On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 14:56:34 +0100, Alf Christophersen wrote:

> On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 22:13:45 -0600, Alan wrote:
>
>>Now, my question: Is ANY cheese naturally orange in color?
>
> Don't think so. Even cheddar made here in Norway is orange-yellowish
> in color. Do not know what they use for coloring. Should occur on the
> declaration, so maybe I'll check tomorrow.

Cheddar cheese before it became common practice to add annatto
varied in colour due to the grass at the cows ate. Spring grass is richer
in beta carotene so the milk was a deeper colour and so was the cheese.
Consumers assumed that the deeper colour meant more milk fat and therefore
richer cheese.

I suppose that a cow that was fed just carrots would produce an orange
cheese. Anyone with a cow willing to test the hypothesis?

--
Cymru Llewes
Caer Llewys

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 01:07:05 GMT, Cymru Llewes >
wrote:

>On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 14:56:34 +0100, Alf Christophersen wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 22:13:45 -0600, Alan wrote:
>>
>>>Now, my question: Is ANY cheese naturally orange in color?
>>
>> Don't think so. Even cheddar made here in Norway is orange-yellowish
>> in color. Do not know what they use for coloring. Should occur on the
>> declaration, so maybe I'll check tomorrow.
>
>Cheddar cheese before it became common practice to add annatto
>varied in colour due to the grass at the cows ate. Spring grass is richer
>in beta carotene so the milk was a deeper colour and so was the cheese.
>Consumers assumed that the deeper colour meant more milk fat and therefore
>richer cheese.
>
>I suppose that a cow that was fed just carrots would produce an orange
>cheese. Anyone with a cow willing to test the hypothesis?

But *why* orange cheese? I spent a lot of time Googling yesterday and
gave up. I mean, why would a more richly-colored cheese be desirable?
The questions of beta-kerosene is rather recent, and much cheese
(Cheddar, Gloucester, etc.) has apparently been colored with annatto
for quite some time. More milkfat? I've read that wartime (WWI) oleo
came with dye pellets to knead in to make the (presumably white) fat
look more like butter. Are people strange, or what? :-)

Frogleg > said:

> I've read that wartime (WWI) oleo
> came with dye pellets to knead in to make the (presumably white) fat
> look more like butter.

Not just during wartime. I remember being regularly given the kneading job
around 1952 or so. I would have been 7-8 years old at the time. The undied
margerine was ghastly white and looked (and tasted) like Crisco. (I remember
trying that too.)

--
Bob
Kanyak's Doghouse
http://kanyak.com

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 21:28:55 +0200, "Opinicus" >
wrote:

>Frogleg > said:
>
>> I've read that wartime (WWI) oleo
>> came with dye pellets to knead in to make the (presumably white) fat
>> look more like butter.
>
>Not just during wartime. I remember being regularly given the kneading job
>around 1952 or so. I would have been 7-8 years old at the time. The undied
>margerine was ghastly white and looked (and tasted) like Crisco. (I remember
>trying that too.)

I recall buying margarine with the separate coloring pellet in a small
Canadian trading post while on a fishing trip ~1960. My mother
commented that she hadn't seen that since the end of WWII.
----
Diogenes )

The wars are long, the peace is frail
The madmen come again . . . .

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 15:16:38 GMT, Frogleg > wrote:
> On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 01:07:05 GMT, Cymru Llewes >
> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 14:56:34 +0100, Alf Christophersen wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 22:13:45 -0600, Alan wrote:
>>>
>>>>Now, my question: Is ANY cheese naturally orange in color?
>>>
>>> Don't think so. Even cheddar made here in Norway is orange-yellowish
>>> in color. Do not know what they use for coloring. Should occur on the
>>> declaration, so maybe I'll check tomorrow.
>>

The herb lady's bedstraw is in the madder family, and
produces an orangey red colour.

Entry from a herb book I have, The Complete Book on Herbs and Spices,
by Loewenfeld and Back:

(quote)

Lady's Bedstraw
Botanical name: Galium verum
Family: Rubiaceae

Lady's bedstraw is an unusual plant in that it has the property
of acting like rennet in curdling milk. It was used long ago in Tuscany
to give sheep and goat's cheese a sweeter taste. In Britan it was used in the
making of the famous Cheshire cheese, and said to be the reason for the
superior quality of the cheese.
In the sixteenth century the herb was called 'cheese renning' and the name
Galium comes from the Greek word 'gala' meaning milk.
The English name comes from its use as bedding in former times.
One of the Madder family of plants, lady's bedstraw roots were once used to
procure a red dye.

(end of quote)

I remember in the WWII years when I would knead the oleo and the red
coloring to make it look like butter. I never really liked it after
that, I prefered butter, but we couldn't get it during the war.

I've read that wartime (WWI) oleo
>came with dye pellets to knead in to make the (presumably white) fat
>look more like butter. Are people strange, or what? :-)

Cymru Llewes wrote:

> I suppose that a cow that was fed just carrots would produce an orange
> cheese. Anyone with a cow willing to test the hypothesis?

Carrots, like cheddar cheese, didn't used to be orange. They were cross
bred by the House of Orange in Holland. Original carrots are usually
purple or white.

-Mike

You guys might all be wrong about the answer to this post. Hook's cheese is a company that has been in business for over 35 years. I don't think the author was referring to "Hoop" cheese, even though all the information posted is very interesting.. I believe he/she is trying to find out more about hook cheese...a company located in Wisconsin.