fine vintage wines, the price of the great years went up steadily. Such cheeses were shipped to their Russian owners only when the chief cheese-pluggers of Allgau found they had reached their prime.

Allgauer Rahmkase _Bavaria_

Full cream, similar to Romadur and Limburger, but milder than both.

This sets a high grade for similar cheeses made in the Bavarian mountains, in monasteries such as Andechs. It goes exquisitely with the rich dark Bavarian beer. Some of it is as slippery as the stronger, smellier Bierkase, or the old-time Slipcote of England.

Like so many North Europeans, it is often flavored with caraway.

Although entirely different from its big brother, vintage Bergkase, Rahmkase can stand proudly at its side as one of the finest cheeses in Germany.

Alpe _see_ Fiore di Alpe.

Al Pepe _Italy_

Hard and peppery, like its name. Similar to Pepato (_see_).

Alpes _France_

Similar to Bel Paese.

Alpestra _Austria_

A smoked cheese that tastes, smells and inhales like whatever fish it was smoked with. The French Alps has a different Alpestre; Italy spells hers Alpestro.

Alpestre, Alpin, or Fromage de Briancon _France_

Hard; goat; dry; small; lightly salted. Made at Briancon and Gap.

Alpestro _Italy_

Semisoft; goat; dry; lightly salted.

Alpin or Clerimbert _Alpine France_

The milk is coagulated with rennet at 80 F. in two hours. The curd is dipped into molds three to four inches in diameter and two and a half inches in height, allowed to drain, turned several times for one day only, then salted and ripened one to two weeks.

Altenburg, or Altenburger Ziegenkase _Germany_

Soft; goat; small and flat--one to two inches thick, eight inches in diameter, weight two pounds.

Alt Kuhkase Old Cow Cheese _Germany_

Hard; well-aged, as its simple name suggests.

Altsohl _see_ Brinza.

Ambert, or Fourme d'Ambert _Limagne, Auvergne, France_

A kind of Cheddar made from November to May and belonging to the Cantal--Fourme-La Tome tribe.

American, American Cheddar _U.S.A._

Described under their home states and distinctive names are a dozen fine American Cheddars, such as c.o.o.n, Wisconsin, Herkimer County and Tillamook, to name only a few. They come in as many different shapes, with traditional names such as Daisies, Flats, Longhorns, Midgets, Picnics, Prints and Twins. The ones simply called Cheddars weigh about sixty pounds. All are made and pressed and ripened in about the same way, although they differ greatly in flavor and quality. They are ripened anywhere from two months to two years and become sharper, richer and more flavorsome, as well as more expensive, with the pa.s.sing of time. _See_ Cheddar states and Cheddar types in Chapter 4.

Americano Romano _U.S.A._

Hard; brittle; sharp.

Amou _Bearn, France_

Winter cheese, October to May.

Anatolian _Turkey_

Hard; sharp.

Anchovy Links _U.S.A._