cheesey

English

Adjective

cheesey (comparative more cheesey, superlative most cheesey)

1. Alternative spelling of cheesy.
   • 1851, “Production of Butter and Cheese”, in Natural History of New York, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Co. and Wiley & Putnam, page 296:

     When lactic acid is just beginning to form, the butter will be more perfectly separated from the casein, and that cheesey taste will be prevented, while at the same time the butter will keep sweet longer, or remain free from rancidity for a longer period.

   • 1856 March, C. S. W., “How to Make Good Butter”, in Maine Farmer, volume XXIV, number 22, Augusta, Me., published 1856 May 22, front page, column 6:

     The milk is allowed to set too long before being skimmed, which gives it a cheesey taste.

   • 1878, P[eter] H. Felker, “Butter”, in The Grocers’ Manual, Containing the Natural History and Process of Manufacture of All Grocers’ Goods. […], Claremont, N.H.: […] [T]he Claremont Manufacturing Company, page 31:

     Care should be taken not to keep the cream too long, as it impairs the quality of the butter, giving it a cheesey taste.

   • 1930, Rose Macaulay, Staying with Relations, London: Collins, published 1969, page 40:

     Why, hell, you know as well as I do that hare and rabbit fur are just utterly revolting and cheesey.

   • 1930 March, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “Indian Summer of an Uncle”, in The Strand Magazine, volume LXXIX, London: George Newnes, Ltd., page 214, column 2:

     She just draws herself up and looks at them with clear, steady eyes, causing them to feel not a little cheesey.

   • 1932, Nancy Mitford, “Christmas Pudding”, in Pudding and Pie: An Anthology Including Highland Fling, Christmas Pudding, Pigeon Pie, London: Arrow Books, Century Hutchinson Ltd, published 1986, →ISBN, page 261:

     ‘My dear, she wasn’t born till four in the morning.’ ‘What a cheesey time,’ said Bobby.

   • 1966, Nina Bawden, The White Horse Gang, London: Puffin Books, published 1972, page 52:

     ‘It’s goat’s milk,’ said Mrs Tanner. Sam sipped at it. Rose did the same. It had a strong, cheesey taste but they barely noticed it.

   • 1976, Gail Duff, “[November] Mashed potato and onion cake”, in Fresh All the Year: A Cook’s Guide to the Seasons, London: Pan Books, published 1977, →ISBN, page 236:

     If you are using the cheese, sprinkle this over the top for the last ten minutes of cooking, so that when you turn out the cake the cheesey taste will be underneath as a surprise.

   • 1977, Elizabeth David, “[Bread] A Wholemeal Scone Loaf”, in English Bread and Yeast Cookery, London: Allen Lane, Penguin Books Ltd, →ISBN, part II (Recipes), page 275:

     1 lb of stone-ground 100 per cent whole wheatmeal; ½ oz of bakers’ yeast; 4 tablespoons of thick cream, slightly sour (but without a hint of cheesey taste or smell); approximately ½ pint of warm water; 2 heaped teaspoons of salt.

   • 1980, Kenneth Lo, “[A Selection of Chinese Dishes] ‘Thousand-Year-Old’ Eggs”, in Cooking and Eating the Chinese Way, London: Mayflower, Granada, published 1981, →ISBN, page 116:

     If you can hold your nose, or allow the smell to evaporate, or simply pretend that it does not exist, the cheesey taste of egg can be quite palatable.

   • 1980, Faye Hammel, Sylvan Levey, Hawaii on $25 a Day, 1980–81 edition, New York, N.Y.: Frommer/Pasmantier, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 280:

     Just past the railroad depot on Honoapilani Highway you’ll spot a familiar building: it’s a Pizza Hut, the home of those thick, crusty pizzas with the chewy, cheesey taste.

   • 1981, Manny Sternlicht, Abraham Hurwitz, “[The Name of the Game] You Said a Mouthful (Games That Stimulate the Sense of Taste)”, in Games Children Play: Instructive and Creative Play Activities for the Mentally Retarded and Developmentally Disabled Child, New York, N.Y.: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, →ISBN, page 59:

     “Cheesey” Taste / Cut cubes out of four different kinds of cheese. Mix them up, and have your child close his or her eyes. Ask the youngster to describe the taste of each of the cubes.

   • 1985, Ted Provost, “Cream Cheese Icings”, in Touchdown Cooking: Winning Recipes from Saskatchewan Roughriders Past and Present, Regina, Sask.: Saskatchewan Roughrider Touchdown Cooking, →ISBN, page 149:

     N.B. Cream cheese icing #2 is sweeter and makes more than #1. For a “cheesey” taste, use #1.

   • 1987, Joanne Kates, “Food People: From the Hatcheck Girl to the Tsar of No Name”, in The Taste of Things, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 170:

     But the high priestess isn’t fazed: “Don’t worry if it separates. It’s just the acid in the vegetable causing that. Just because in haute cuisine they don’t want that doesn’t mean somebody hasn’t figured out a way to use it. In Gascony they don’t use cheese in their gratins because the curdled milk gives the vegetables a lovely cheesey taste.”

   • 1990, Robert W. Hefner, “Agricultural History: Intensification and Degradation”, in The Political Economy of Mountain Java: An Interpretive History, Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 57:

     The maize cultivated in this early period, and still grown by upper-slope farmers today, was a white-kerneled “Indian” variety. […] Its slightly cheesey taste is also preferred by highlanders.

   • 1990, Denis Ruffel with Roland Bilheux and Alain Escoffier, translated by Anne Sterling, “[Sauces] Custards”, in The Professional Caterer Series, volumes 4 (Meat and Games - Sauces and Bases: Execution, Display and Decoration for Buffets and Receptions), Paris: CICEM (Compagnie Internationale de Consultation Education et Media); New York, N.Y.: Van Nostrand Reinhold, →ISBN:

     Crème fraîche is a heavy cream, rich in butterfat, thickened naturally by lactic fermentation. In France it is readily available and its rich, slightly “cheesey” taste is ideal for quiche custards.

   • 2014, Timothy G. Roufs, Kathleen Smyth Roufs, “The Baltic States”, in Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 33:

     Like other Baltic countries, the Estonian sweet tooth is not as demanding as the American sweet tooth, so Estonian cheesecakes, although considered sweet by the natives, are more cheesey than sweet, and are often topped with a spoonful of locally made jam to complement the cheese flavor.

References

• “cheesy”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.