The encyclopædia of practical cookery

CASEIN.— The nitrogenous or flesli-forming portion of milk from which cheese is made. It is sometimes known as “Caseum,” and was supposed to be the albumen of milk, but recent chemists have decided that Casein is not a combination of albumen and potash, because the ash of milk contains no alkali. Casein differs from albumen, because it cannot be coagulated by heat, as shown in making Welsh-rabbits, when the cheese melts : but Casein lias a peculiarity entirely its own, of being thrown down in a coagulated form by what are called “ organic acids.” These acids are met with in rennet, an animal membrane, for which reason calf’s and pig’s rennets are used largely in making cheese. The milk is boiled with the rennet, and down falls the Casein ( see Cheese). Casein is one of the elements of food, and classed with albumen and fibrine ; but it differs also from fibrine, because it will not undergo spontaneous coagulation as fibrine does. Cheese — especially cheese made from skim-milk — may be considered almost entirely to consist of Casein. The average quantity of Casein in different milks is as follows : Ass’s milk Woman’s milk Cow’s milk Goat’s milk Ewe’s milk 182 per cent. 1-52 „ 45 4-02 4-50 As the nourishing qualities of milk depend chiefly upon the proportion of Casein in its constitution, it will be seen by the above table that the milk of the ewe stands higher than the others given, and the ass’s milk lowest, the woman’s milk being also exceptionally poor. See Albumen and Fibrine. CASHEW. — The fruit of the Cashew-tree ( Anacardium occidentale), a native of Jamaica and of the East and West Indies, yields a kidney-bean shaped nut, which hangs from the end of the pear-shaped fruit. In size and shape, Fig. 381 Casiiew-fruit and Nuts this eccentric nut resembles the kidney of a rabbit or hare. The fruit is juicy, fleshy, and has a pleasant flavour — sugary, acid, and perhaps a trifle acrid — but neverthe- less extremely delectable to the taste. A very delicious wine is made from the expressed juice, and from the wine a spirit, which is considered superior to rum, is distilled. The Cashew-nut contains a kernel that is very pleasantly flavoured, and abounds in a sweet, milky juice, with a bland oil and sugary gum that render it valuable for cook- ing and confectionery. Sometimes the kernels are added to Madeira wine to improve the mellowness of its flavour. There are several varieties of the Cashew, but only one known to the culinary profession, which is shown in the drawing, and which has very showy green and dark red flowers. The fruit of this kind is roasted to give flavour to punch, and the juice of the flower-stalk yields a pleasant acid, which can be converted into a beverage superior to lemonade.