In season from November to May.

Palpuszta _Hungary_

Fairly strong Limburger type.

Pannarone _Italy_

Gorgonzola type with white curd but without blue veining.

Parenica _Hungary_

Sheep. Caciocavallo type.

Parmesan, Parmigiano _Italy_

The grand mogul of all graters. Called "The hardest cheese in the world." It enlivens every course from onion soup to cheese straws with the demita.s.se, and puts spirit into the spa.r.s.e Lenten menu as _Pasta al Pesto_, powdered Parmesan, garlic, olive oil and basil, pounded in a mortar with a pestle.

Pa.s.sauer Rahmkase, Creme de Pa.s.sau _German_

Noted Bavarian cream cheese, known in France as Creme de Pa.s.sau.

Pasta Cotta _Italy_

The ball or _grana_ of curd used in making Parmesan.

Pasta Filata _Italy_

A "drawn" curd, the opposite of the little b.a.l.l.s or grains into which Grana is chopped.(_See_ Formaggi di Pasta Filata.)

Pasteurized Process Cheese Food _U.S.A._

This is the ultimate desecration of natural fermented cheese. Had Pasteur but known what eventual harm his discovery would do to a world of cheese, he might have stayed his hand.

Pastorella _Italy_

Soft, rich table cheese.

Patagras _Cuba_

Similar to Gouda.

Pecorino _Italy_

Italian cheese made from ewe's milk. Salted in brine. Granular.

Pelardon de Rioms _Languedoc, France_

A goat cheese in season from May to November.

Peneteleu _Rumania_

One of the international Caciocavallo family.

Penicillium Glauc.u.m and Penicillium Alb.u.m

Tiny mushroom spores of _Penicillium Glauc.u.m_ sprinkled in the curd destined to become Roquefort, sprout and grow into "blue" veins that impart the characteristic flavor. In twelve to fifteen days a second spore develops on the surface, snow-white _Penicillium Alb.u.m_.

Pennich _Turkey_

Mellow sheep cheese packed in the skin of sheep or lamb.

Pennsylvania Hand Cheese _U.S.A._

This German original has been made by the Pennsylvania Dutch ever since they arrived from the old country. Also Pennsylvania pot, or cooked.

Penroque _Pennsylvania, U.S.A_

Cow milk imitation Roquefort, inoculated with _Penicillium Roqueforti_ and ripened in "caverns where nature has duplicated the ideal condition of the cheese-curing caverns of France." So any failure of Penroque to rival real Roquefort is more likely to be the fault of mother cow than mother nature.

Pepato _Italy_

Hard; stinging, with whole black peppers that make the lips burn. Fine for fire-eaters.

An American imitation is made in Northern Michigan.

Persille de Savoie _Savoie, France_

In season from May to January, flavored with parsley in a manner similar to that of sage in Vermont Cheddar.

Petafina, La _Dauphine, France_

Goat or cow milk mixed together, with yeast of dried cheese added, plus salt and pepper, olive oil, brandy and absinthe.

Pet.i.t Carre _France_

Fresh, unripened Ancien Imperial.

Pet.i.t Gruyere _Denmark_

Imitation Gruyere, pasteurized, processed and made almost unrecognizable and inedible. Six tin-foil wedges to a box; also packaged with a couple of crackers for bars, one wedge for fifteen cents, where free lunch is forbidden. This is a fair sample of one of several foreign imitations that are actually worse than we can do at home.

Pet.i.t Moule _Ile-de-France, France_

A pet name for Coulommiers.

Pet.i.t Suisse _France_

Fresh, unsalted cream cheese. The same as Neufchatel and similar to Coulommiers. It comes in two sizes: Gros--a largest cylinder Demi--a small one