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 Bierkaese, 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 Bergkaese, Rahmkaese 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 deg.  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 Ziegenkaese
Germany

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

Alt Kuhkaese 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 Coon, 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 passing 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.