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Issued February 26, 1912.
1434 Reprinted with slight changes, June, 1916.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

FARMERS’ BULLETIN 487.

CHEESE AND ITS ECONOMICAL
USES IN THE DIET.

BY

C. F. LANGWORTHY, Ph. D.,
Chief of Office of Home Economics, States Relations Service,

AND

CAROLINE L. HUNT, A. B.,
Expert in Nutrition, Office of Home Economics.

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1916.

U. S. Department of Agriculture,

States Relations Service,    
Washington, D. C., June 10, 1916.

Sir: Since cheese is one of the important agricultural products ofthe United States and a foodstuff used in a larger or smaller quantityin nearly every American home, it seemed desirable to study itsrelative nutritive value and the ways in which it may be preparedfor the table.

Although it is so generally liked, there seems to be a widespreadbelief that it is not well digested and that it is a cause of physiologicaldisturbances. Neither of these beliefs is substantiated by the resultsof the extended series of digestion experiments undertaken as part ofthe nutrition investigations of the Office of Home Economics. Indeed,cheese was found to be very thoroughly digested, ranking withother staple foods in this respect. Moreover, experiments made withthe respiration calorimeter did not indicate that it was less easy ofdigestion than a comparable amount of meat.

In the studies of the digestibility of cheese the Bureau of AnimalIndustry cooperated with the States Relations Service and was alsoof great assistance in securing, for experimental purposes, cheesemade and cured under controlled conditions. Supplementing theexperiments as to the nutritive value of cheese, many tests were madeof methods of preparing cheese for the table, the main purpose beingto suggest dishes and combinations of such a character that thecheese might replace other nitrogenous material and fat when thisseemed desirable.

The bulletin was prepared by C. F. Langworthy, chief of the Officeof Home Economics of the States Relations Service, and Miss CarolineL. Hunt, who has had wide experience in the study of bothscientific and practical problems in nutrition. The recipes werecollected from many sources and in the majority of cases werestudied experimentally by Miss Hunt.

Acknowledgement should be made to teachers of home economicsin agricultural colleges and other educational institutions, to housekeepers,and others who have supplied data of great value in preparingthe bulletin.

Respectfully,

A. C. True,     

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