Pineapple Cheese!?!

Joined
Nov 26, 2016
Location
central NC


louisvillecourier1866b.jpg
An 1866 newspaper ad from the Louisville Courier, published right after the civil war ended.​


What is pineapple cheese? Well according to Victorian Passage Into Time:

“In 1808 a man named Lewis M Norton, from Goshen, Connecticut, was given a Pineapple cheese which had been brought from Holland. Apparently, being a cheesemaker he decided he wanted to make his own “Pine-Apple Cheese” so he began to find a way. By 1810 he patented the process which creates these fancy cheeses which became a very sought after luxury. Later his son Robert learned the business well and continued to make this cheese through most of the 19th century.

These pineapple cheeses were basically a form of cheddar, but much richer. In making them, they would add extra cream to the whole milk. The milk and cream would be heated and the rennet was added. The curd was then put in small hoops and these were put into a 30 x 40 ft. frame, which was then lightly pressed for pressure. When pressed and still soft they were put in a small net and hung up which lent to the shape and the pineapple like markings.

This cheese ran about 12 to 14 cents per pound, or at least double that of ordinary cheese. However, during the Civil War the pineapple cheese rose to around forty cents a pound! A luxury indeed! In 1873, one pineapple cheese went for $2.50. Later in the early 20th century these cheeses were often used for decorative purposes in markets and stores.

The pineapple cheese season began on April 1st and continued until December 1st. It was continued to be manufactured in Connecticut until sometime in the 1850s.”

@donna, @Albert Sailhorst, or @Anna Elizabeth Henry, have you ever heard of this before? More info and some recipes to follow.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This is a sweet aside to the article above.

"On September 8, 1847 when Robert Norton, the aforesaid son of Lewis Norton, was married to Julia Ann Horsford, his father served a pineapple cheese which had been curing for twenty six years, the same age as the groom."

Directions for serving pineapple cheese were outlined in many Victorian magazines and books.

"First the cheese was placed in a cheese holder – made specifically for this purpose. The upper portion was to be cut forming a kind of lid. Sometimes a silver knob was inserted into the top portion for ease of handling. The cut could be plain or fancied with notches, as depicted in the first illustration. Summertime or warmth could make the outside of the cheese oily so it was suggested to wrap the cheese with a napkin when handling. A cheese scoop was used to gain the interior cheese. If you did not have a cheese holder you would simply wrap a decorative napkin around the cheese and stand it on a dish."


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Pineapple Cheese net​
 
CHEESE PANCAKES
Put one gill of milk and two ounces of butter into a stew-pan and over the fire; when boiling stir in two table-spoonsfuls of sifted flour; keep stirring it over the fire until the bottom of the stew-pan is dry; then add gradually four eggs and half a pound of Goshen or Pineapple Cheese grated; mix it well, season it with pepper, salt and Cayenne, mould the paste into little balls, drop them into hot lard, and fry to a light brown.
Practical Cook Book: Containing Upwards of One Thousand Receipts [1850]


CHEESE SHELLS
Fill the empty shell of an Edam or Pineapple cheese with cooked macaroni seasoning with grated Parmesan cheese, moisten with hot milk thicken with a little flour. Set in oven until hot, replace top on the cheese. Serve with tomato sauce.
- Kentucky Receipt Book [1903]


A FRENCH RARE BIT.
Put a gill of water into a stew pan with a quarter of a pound of pineapple cheese, two ounces of butter, a little Cayenne pepper, and salt if necessary; set the whole over the fire, and when it boils, stir into it two or three table-spoonfuls of sifted flour; keep stirring until a dry paste is formed, and the bottom of the stew-pan is white; then stir into it, one by one, three or four eggs; spread the paste, with a table-spoon, upon a buttered baking-tin, in long pieces, egg them over, put a bit of cheese upon each piece, and bake twenty minutes, or to a crisp, in a hot oven; serve hot.
Practical Cook Book: Containing Upwards of One Thousand Receipts [1850]
 
CHEESE PANCAKES
Put one gill of milk and two ounces of butter into a stew-pan and over the fire; when boiling stir in two table-spoonsfuls of sifted flour; keep stirring it over the fire until the bottom of the stew-pan is dry; then add gradually four eggs and half a pound of Goshen or Pineapple Cheese grated; mix it well, season it with pepper, salt and Cayenne, mould the paste into little balls, drop them into hot lard, and fry to a light brown.
Practical Cook Book: Containing Upwards of One Thousand Receipts [1850]


CHEESE SHELLS
Fill the empty shell of an Edam or Pineapple cheese with cooked macaroni seasoning with grated Parmesan cheese, moisten with hot milk thicken with a little flour. Set in oven until hot, replace top on the cheese. Serve with tomato sauce.
- Kentucky Receipt Book [1903]


A FRENCH RARE BIT.
Put a gill of water into a stew pan with a quarter of a pound of pineapple cheese, two ounces of butter, a little Cayenne pepper, and salt if necessary; set the whole over the fire, and when it boils, stir into it two or three table-spoonfuls of sifted flour; keep stirring until a dry paste is formed, and the bottom of the stew-pan is white; then stir into it, one by one, three or four eggs; spread the paste, with a table-spoon, upon a buttered baking-tin, in long pieces, egg them over, put a bit of cheese upon each piece, and bake twenty minutes, or to a crisp, in a hot oven; serve hot.
Practical Cook Book: Containing Upwards of One Thousand Receipts [1850]
I take it cholesterol was not an issue back in the day.
Leftyhunter
 
This is really interesting. If it's cheese, I'd probably like it. I haven't met any cheese I didn't like, so far. I like pineapple cream cheese, too. It is nice on a whole grain bread for a different tea sandwich!
 
My first thought was Pine Apple, Alabama! Have a buddy from there. Very interesting article, though - I've only heard of the Kraft pineapple spread, too. Used to make a sweet dip with crushed pineapple, cream cheese, a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla - good on graham crackers, or leave out the sugar and vanilla and use a bit of mayo for potato chips.
 
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